New Fender

[miketa95]

How difficult would it be for one with limited knowledge about a car's body to replace a dented front fender by ones self?

[NastyEllEssWon]

very easy to do. theres bolts under the hood, to the bumper, the splash cover in the wheel well and the bolts inside the door/rocker area. once you get it lined up and the bolts snugged, but not tight you can check to make sure the door doesnt catch on it and adjust it accordingly.

[emolineaux]

ditto ^ . ive ran into problems with reproduction parts where they dont match up the same as oem so just keep that in mind.

[NastyEllEssWon]

oh yeah i forgot there might be a few bolts on the underside of the rocker too

[miketa95]

What about the stuff that is behind the sheet metal? If I take it apart and whatever needs to be replaced behind it, is that stuff just as straightforward? I don't think there should be anything too badly damaged since my headlights, bumper, and hood are all completely in tact. Also, would it be better to get the parts painted before or after installing them? (on the truck or off)

[NastyEllEssWon]

theres a big gap between the actual inner fender and the outer fender covering. take off the fender, its most likely if nothing else got dented then its just the outer fender.

[V]

yea, its very straight forward, it helps when you remove a bolt put it in a certain place or order to remember where it came from

[KirkEvil]

What about the stuff that is behind the sheet metal? If I take it apart and whatever needs to be replaced behind it, is that stuff just as straightforward? I don't think there should be anything too badly damaged since my headlights, bumper, and hood are all completely in tact. Also, would it be better to get the parts painted before or after installing them? (on the truck or off)

The plastic fender actually has sheet metal riveted to it for support and brackets for bolting it to the car. it all comes off as one piece. I actually had the fender off 2 days ago to fix the alignment. It took about a half hour to remove and re-align it.

[Tru2Chevy]

It's pretty easy for someone with basic mechanical skills to swap a fender if you take your time.

I'm pretty sure he's talking about his truck (http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51310), not an F-Body, for those of you giving specific advice.

- Justin