I have a pair of new in the GM wrap 57 front fenders. Had them forever suspect they are worth substantially more then I paid back in the early 80's. Have a 2 door hardtop I am fixing up as a nice driver but certainly no show car. Fenders on it are easy workable.
Would you:
*Use them on the hardtop.
*Sell them.
*Keep them stashed.
Just curious.
Considering what they sell for, I would probably sell them. Once they're on the car, painted they're no longer new. Very good used originals are still fairly easy to buy for far less.
There are new repop 57 available now for about $550 a pair. Seems like the right time to have sold them was before the repops came out, but it's too late now.
If your existing fenders are easily repairable and in good condition otherwise I think I'd use them on your car since it's a "nice driver". I imagine you could still get quite a bit more than repop for your NOS fenders if you want to sell them to someone doing a high end restoration. I'm not sure hanging onto them is going to make them much more valuable.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
If you are performing the repairs yourself, you will be investing time and materials. If you are paying someone else to do the repairs, repair costs could make the NOS fenders a good option for your own car. I'd venture a guess that you bought them back in the early 80's to use them one day. I'd say use them, but leave the NOS part numbers visible on the inside of the fender.
NOS fenders have to be far better than repros, even though I hear the 57 repros are "good". As for fixing what you have, Robert gave you the best advice.
I'd tend to use them if you are building an exceptional car and have the $$$. And I'd sell them if I needed the $$$. They will go for high $$ if marked so that NOS can be verified, even if they have shelf wear.
I have unboxed new first Gen. GM Camaro fenders and found them to be poor fitting. These were bought in late 70s early 80s. So in my experience with leftover OEM stuff is not much better than repo.
Just a matter of opinion and certainly, I know the ramifications associated with that but if, the items (1st gen camaro) are NIB ("unboxed") how does one know if the fitment is poor? Just a question.As to the OP and his wares, if you decide to sell them, give me a shout. I have recent REOP units that don't excite me and would consider your as a method of repair for this project.Originally Posted by markm
I unboxed the new GM fenders and put them on my car and was not happy with fit. Still own a couple of these cars.
I have seen production, installed on the car, factory Rally Sport fenders for a Camaro that lacked a bunch for fit/finish in the headlight area. It wouldn't surprise that standard fenders had similar problems. Also this area is a secondary operation done after the initial stamping. Probably more susceptible to human error.
I doubt that NOS replacements are consistently better. Also, you have to remember that any NOS parts that survived this long may have been sold once long ago and might have been returned after the buyer had a look at them. Could easily be repackaged too. Also you hear stories about this kind of part being rejected on the assembly line and sent to the replacement parts channels - though this would have only been during actual production.
Well put Rick, the point I was trying to make.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote