Looking for experience with fender patch panels

[cozye]

Anyone use those fender patch panels from Black Dragon on a 280z? Are they complete ? What I mean is do they come all the way down and have the lip, plus the mounting hole for the bolt that goes up into the chassis? Both my fenders have the usual hidden rot, and I'll need to either replace the fender or cut just above or below the bend and replace the bottom. I'm thinking about giving these a shot.

[grantf]

I welded repair panels on the front fenders of my Z. They did not have the bolt holes or notch, you will need to cut these out you're self. in addition there is extra metal on both the fender lip and the area that needs to be "skinned" (this will need to be hammer and dollied around the inner fender). They will produce a near perfect repair but you need to work them they are not simple bolt on pieces.

[26th-Z]

Agreed. Any of the fender patch panels are basic starting-point shapes and metal work is required to fit them. Mine came from Tabco but I'll bet the BD parts are the same. The quality of the finished repair can be near perfect.

[cozye]

Thanks for the info. I'll need to get my confidence up to attempt this I reckon. I can weld, and I can make bodywork look straight, but hammering out sheet metal beyond straightening parts isn't an area I have had experience in.

[cozye]

Just thinking here, are you guys saying that the panels have enough extra metal on them for me to finish it out with a little bending and trimming ? I've got a 3 ft metal brake too, so I can bend some straight stuff as well. Just trying to figure out what I'm getting into here. I think if they are close and I just need to weld them in place, drill and cut out a bolt tab, and do a bit of dolly work to smooth out the curves, I'll be ok.

[grantf]

First off, They are patch panels meaning you should use only what you need from them, try to save as much of the original metal that you can. the extra metal is there because they are stamped out in a die, the edges are left long, there will be no need for a press break. get a run of the mill hammer and dolly set from HF or the auto body shop and practice, it is not difficult but takes a little patience and artistry. take you're time cutting (I used a simple angle grinder with cutoff wheels) and when you weld go sloooooooow and skip around the piece to tack it then sloooooowly stitch weld, heat will warp the work if care is not taken. hope this helps.

[cozye]

First off, They are patch panels meaning you should use only what you need from them, try to save as much of the original metal that you can. the extra metal is there because they are stamped out in a die, the edges are left long, there will be no need for a press break. get a run of the mill hammer and dolly set from HF or the auto body shop and practice, it is not difficult but takes a little patience and artistry. take you're time cutting (I used a simple angle grinder with cutoff wheels) and when you weld go sloooooooow and skip around the piece to tack it then sloooooowly stitch weld, heat will warp the work if care is not taken. hope this helps.

Yeah, it helps. I'm familiar with welding sheet metal, and I'm not really worried about the other patches. I just didn't know how much extra fabrication it would take on those fenders. I'll be able to cut below the hard corner but I'll have to replace everything down from there similar to what you did. I just hadn't seen a good pic of that particular repair panel off the car, but I found one. I should be able to handle it. My biggest concern was how the fender bolted on. Thanks for the help.