has anyone ever remove there fenders to fix them then reinstall them?

[phrogs]

Heres why im asking

when I bought the car bubba had removed the front bumper bracing and had unbolted the radiator frame and let it sit inside of the engine bay so the small block hood he installed on it would close..

so now my problem is the nose is sagging very baddly and the RH fender has a crack on it and it bows out at the wheel weel... problem is the crack was bubba repaired and its still there...so I started simple and I bolted the radiator frame back up and it is still sagging, Also the inner fender wells are both resting on the frame is that right?

and they both are bowing out in the top center towards the tires like there's been to much weight on the for many years? It doesn't look right at all...

Im thinking about replacing the wheel wells and removing that fender and fixing the damage and putting it back on the car..

I am going to remove the body sometime soon I just need to finish building my body dolly does that front frame support for the front bumper actually hold the nose up? and I am reaping the benefits of it being removed for so long?
In this picture look at the front fender and you can see where it is sagging at

ill get some better ones later..

johnny

 

[Thumper]

Have you inspected the body bushings? They could be either shot or missing, which might cause the problems you are experiencing. I would replace the bushings first before I would attempt to remove the fenders. It's easy to damage the bonding strips. Your other avenue would be to replace the entire front end with one from Eckler's (or one of the many other fine vendors out there - don't want to irritate any sponsoring vendors unknowingly)

 

[phrogs]

Well as far as the bushings go all of the body mounts have been removed that is defently one problem,
but that passenger side fender is cracked pretty good in 2 spots and that is letting the nose hang down a bit...

Im not going to replace the whole nose im going NCRS and I have alot of experience with fiberglass just wondering if anyone had done it like this before I bought a couple of books from Corvette central that go into big detail on removing and replacing panels
Is very informitive!

basically im looking to remove the pressure that is on the fender so I can repair it then reinstall it..

not a big deal really just need to be patient and have the right tools..

I want to keep all my original parts as much as possible


thanks..

johnny

 

[69autoXr]

There should be a nose support rod that extends from the radiator support to the inside of the nose bar (the piece that is rivevted in place under the fiberglass, the rivets are hidden by the bumper). Other than that, I agree with the previous post...you'll always be fighting cracks in repaired areas, replace the whole front end surround, door to door.