As always a picture speaks a 1000 words. So are you saying that if you put a straight edge along the hood edge of the fender you will have a gap?

 

This is my 2nd post about this...I ordered a new set of fenders from NPD and get them on Thursday the 23rd. I got the installed over the weekend and the right one is not formed correctly..I called on Monday the 27th and the guy one the phone took my number and said the guy in shipping will call me back tomorrow so long story short still no call back.. I told the guy on the phone they were not damaged in shipping.
The fender at the 90* where it meets the hood about 8” from the cowl going towards the front is not a straight line if dives in towards the hood. So my gap of a 1/4 in at the rear edge of the hood disappears by the time it gets to the front. If you eyeball that 90* bend you can see that it is not straight...
Any one else have an issue with this??

Yes, photographs would indeed help.

Which NPD location did you order from? I would assume that your call on the 27th would have been to that same location. Did you jot down a name?

Please realize that there is very little "variation" in the stamping process. We're talking about steel tooling here, under the pressure of a couple thousand tons. It doesn't come out of there wonky, unless the tooling is wonky.

Where there is more frequently variation in fenders, is in the secondary assemblies (braces, buckets, edges, etc..) where the main stamping/skin can get twisted and/or corrupted.

So reading your explanation, I am doubting a replacement fender would net any gain for you. I am also wondering if this is not a dynamic that can be dealt with in adjustment. We've been going through these fenders like crazy without any consistent or endemic issues.

Last, I've posted some photos below of my 1,300 original mile '65 coupe, and you can see from the factory that the hood's relationship to the fender is gappy (wide) on the RH side, but almost closes-up to the fender on the LH. There was plenty of adjustment necessary to make these cars fit-up, and the assembly line only had "so much" time to accomplish it.

But if we find some measure of serious/defective issue with your fender, we'll work with you on it.

Rick
NPD

 

My OEM hood and fenders on my ‘66 GT closely resemble the gaps pictured by Rick. On both sides actually. Now I don’t feel so bad. Thanks Rick. ?

 

My gaps are like that too, and I've pretty much given up on corrections. My attitude now is "It is what it is and the hell with it".

 

I tried to get a picture to show it better but I could not if you look down the line like I said in my previous post where the hood meets the fender is not straight if you look at the other side it's perfectly straight I would say there is something wrong with the tooling or how the metal was put in the form I don't remember I should have gotten a name of who I talk to and I called the
Carolina store. Where the parts came from.
Ill try and get a picture tonight.

 

In the meantime, I'm going to try and get a look at RH fenders in our inventory to see if I can detect this "wandering" or "non-straightness" along the inner fender edge where it borders the hood. My only problem being meetings, appointments, and then having to pick my daughter up from school today. This may spill into next week (I'm not around this computer on weekends), but we won't leave you hanging...

Rick
NPD

 

I'm still kinda hoping for a photo.

 

It's always best to assemble these cars the way Ford did. The trunk lid and doors were installed and aligned before painting, of course. Then install the hood, aligned with the front edge of the cowl. Then install the fenders, aligned to the hood, and fine-tune to match the doors at the bottom.

As you can see, by doing this it would be impossible to have a 1/4" gap on one side, narrowing to nothing at the front. This gap taper tells me the fender is not installed properly. You must follow the edge of the hood with the fender. It helps, of course, if the hood is aligned correctly to the cowl.

 

Thanks rick. Where do these fenders come from besides Taiwan?
Patrick this is not my first build. Worked in a body shop for years and did some very high end restorations. I know how to assemble a car. This fender is very defective the way it was stamped or the tooling is worn out.
I can assume that rick will find others having the same issue.

 

Thanks rick. Where do these fenders come from besides Taiwan?

The answer is "nowhere". Taiwan is all there is. That said, there must be at least three, and likely four, active tooling sets and manufacturers in Taiwan doing 65-66 fenders. Ours are the best we've been able to identify of the four.

Artiflex was stamping 65-66 with Ford Tooling up until last year, but they have ceased producing, and there's little hope of any other stamping operation taking the tooling over. We have three LH O.E. Tooling fenders remaining, but we are completely out of RH.

 

Worn tooling would be easy to spot, the sharp bend at the edge of the hood opening would be rounded off. Even on OEM stuff, this can be seen, if you've ever had an unrestored early 65 door next to a late 66 door. Supposedly identical, the body line is noticeably sharper on the early door.

 

The other question is how many dies were there? It would not be uncommon to have more than one set of tooling especially if they changed the design of the tooling due to tool wear early on.

I have been working on fender alignment of my 66 today. Picked up fenders yesterday. Sorry NPD is too far away and truck shipping is quite pricey. Mine look like the ones in the above picture. The gaps look decent actually and tighter than Ricks car and I have the doors tighter gapped at the rear than usual.
The issue they all seem to have is at the top where it interferes with the little bulge on the cowl panel. The pass side one is a little too tight as in think of a C shape and it needs to open a little. Not perfect fit but for $under $300 for a new pair of fenders they really aren't bad.

 

I went and pulled/unwrapped a "random" 16005-1C RH fender, and I could not see anything that I would consider troubling or defective. The photos I've placed below give the appearance of a slight softening in the 90-degree angle down to the mounting flange towards the 16-20 inches of the front of the fender, but upon checking the angle, it checks out true and 90-degrees front to back. Besides, if anything, that would cause your gap with the hood to widen, not narrow. I think that the bend itself gets a bit muddled towards the front, and that would indeed be in the tooling, but I'm not considering this to be a critical thing, especially considering all of the myriad other issues that can exist with repro fenders.

Either way, a bit of adjusting on that flange angle, in or out, should be a straightforward operation. I do NOT profess to be a body man (to any stretch of the imagination LOL ), but I've seen problems of this sort get fixed quickly with a block of wood and a mallet.

Unless I am completely off-base here... I may not be properly understanding what's going on with the fender you've got. The photos will hopefully help.

Rick
NPD

 

A photo would certainly help Rick help you,......

 

This makes me rethink wanting to buy a new fender or try to repair my old one. I repaired my DS fender but the LS is almost to the point of is it worth it repairing or buying new and putting in a little work on the new one.

 

With all of the fitment issues associated with repop fenders I'd be looking for some original Ford fenders even if they require some repair. I went through this on my '65 left fender and I finally gave up on trying to get a repop to fit properly.

 

Ok guys I have a Plummer and an electrician coming today so I will try to get some Pictures
later today or tomorrow..

 

Now that's called SERVICE on Rick's part! No wonder NPD gets my business and many other Mustang enthusiasts, as well as other makes.

 

@69bossnine Rick, what is the best way to get in touch with you directly. I am having an issue with bumpers I purchased and I was hoping to contact you directly.
TIA

 

Ok Guys here’s the best I can do and I can almost see the same thing in one of the pictures Rick posted. So what do you think?? I am pointing where the bend starts..

 

Ok Guys here’s the best I can do and I can almost see the same thing in one of the pictures Rick posted. So what do you think?? I am pointing where the bend starts.. View attachment 743301 View attachment 743301 View attachment 743302

OK, so we are looking at the area of the fender from where your finger is, REARWARD towards the cowl. And yes, I remember it being a bit wonkier back there than it should be, mostly along where the fender butts-up against the upper cowl panel. You can see where the factory has to roll-over the vertical lip of the fender back there, so that there's clearance for the cowl, just behind the hinges. And since this is a manual/secondary maneuver, it can cause variation. I do not think that the fender I photographed for you was NEARLY as bad as what I see in your photos. I've also attached a photo of my low-mile coupe, which shows the gap "wandering" at the cowl by at least 1/16", just so we can keep our expectations realistic. When doing secondary operations with fixtures, this type of stuff was common even back in the day.

BUT, I'm thinking you've got a RH fender that falls outside of the standard-deviation norm.. An outlier.. But I want to go back and re-visit that fender with a straight-edge rule, and probably unwrap a couple more. Then we'll decide what to do.

My Mondays are TOTAL CHAOS, so bear with me if this slides into tomorrow. Also, where are you located?

Rick
NPD

 

Ok, easy to see it now. Yep that's squirrely. It looks as though it dips in at the rear bolt, comes back out in the middle, then back in between the front 2 bolt locations.

 

Good to see that you agree with me.
22GT any comments now??
Thanks

 

I too see the issue but I don’t think another fender would help.

There’s no way that can be adjusted.

Honestly, on my car there are some spots that just don’t look good from reproduction metal and I just left it as there was not a lot I could do. If you go to a show, pop the hood and nobody will see it

 

Believe me if there was a way to fix it I would not started this post..At the point of my finger it moves in about 3/8 of an inch and so does the line at the top of the fender..
My major concern is there all like this in stock as the tooling has failed.

 

Can you lay a straight edge along there and actually measure how much it dips in?

 

why do all these little discrepancies bother everyone so much, its just a repl part.
even the NOS bad boys werent perfect to begin with

Rick is a busy guy who goes above and beyond for us.
sometimes you have just give him a break, bolt on the part and be done with it

im sure in time youll forget all about the minor imperfections it as i did

I was hell bent that my dashes direct dash pad was a bad fit. Now I dont even notice it anymore. same with my 70 front bumper thats pulled out more on the DS than it is on the PS. never even
looked at it again. never bothered me again. I can go on and on lol

 

Its not the cowl area at all its from my finger toward the front there is a bow in the 90* edge from my finger foward. The left fender is fine i have some massaging to. do on it but its workable. Like i said a couple times already this fender is way off,,that line is not even close to be straight.

 

He asked you where you are. The gentleman is making an effort to resolve your displeasure with the part.

My advice would be to work with him and I suspect he'll do everything in his power (considerable although not omnipotent) to address the fender issue.

 

Post a pic with a straight edge against it as requested and let Rick know where you're located. I'm sure he'll make it right!

 

Northern New Jersey.

 

Just saw this. I'll ship out of Michigan. But please get me a good shot or two of this bow next to a long-enough straight-edge such that we can see, to ensure we don't repeat the same dilemma.

 

Rick you have a PM...

 

I'm dying to see a picture with a straight edge against the fender, don't leave us hangin ?