Help me I'm stooopid!

[Don Jordan]

I am having my car painted - left rear fender was pretty banged up. I told the guy I could probably buy one cheaper than he could fix the old one. I went to a junk yard and bought a left rear fender for a 48 Plymouth.

So far so good. The guy called me yesterday and said the fender didn't fit. It is all fixed up, painted, beautiful - AND IT DOESN'T FIT!!

I figure what I did was get a fender of a business coupe. I can't believe it. To just eye ball it you can't tell but it's about 2" too long. I guess I can try to sell it but I wouldn't even know how to pack it. The paint is beautiful.

now what?

Merry Christmas.

[pflaming]

At least for a while I'd drive it as is just to see how many would notice. Eventually it will probably bug you enough to change it, but I would have some fun first!

[Dennis_MN]

If it is as nice as you say, hang it on the garage wall with a neon clock in the wheel opening. Or the living room wall if it is really nice.

Dennis

[Rodney Bullock]

You guy's are brutal, This guy thought he was doing the right thing and this happens. You will have to chalk this up as a lesson. The coupe and sedan rarly have the same rear fender front yes:) After the holidays go and get the right one and have a laugh with your bodyman, what can he do shot you:eek: He should have test fitted it to begin with, merry Xmas

[BobT-47P15]

I think the rear fenders work on all models of the P15, with possible exception of the wagon. I only saw one part number of rear fender in a preliminary

brief look at the parts manual.

I wonder if the junkyard guy took it off a Plym at the time of sale, or

if it was lying around and had maybe been mis-tagged. Probably a Ford

fender looks similar to a Plym fender. Just guessing.

[Don Jordan]

Just thought I'd show you what I'm talking about.

Anyone have a business coupe that could share the measurements of the rear fender? This one is different from the 2 door sedan and the 4 door sedan.

But just to eyeball it I couldn't tell.

It's all so frustrating.

[Norm's Coupe]

Don,

I think the body shop just doesn't know how to fit the fender. All P15 rear fenders are the same as BobT mentioned. There is only one part number for all in the parts books. Same answer for the front fenders on all P15's. However, they do fit into the slotted holes. You just have to move them forward or backwards to get them lined up correctly. Also, the fender brace is important, it pushes the fender out away from the body of the car, thus making the fender shorter when you do that.

So..........any P15 fender you locate or buy is going to fit the same.

[Plymouthy Adams]

be careful that it is not a Dodge fender

the Plymouth fender on my coupe is 57 inches approx from where the spash pan meets .across the wheel opening to the widest lower part of the dogleg..the Dodge is 59 1/2 inces approx. at the same measurements...the Dodge wrap is a bit more round and the fender itself is more like a forward and rearward hump above the wheel opening with a quick curve compared to the Plymouth sloping curve.

Seems like everyone still think that they are the same parts Plymouth and Dodge as they look very similar in body style..

[BobT-47P15]

Plymouth fender part number, per the book is....Left rear....81148 954.

Tim has a point......could be a Dodge, Desoto or Chrysler fender for that

matter.

Wonder if anything could have warped that fender slightly to cause it not to fit up correctly.

[Frank M.]

Like Tim Says----thats likely a Dodge or De Soto fender. They are the same and will interchange. It will also fit Chrysler,except for the hole where the Chry. side bumper braces go thru. They probably were all stamped and the ones for Chry. had a hole punched in. Bet theres lotsa Dodge guys out there that would like that fender. All Ply fenders were the same--except for Station Wagons. Even those could be used on steel bodies with some reworking. Someone surely will want that fender,if you havent all ready been contacted. Frank M.

[Plymouthy Adams]

steel bodied wagons 49-52 used the same fender as the P18 only the trim height in relationship to the wheel opening changed...these fenders were reversed and found on the front of the route van..

[Norm's Coupe]

Well, Don claims he took that fender off a 48 Plymouth in the junkyard. So.....it should fit his P15. That said, here's a little tidbit from experience.

When I bought my coupe both rear fenders were dented. Left one was pretty bad. I picked up a pair of good fenders from a 4 door 47 Plymouth. I was able to knock out the dent in the right fender, so never changed it. However, I did swap out the left rear fender. Since I have never repaired the quarter panel rust spot, I did not fully install the left rear fender. It's just held on with about half the bolts right now. I also have a spot to repair in the left rear corner where the fender attaches to the rear of the car. So, there is no bolt in that spot either. Because of this, the bottom rear corner of the left fender does slightly extend beyond the rear of the body. However, if I loosen the rest of the bolts on the fender I can then line the fender up properly by pushing it forward firmly. So.........I think the best way to properly line up the rear fender is to install all bolts loosely. Then push the fender forward from the rear, tighten the left lower rear bolt, then pull out or push in the front of the rear fender at the quarter panel. Once it's lined up, then tighten it. Then tighten the rest of the bolts, then mount the fender brace from the fender to the frame. There are several holes in the frame close together to mount the fender brace to at the rear of the wheel well. You may need two people to make life easier doing this, just like you do when aligning the hood.

[Frank Elder]

Well put, it is much easier done with 2 than 1, Esmey said she could hear my yosemite sam imitation all the way in the living room. So wasn't I surprised when she came outside in her gardening duds to lend a hand. She's a good wrencher and more patient than I!

[John Mulders]

Don,

don't want to upset you more but that color black is just a tat off from the car color !

Hope you get the right fender though! These things always are frustrating.

John

[Don Jordan]

Now I am confused. If there is only one rear fender and one size fits all -

I was going to go buy another fender for $200 - but maybe I should put it off and try to fit it on again. I was there and the guy placed it up against the body and it was clearly a few inches off. Could that slack be taken up by bolting it on and pushing it back?

This is all so frustrating.

I'm going out now to measure both the 2 door fender and the blue one to see how much they are off. It's cold outside and this is truly a job for summer.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Don..if it is any consulation to you when fitting my rear fenders back on the Suburban body after welding in new metal etc..the fender are a tad longer even on mine..this is due in part (at least to my thinking) to the slight outward bow these fenders get when mounted...the lower brace hel[s to stabalize and maintain this bow...also that when fitting both rear fenders, the brace should be adjusted in inches from the inner body to maintain a even profile from the rear...again, this is attributed to the outward bow...you may very well have the correct fender..that can very well be checked against the other side in regard to the slope from teh middle top of wheel opening to the rear beumper..the Dodge is more like a double hump as I stated earlier...I have two P15's here and one D24 this allowed the measurements I posted earlier..

[Norm's Coupe]

Don,

Good decision putting off on putting out another $200 for another fender. If they are all P15 fenders, they'll all be the same size. Like Tim mentioned, that brace that goes to the frame helps take up some of those inches you are talking about. All P15 fenders are the same, unless someone messed them up somehow.

[steveplym]

I think I had the same issue when putting on my fenders. It took a little fitting to get it on just right. They do bow out some. A few inches off are quite a bit though. I'd measure your other fenders for comparison. Trial and error may be the only option.

[Rodney Bullock]

You guy's are brutal, This guy thought he was doing the right thing and this happens. You will have to chalk this up as a lesson. The coupe and sedan rarly have the same rear fender front yes:) After the holidays go and get the right one and have a laugh with your bodyman, what can he do shot you:eek: He should have test fitted it to begin with, merry Xmas

Hey Don after doing some checking around these guy's are right that fender just needs to be mounted with bolts abd brace. My car is a P-9 and all those fenders on the rear are the same that is for a Plymouth. You have to mount it, in the installation of it alot of inches are taken up:D Don't fret you are on your way!

[Don Jordan]

Rod - thank you. I'm going down Monday and work with the body man and see if we can take up the slack and make it fit.

I sure thought the business coupe had longer fenders - optical illusion ...

[RobertKB]

Hey Don, thanks for the laughs. Every time I see the topic of your thread (Help me I'm Stoopid!), it makes me laugh. We have all been stooopid at some point with our cars and can relate to what you are going through. It will work out one way or the other in the end.