[gtobird]

On my 68 Bird, I'm about ready to reassemble, I have all real GM sheetmetal on the outside of the car. Just one last issue to deal with. My passenger side front inner fender well is rotted in the front part of it from the usual battery acid. I could repair the original and make it look completely original with an entire weekend spent on it or buy one of the new repops that are now specific to Firebirds (not Camaros). I value my time, so I really hate to go the repair route on the original piece.

Of course, I would love to find an original 68 GM piece, used or NOS, but I haven't found one in many years of searching (for a price that's not ridiculous). Have any of you purchased one of the repops? If so, how was the fit and what brand did you buy? I'm only going with a repop if the fit is very good to excellent and it looks correct.

I'm going to post a wanted ad in the correct parts section in case someone actually has a good used part... I don't think I'll be that lucky.

[68tpls400]

I have used three different brands of repop inners, and they all fit like originals. I used the 'Maro ones. The only simple difference is you need to trim about 3/4" off the front leading edge to clear the bumper assembly. That area is covered once installed, so even if you make a crappy cut, you can't see it. The front inners are one of the very few pieces that are repopped darn near perfect to originals. I have not heard about correct 'bird ones. I suppose they trim the sheet metal and charge $100 more?

[jetallman]

On my 69 I was able to find the rusted part under the battery from a wrecked inner fender, I drilled the spot welds and it fit perfectly on my old one. If you can find a junk inner fender this is a cheap option

[68400BIRD]

I used a Camaro inner fender and did the cutting up front. The biggest issue were the welded nuts on the backside of the inner fender. They did not all line up with the holes in the original fender. I had to cut and weld the nuts in the correct positions. Original is always better if you have it.

[1stGenFB]

I think Ames sells the correct inner fender for the Firebird. Incidentally, I purchased Sherman inner fenders for my 68.. when put side by side with the originals they look exactly the same although I haven't installed them yet

[JLMounce]

Considering that time is a determining factory for you, what I'd do is get a correct repop and do the install. I would however retain your factory inner well and time permitting do the repair on it, then replace when you have time.

It sounds like you've done a lot of work to keep factory sheet metal on that car, so I think eventually it would be worth it to have that original wheel well. Especially if you ever intend to sell. But as long as you're just enjoying it, get that repop in there so you can get it out on the road!

[gtobird]

Originally Posted by 1stGenFB

I think Ames sells the correct inner fender for the Firebird. Incidentally, I purchased Sherman inner fenders for my 68.. when put side by side with the originals they look exactly the same although I haven't installed them yet

Where did you get the Sherman inner fender wells? Never heard of that brand, though I have seen the supposed to be "correct" matching Firebird repops on ebay. Are these "Firebird Correct" or Camaro parts?

Also, for me this is all about doing my car once and doing it as factory correct as possible. It's already been a 25 year resto project. It's finally close to done. Time to ger done this year! My problem is that I travel a lot for work, so my time at home is precious to me.

Regards,
OJ

[gtobird]

Folks,

Just to let you know, I purchased the repop inner fender well made specifically for the 67 /68 Firebird from Matt's in California, same place I bought my console.

So here's the good and bad. I have not installed it, but according to Kim, who works at Matt's, they installed a pair of these on their own car and she said the only thing that needed tweaking was to slightly elongate a hole for the battery tray, otherwise, they fit well. Based on that input, I bought the passenger side piece.

So, I received it, undamaged. If you are looking for a decent piece, this is probably it based on Kim's comments. If you are looking for a OEM correct looking piece, this isn't it. Mind you, you would have to look hard after installation to see the differences. The original piece has an additional support piece on the underside in the battery tray area. The repop piece just sort of molds this in. Probably works fine, but is different. Also, when you look at the stamping lines in the curved part of the piece, they are much sharper than the contours of the original piece.

I'm not going to use the piece I bought. I'm putting it up for sale and will continue to search for an original piece. I already have a lead thanks to this forum. Regards, OJ (aka Old Joe)