Can you remove and refit inner fenders without pulling the fenders?

Racingsnake

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I'd like to pull the inner fenders on my '68 Fury when I swap engines so I can get better access to clean and paint the front stub frame. Can I do this without pulling the outer fenders?
 
The short answer is yes. It is usually easier to just pull the front clip and do whatever disassembly is needed with the sheet metal off the car. This also give a lot better access to clean up and paint the stub. If this is a high point restoration, the stub should be pulled from the car and the various components should be removed from the stub prior to the repaint. Some parts, like the control arms were usually not painted from the factory. This is also a good time to replace the control arm and strut rod bushings as they are likely also over 50 years old.
If you just want to pull the inner fender wells, remove the front wheels, remove all the mounting bolts for the well and it should come out. Be advised that the bolts near the battery will often strip out or break off from acid contamination.

Dave
 
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Thanks, I don’t really want to pull the whole clip. It’s not a high end resto, I just want to clean it up a bit. I will be rebuilding the front suspension at the same time though.
 
At first you might fight with them but when you get the right angle they fall out. I've done it a few times, not hard. It'll take more time removing all the clips and stuff attached to them than getting them out.


Alan
 
It is not as simple as described above. A problem is that the core support sits on top of a tab on the the front of the inner fender wells and as I recall there are studs sticking out of the stub frame that the inner fenders and core support go over. It is going to be very difficult to remove the core support without unbolting part of the fenders, which means that you will have to realign the fenders. My advice is to work around the inner fender wells and leave them in place. This applies to '67 & '68 C Bodies.
 
I just recently removed and refinished the inners on my 65 Polara 880. It took a little extra work but I chose to remove the grill, rad and rad support. I found it gave me full access to all areas and saved my gut and ribs trying to reach all the hard to get to areas. Was quite easy and it went back together in no time,,
 
Thanks for the replies. The front clip has never been off and all fits nicely so if I’d have to realign anything I’ll just leave the inner fenders and work around them.
 
It is not as simple as described above. A problem is that the core support sits on top of a tab on the the front of the inner fender wells and as I recall there are studs sticking out of the stub frame that the inner fenders and core support go over. It is going to be very difficult to remove the core support without unbolting part of the fenders, which means that you will have to realign the fenders. My advice is to work around the inner fender wells and leave them in place. This applies to '67 & '68 C Bodies.
They must have changed it in 69, as there is nothing but the inner fender bolts holding it in, nothing pinched in, nothing hidden. The service manual says to remove it (no mention of removing anything else) to get to the heater fan.

I'll be removing them this weekend, I'll report back.


Alan
 
To get to my heater fan and to remove the entire A/C housing on my '70 300, I had to remove the passenger inner fender.

As mentioned above, it took longer to remove the various items bolted to the inner and to remove the wheel, than it did removing the ten (or so) bolts and removing the inner. Doing so does allow for a lot of access to the stub and the A arms, the side of the engine, etc. I have not removed the driver side, but it is essentially the same easy procedure once the engine-side accessories are removed. Again, this is for a 70 Hurst, not a 68 Fury, so YMMV.

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Reinstalling it is a bit fiddly when aligning bolt holes, as the inner is pretty flexible when not bolted in place. You'll find that an awl or small drift pin is important to line those bolt holes up.

If you don't already have it, you'll probably want an underhood wiring strap package, like this: Electrical, Under Hood Strap Kits :Mega Parts USA The OEM straps are dead-brittle by now.

The advice from Dave Lux regarding bolts near the battery a good thing to keep in mind. If your battery tray is okay, the inner's bolts "should" be okay, but anything near a battery just LOVES corrode.
 
Unfortunately the '67-68 is a different design. As Furygt said, it looks like the radiator support would have to come out too and I’m not sure that can be done without disturbing the fenders. I’ll have a closer look when I pull the motor but I’m leaning towards leaving it all in place.
 
Unfortunately the '67-68 is a different design. As Furygt said, it looks like the radiator support would have to come out too and I’m not sure that can be done without disturbing the fenders. I’ll have a closer look when I pull the motor but I’m leaning towards leaving it all in place.

I know this all to well as I have a '68 Fury with new paint with the fenders hung and core support in but the inner fenders were not installed so I either have to unbolt the fenders and remove the core support or change the "tab" with a hole that goes on the stud under the core support or carefully turn that bolt hole into a slot and try to slide them in under the core support, which I hate to do because the inner fenders are also newly painted. The problem is that it is a stud, not a bolt that sticks up out of the stub-frame that secures the inner fender and core support to the stub-frame.

In '69 the entire way that the fenders and inner wheel house were installed and designed changed. '65 - '68's use an inner and an outer inner fender well.
 
carefully turn that bolt hole into a slot and try to slide them in under the core support, which I hate to do because the inner fenders are also newly painted.

I suppose you're concerned with gouging the paint and causing rust. You could get some of this PTFE film and put it in that spot so the pieces slide together without rubbing the painted surface: McMaster-Carr
 
The problem is that it is a stud, not a bolt that sticks up out of the stub-frame that secures the inner fender and core support to the stub-frame.
I guess the stud is welded to the stub-frame? Would it help to drill the stud out and tap the frame for a bolt instead?
 
I guess the stud is welded to the stub-frame? Would it help to drill the stud out and tap the frame for a bolt instead?
Stud is threaded in’68. If you have room for a double jam nut you may be able to screw it out.
 
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