Fenders & Quarter Panels in Dallas, TX

Six things worth knowing before you order

• Fenders arrive in e-coat primer, not paint. E-coat is a corrosion barrier, so scuff and seal it rather than shooting color straight over the top of it.
• The bolt holes on a budget fender are usually fine. What varies is the gap along the door edge, which is why we hang one against a straightedge before it goes in the box.
• Quarter panels come two ways: the full welded panel, or a repair section cut at the factory seam. The section is cheaper and faster if the damage stopped below the belt line.
• High-strength low-alloy steel does not take heat the way old mild steel did. Shrink it wrong and the panel loses the strength it was specified for.
• Aluminum fenders on newer trucks need isolating washers where they meet steel brackets, otherwise you have built a galvanic corrosion cell into a brand new panel.
• Fender liners get skipped to save thirty dollars and then the wiring harness behind them collects road salt and grit all winter.
• Fender-mounted turn signal and side marker cutouts differ between trim levels, and the cutout is stamped rather than cut, so the wrong one cannot be corrected.
• The bolt at the top rear of a fender is what sets the door gap, and loosening all of them before torquing any of them is the difference between a good fit and a visible step.
• Wheel arch mouldings and cladding leave clip holes in the fender. A bare fender for a clad trim level will have those holes; one for an unclad trim will not.
• Quarter panel repair sections are cut at the factory seam for a reason, which is that the seam is where the metal thickness changes and the weld is easiest to dress.
• Sail panels between the rear door and the quarter are frequently a separate stamping, and on a light rear impact that is often the only panel actually damaged.
• Inner fender aprons carry the strut tower load on unibody cars, so damage there is structural and belongs on a frame machine, not on a bench.