1953 to 1958 rear fenders on ebay for cheap ..

[Jett289]

http://www.partsgeek.com/sq9ttg5-stu...+Quarter+Panel

Has anyone tried these?
Are they fiberglass?

[Flashback]

They are even cheaper at Rock Auto. $259, something. Be aware of the notice about shipping damage. I got two and Fed Ex dragged them behind the truck for 27 miles. Look before the shipper leaves. They are steel and fit good.

Here's the right side on my car.

[Jett289]

Looks great .. Had to laugh about the Fed Ex comment that is for sure ..
These fenders would fit the GT Hawks as well correct?

[swvalcon]

They will fit the gt's if you rework the last couple inches at the rear where it meets the tail light at the top.

[TX Rebel]

those make my originals hard to sell

[Flipper]

Nice to know those exist. Do they make any 53 front sheetmetal ?

[58PackardWagon]

Amazing! One couldn't even get rust repair done on a set of originals for that price.

[StudeRich]

Their Ad sure needs a bit of help though, as it fits WAY more and less than just '53-58 Commanders.

[mbstude]

Nice to know those exist.

That's a big issue when it comes to reproducing Studebaker parts. Someone (or some company) will front the money to reproduce a desirable part, and the biggest reaction from potential customers is always, "Oh, I've been looking for these for years. Now I know where to get them", with very few actual buyers.

A few years ago while living in the Atlanta area, I knew a Stude guy that worked at Goodmark and his boss asked the employees, "What should we add to our catalog?" Having a Hawk at the time, the employee said that Stude C/K rear fenders would be a great product to offer, since it's a desirable part and it's not an overly complex stamping to make. His boss said, "Find us a pair of NOS ones to copy, and we'll consider it". My friend laughed and told him there were no NOS ones.

A few days later, the employee and I are talking and within a day, I had tracked down 2 sets of NOS rear quarters for sale. Goodmark bought a set from an SDCer in Pennsylvania and a little while later, the new ones were available. Goodmark stepped up and made them available. From everything I've seen and read, the quality and fit is great and those that have bought them are happy with them. Sadly, I think Goodmark ended up dealing with the "CASO Curse" and has dropped the price significantly in hopes of getting rid of them. They were about $900 a pair when they first came on the market. It's too bad that more Stude guys don't speak with their wallets when it comes to supporting the vendors that spend barrels of money to reproduce stuff.

[Jett289]

I think blaming it all on the CASO is a bit unfair .. You just can not compare restoring Studebakers to the usual brand x autos . Thousands of fords, chevs and Chrysler products are being restored compared to Studebakers .. So a company took a chance and reproduced a Studebaker product and has realized the numbers are not there .. I went to many all brand car shows this past summer and most of them I was the only Studebaker there .. I don't have a lot of money and like anyone else I will take advantage of a decent deal ..

[bensherb]

They will fit the gt's if you rework the last couple inches at the rear where it meets the tail light at the top.

A few years ago I did this in the opposite direction I made a '62 fender fit my dads '53. It was surprisingly easy, I just cut about a 4"x 6" section from the top corner of the '53 fender and grafted it in place of the same bit I removed from the '62 fender. It fit perfectly, no filler required.

[3x2stude]

Goodmark still has 50 pair on hand. I just communicated with Steve Tomblin there a few day ago. I do not know how many pair they made nor do I know how many of them are still out there with vendors. They are high quality and fit well. I bought the first two pair once they were available. I test fit and put them back in the box. They are next to my NOS and mint used pile of rear fenders. I am a sheet metal junkie, my son says I have too many. If I do not have them all I do not have too many. But to Goodmark's lack of sales I would not blame the CASO guys either. My opinion is that they picked the easiest body part to find mint used or NOS, as I stated I have several NOS, 7 and 2 pair used, (none for sale for now). Now a door skin or front fender is way harder to find at a reasonable price. I have purchased several front fenders NOS from $200 to $800 and none are cherry. I got lucky and bought 3 C body door shells from SI a couple of years ago and as I remember they were $750 a piece. I have not seen one since and have never seen a skin for sale in 10 years. Goodmark flat out picked the wrong part to do first. Just my opinion. Now, I sucked it up and bought two pair from the get go knowing that I did not really need them but they would save time someday to do a car. Now if the last 100 were bought and a "serious" request were made for front fenders was made maybe they could be schmoozed into putting their feet back in the pool.

JK