Perf. Prods. Fiberglass Fenders...

Has anyone purchased a fiberglass fender for an early model 911 from Performance Products? If so, what was the fit like? Quality?

I started sanding down my 911 over the weekend ans found that what looked to be surface rust was much deeper than I thought it would be. The previous owner kept his mouth shut about the bondo job that I just uncovered. Kinda pisses me off how dishonest people can be. I would have still bought the car even if I had known, but I would have offered a few hundred less than I paid.

The performance products fiberglass fenders look pretty good and are much more affordable than a steel replacement. Anyway, the only thing that I don't like is that the fenders have to be shipped by truck freight. I guess I'll wait until I get a new 20% off coupon before I order...provided you guys don't tell me that the fiberglass units are crap. Thanks for the help.

Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout

I hear your pain, Bill. When I bought mine the seller said nothing about the .5+ inch layer of bondo on the driver side fender and door that covered holes and patched up places. I may have still bought the car, and you're right, would've offered a LOT less. (stupid me, first Porsche, no pre-purchase inspection) Good thing we live on an island and word gets around. Well, as far as the glass fenders go I would suggest you shopping around first; Perf. prod isn't the cheapest out there, though I don't know about quality. Hopefully others can point you in the right direction. Good luck!

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Jeff
1976 911S

Bill,
This is just my option so just take it for what it's worth. I was considering rear flares for my car also. I started talking to a lot of people and did some research.I found if I went with fiberglass it will really hurt the re-sell value of my car If I ever desided to sell it ( Right!). So I went with a set off of a 83 SC. I would start posting adds and looking on ebay and I'm sure you can come across a set at a reasonable price. If the re-sell value isn't of much concern then check with
http://www.wholesaler-usa.com/rennspeed/
I bought a front and rear RS style bumpers for my 71 911E and was happy with the fiberglass workmanship.

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Randy
71 911E

Randy,

Thanks for the Rennspeed link. They look like they have really good prices. I am not at all concerned about resale value. I already have way too much money into the car. Since my 911 is a T model, I doubt that I would ever get all of the invested money back. Besides, I have done a lot of work on the car with my father as a hobby, and I absolutely love how the car drives. I still have a long way to go(and a lot more money to spend), but I have enjoyed the experience. Thanks again.

Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout

I talked to a guy named Peter at Rennspeed today through e-mail. He was very helpful. The Rennspeed site only listed 911R fiberglass fenders, not an OEM style fiberglass replacement. The picture of the 911R fender that he sent me did not appear to have a turnsignal hole in it, so I told him that the site didn't list the other fender. Anyway, he sent me a picture of the OEM style and gave me a price of $575/pair and $90 UPS shipping cost. Sounds very reasonable to me.

I do have a few questions though...are the new fenders pre-drilled for attachment bolts? They looked like they were in the picture. Also, how does Rennspeed get away with shipping the fenders by UPS when every other catalog I looked at states that their fenders are shipped by truck freight only. Perf. Prods offers fiberglass fenders and they only ship by truck freight, so it can't be the weight that causes truck freight shipment. Also, what is the quality of the Rennspeed units? I am planning on sending them a check within the next few days. Thanks.

Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout

For what it's worth, I got my used steel SC flares and my new fiberglass RS rear bumper from Peter at Rennspeed. I was very happy with everythinh he sent -- all by UPS, all the way to my bodyshop guy in central Illinois.

I think it makes sense to get steel rear flares. Front flares should also be steel, but I can see an arugment for full fiberglass fenders. I don't see any reason to get front or rear bumpers in steel. That's weight you don't need at the most spin-inducing point on the car. One warning, though: lighten the back before you lighten the front, or you exaggerate the problem of the 911's weight distribution.

With a fiberglass bumper in back, I'm seriously considering a fiberglass S-type front spoiler and a fiberglass front hood. Both can be swapped out for the steel parts, so resale isn't affected (sell the car -- yeah, right), and both would save me some weight.

Any experiences with fiberglass hoods out there?

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Jack Olsen
1973 911 T (3.6) sunroof coupe
jackolsen@mediaone.net

Jack,

Fibreglass schmiberglass. Go carbon fiber. Lighter=faster, right?

Tom

warment,
The reason Rennspeed gets away with shipping UPS is they take the time to hand wrap it for shipping and package it so UPS will except it. Unlike the other companies. I guess Rennspeed really cares about customer satisfaction and will do what they need too to keep the cost down. The catalog companies really don't care.

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Randy
71 911E

That makes sense to me Randy. Peter was very responsive. I'm sending my check out tomorrow morning. I'll let everyone know how the install goes. From what the Perf. Prods. catalog said, each fiberglass fender is 15lbs lighter than the steel units they replace. A diet of 30lbs should help my car a little bit, especially since I dynamatted the interior. The dynamat weighs at least that much. I'm going to purchase an RS spoiler in the future as well, so that should save me a few pounds too. Thanks for the input!

Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout

Guys,

I pulled my bondo filled left front fender off of my car over the weekend. One of the bolts was a real pain in the A**! Anyway, the unibody underneath looked really good. A lot of dirt fell out, but no rust. However, the "fender joining plate" that connects the fender to the body had some rust at the bottom. I put in an order from Perf. Prods. for replacements for both sides(just in case), along with their fender attachment kit. I also put in my order through Rennspeed for fiberglass front fender replacements, so they should be in this week sometime. I'll let everyone know what I think of the quality/fit of the new fenders when I get them on. I want to sand, prep, and paint the area under the fenders since I have them pulled off. I may also order a set of Bilstein shocks since I now have easy access.

Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout

About Fiberglass....

1. Fiberglass does not bond well to metal. You will have cracking, over time. and if you drive hard, sooner than later.

2. If you bolt them on (bumpers) then Fiberglass is fine, but bonding is marginal at best.

Steel is a much better option, and the cost is not that much higher, given the result. Here is another link for you.

Restoration Design...

http://www.restoration-design.com/index1.html



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Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HOLD ON!

1978 911 SC

As far as I could tell, the new fiberglass fenders bolt up to the fender joining plates with 6 bolts on each side, and also bolt up to the unibody with like 6-8 bolts too. Let me know if I am wrong. I like the idea of saving a little weight, and I like the idea of saving some money. I'm not worried about resale value, since I probably will keep the car for a long time.

Bill
Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout

I have a tool I purchased some years ago; one of many on the market. It's basically a magnet with a built-in weigh scale. It's designed to measure paint thickness applied to a ferrous (steel) surface. It's calibrated, so the greater the pull-off force from the surface, the thinner the paint thickness. You don't want excesssive paint and bondo as it's more prone to crack. Likewise, when you're color sanding or using an electric buffer, you use this gauge to locate the thick and thin areas of paint finish; avoids taking off too much, especially with modern finishes.

This tool also comes in handy when you're car shopping. You can detect the presence of foreign, non-magnetic materials (e.g. bondo, resin, fiberglass, etc.) hiding under nice paint.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

Sherwood,

I have seen these tools in magazines before. I never really knew how they worked though. Thanks for the explanation. I really wish I would have purchased one before I bought the car. I am sure that it would have easily paid for itself! I still love my car though...even if it does suck money like a hoover!

Bill

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William Armentrout
1973 911T
2.7 carerra rs specs
www.geocities.com/william_armentrout