[DeTomaso] GT5S fender replacements...comments?

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/20/07 7:14:14 PM, markushgroup at yahoo.com writes:

<< Been taking a good clooooose hard look at my forlorn 74. Since I have a 
mildly modified 72, been thinking about wide bodying the current project I have. 
I've been looking at some of the partial GT5S fender skin replacements. 
Anyone have experiences with these? How good are they?  Or, what about the Hall 
version? >>

Cal, I suggest you not do this. I have a converted all-steel GT5-S-on-a-'72 
Pantera (for sale) in my Nevada garage right now, built by Mike Cook in the 
mid-'90s when he worked for Hall. The reproduction steel GT5-S fenders are welded 
on at the fender break-points where they drop down from the horizontal; the 4 
stock fenders & valence must be cut off, but could be resold to reclaim some 
money- and you'll need to. There's roughly 20 FEET of high-quality TIG-welding 
needed to attach the four fenders, and another 5-6 feet of weld for the 
extended steel nose and airdam. Running boards are extra and if steel, wouldl add 
another 10 feet of welding. Once all this stuff is welded on, you'll need a 
really good bodyman to dress the welds down without damage, bump out any 
heat-induced dents, reweld any thin spots and apply filler of choice to the inevitable 
thousands of weld pits, then prime and paint. Hall used to sell the steel 
GT5-S fender & airdam kit, FOB Los Angeles, for $18,000 but occasionally they 
were on sale for a few thousands less. This is a very big-dollar project- this 
example car's bodywork likely cost over $30,000 to have converted as a turn-key 
effort 10 years ago. There are very few bodyshops that would even attempt this 
today. 

As for fiberglas fenders, there's such a large area of steel that must be cut 
away to fit them, I suspect the structural integrity of the monococque would 
be weakened, and at least you'd need to brew up a good chassis bracing system, 
or fiberglas crack-repairs would likely become a way of life for you, if you 
actually attempt to drive the thing on the street.

Finally, once you do this, stock wheels and tires look ridiculous in those 
cavernous fender openings; figure another $3000-5000 for wide wheels & modern 
tires to fill things out, likely in 17 or 18" size. Oh, and stock brakes look 
really tiny and drab with 17" wheels.... more big $$$$. Don't want to discourage 
you, but drive over to our home in Minden and take a good look at this beast 
(while its still here!) before you do anything drastic to your project. I have 
some suggestions. 
FWIW- J DeRyke<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> Get a 
sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
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