Looking for guidance/general estimates for exterior mod (fenders/rear quarters)

[thrillswills]

I am strongly considering buying the squared fenders and rear quarter kit from Advanced Fiberglass Concepts once I get my Bronco. It looks like they come well-primed to paint. I've never done exterior mods like this on a vehicle though and am trying to estimate my "all in" cost, as well as get guidance on the best route to go. I assume most body shops will just be able to obtain the Ford paint I'll need to match my vehicle, but apart from the cost of the parts, painting the fenders and rear panels/installation, are there any other costs/considerations I'm not thinking of? Do I need to specifically look for body shops that work on Ford vehicles, etc?

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[Silver-Bolt]

"Ford" doesn't make paint. Any decent bodyshop will be able to match your paint. To get the fiberglass panels to have a factory looking fit and finish is going to take some work. Done properly it will look great. Done half-azzed it will look terrible. The glass parts will need to be body worked to fit properly, primed, blocked, sealed, colored and cleared. I highly recommend using an undercoating product on the inside of the glass parts. Over time rocks and other debris kicked up by your tires will chip away at the fiberglass. I would expect the fitting and painting process to cost you in the neighborhood of $2500-$4000 (plus the cost of the fiberglass parts).

 

[thrillswills]

"Ford" doesn't make paint. Any decent bodyshop will be able to match your paint. To get the fiberglass panels to have a factory looking fit and finish is going to take some work. Done properly it will look great. Done half-azzed it will look terrible. The glass parts will need to be body worked to fit properly, primed, blocked, sealed, colored and cleared. I highly recommend using an undercoating product on the inside of the glass parts. Over time rocks and other debris kicked up by your tires will chip away at the fiberglass. I would expect the fitting and painting process to cost you in the neighborhood of $2500-$4000 (plus the cost of the fiberglass parts).

Thank you! This is extremely helpful context and is exactly why I asked. The more I thought about it the more it made me think that I could be looking at additional costs and if I don’t find someone who could do it right I could be looking at an entire vehicle repaint.

 

[peterh]

interested in this info as well - could you explain a bit more what you mean by
"parts will need to be body worked to fit properly" and "blocked" ? I had assumed, perhaps ignorantly, that the parts came to fit without any additional work required beyond painting and install.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

interested in this info as well - could you explain a bit more what you mean by
"parts will need to be body worked to fit properly" and "blocked" ? I had assumed, perhaps ignorantly, that the parts came to fit without any additional work required beyond painting and install.

Fiberglass parts never fit exactly right out of the box. Some manufacturers are better than others, but none will have a factory fitment quality. "Body working" the parts means that they will have to have material either added or removed or both in order to fit properly. They may have to grind off material in one location and in another add material. Bottom line, out of the box the fitment won't be good. "Blocking" refers to block sanding the parts once the body has been completed. This insures that you have sharp body lines and no high/low spots. Also gets rid of sand scratches or other imperfections.

The cheap part of a project like this is the fiberglass parts. Making them fit right and look good is expensive.

 

[peterh]

thanks, great information!

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