Fender Help

[aggiecruiser]

Need some advice.

I have this 1/79 FJ40 that I am doing a resto-mod on. I started this project like two years ago. I bought a CCOT fender for the driver side to replace the crappy unsupported fiberglass one that was on their when I took ownership of the truck. Two years ago…

Last weekend, I decided to buy a passenger side fender from CCOT to replace the OEM fender. I decided to replace the OEM fender b/c the OEM had undercoating all over it, and I am not sure what sort of bondo is in that baby. Logic being I thought it more economical to buy a $180.00 CCOT fender in lieu of chemical dipping a OEM fender for $150, and then possibly having a hefty body work bill to re-smooth any bondo in the fender.

It appears that I may have made a mistake. Take a look at these pictures.







First of all, the two fenders are not even close in terms of their fitment. I recognize they are probably from different tools, but they are WAY off. I am more disappointed in the recent fender than the older one. Their website says, “Best Fit Ever.” I am disappointed. Here is where I need advice from the more experienced guys…
1. Should I call them and try to get them to give me another fender, or did I put this on myself instead by not going OEM, which are hard to find for my year….
2. Cruiser Dan has OEM fenders, but they are not for my year, Does anybody know if a late 1978 style is interchangeable with a 1/79 fender?
3. Or is my frame of reference off? Which fender needs to be replaced? The driver side or passenger side?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[fieldsken1]

i cant see the front bib but did you get the right years. i got some from them and they were off alittle bit but nothing i could not fix

 

[Caddisfly]

Another mudder had similar issues. To my knowledge, he was not able to get them resolved:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/chit-chat-section/275312-ccot-what-joke.html

 

[fieldsken1]

i see what you are saying now maybe you got diff years fenders. like i said i got these from them and i had to fix alittle. i have meet the guys at ccot they are not very helpful. i ordered some more stuff and a month later they forget so no more with them

 

[lone gunman]

i had a similar problem with cool cruisers of Taiwan, i don't buy from them any more unless i cant find the stuff somewhere else.

 

[dgangle]

send the pics/explanation to them and report back with how helpful the were.

I hope you have better luck with them on problem resolution than I did, but your's is more serious.

 

[numby]

My truck came with what is supposedly a ccpt driver's side fender that has never fit right. It is assembled so inaccurately that, due to the ribs on the support bracket, the holes can't be slotted enough to get sit right. Consequently I still have a huge gap between the apron and cowl on that side. I see that their website says something about slotting being required, blah, blah, blah.

 

[aggiecruiser]

send the pics/explanation to them and report back with how helpful the were.

I hope you have better luck with them on problem resolution than I did, but your's is more serious.

I'll report back with my "customer service" experience. I have a PowerPoint to send to them. I hear the boss man comes in every day about 3:00pm to handle customer service. I wish I knew the owners name, might make the whole process less complicated. Right now, they are asking me to deal with some guy named Manny. Stay tuned. Lord knows my Polish arse does not deserve any awards for my diplomatic skills. If I were a diplomant, we would be in World War 3,856.

-Chris

 

[antFJ]

pretty sure manny is THE guy

 

[aggiecruiser]

Good to know. Thanks. I sent off a PowerPoint for him to look at. I may not be able to put an FJ40 together, but i do have me some PowerPoint skills....

 

[pb4ugo]

"best fit ever" means the earlier 1s were even worse.

 

[ken_79-fj40]

That's screwed up. I don't think the actual height of the cowl changed over the years so it not lining up at the bottom like that is odd. I have CCOT fenders on mine and the fit is just OK. They are also really thin so I would actually suggest using bedliner or something to undercoat them. I have a few dings from stones coming out of the tires. When I bought my truck it had CCOT fenders on it already, and I actually ordered a replacement for the passenger side a few years later. The first one was an inch narrower from the outside of the side panel to the edge of the fender but otherwise lined up fine. The replacement is the same width as the driver's side was. With some adjusting they fit OK but I really wish I had just bought OE fenders when I painted the truck 5-6 years ago. For what I paid to ship that one from Texas to NH it wouldn't have been much more for the real thing.

 

[aggiecruiser]

Cruiser Dan has OE fenders, but he said that he only ships them FOB, and that they are for a 78...Will they fit on my 79?

And what is FOB?


CCOT Update: Manny is looking over my fender stuff. He won't take the fender back, but he considering giving me a discount on a new driver side fender. Stay tuned.

-Chris

 

[dgangle]

FOB:
http://www.western.edu/purchasing/docs/fob.pdf

normally a vendor will say "FOB Cleveland" which means freight inlcuded to that location. If you are not there you will need to pick it up or pay additional fereight to get it to you. Have them clarify where the FOB point is....you or them. The term FOB means nothing unless it is followed by where. FOB CCoT means it includes freight of the part to them in the Metroplex. FOB to you means free freight to you in Mansfield, TX. I bet it is the former, not the latter.

 

[aggiecruiser]

dgangle, do you think the 78 fenders will fit properly on a 79. I am guessing yes, only because SOR and everybody else that sells the OEM driver fender, shows that it fits from like '58-'84. How does Crusier Dan have OEM passenger side fenders, but nobody else does?

-Chris

 

[shelfboy1]

i dont think year matters in genral size and shape .i used early 70s fenders on all my rigs from the dealer 70s fenders were 70.00 new and 78 fenders were over 170.00 it got to the point they would not sell early fenders unless you had an oweners card for that year.other than drilling holes for the brackets all the fenders fit great.the fender in the photo looks wierd the outside edge doesnt look right either .good luck

 

[aggiecruiser]

Customer Service Report: Manny at CCOT has offered to allow me to purchase a second fender for the driver side that will probably more closely match the passenger side fender I just purchased about a week ago for the CCOT "Buy a pair" discount. So in essence, I could get a new driver side fender for about $135.00. I will probably take him up on it. I must say I was a littel worried about dealing with CCOT based on the postings of others...but seemed relatively painless. I didn't get any refunds or anyhting becasue I have altered the fender by drillinga few holes in it to get the side apron to pull up. Next time I will be buying OEM fender though. That is...if there is a next time, and if OEM fenders are still available.

My mistake was that I bought one fender a two years ago, and then tried to purchase a matching aftermarket fender for the opposite side just last weekend. FAIL...They don't match. So I would recommend buying them as a pair, that way you will probably have better likihood of them coming from similiar tooling and vendors.

Oh well. Live and learn.

-Chris

 

[dgangle]

dgangle, do you think the 78 fenders will fit properly on a 79. I am guessing yes, only because SOR and everybody else that sells the OEM driver fender, shows that it fits from like '58-'84. How does Crusier Dan have OEM passenger side fenders, but nobody else does?

-Chris

Sorry, no idea. Of all the 40's I have owned in nearly 30 years, they have all been 74-78's. But I DO long for one with a rectangular bezel.

 

[motto]

i also bought front fenders from ccot . The front of the fender where it attaches to the bib was 1 inch lower on both sides. I had to drill the spot welds out and move the inner fender up to fit . Also on the pass side the bracket that bolts the fender to the frame was welded 1.5 inch to far forward. Not very happy with the purchase. If i had to do over i would pay the extra for oem.

 

[aggiecruiser]

i also bought front fenders from ccot . The front of the fender where it attaches to the bib was 1 inch lower on both sides. I had to drill the spot welds out and move the inner fender up to fit . Also on the pass side the bracket that bolts the fender to the frame was welded 1.5 inch to far forward. Not very happy with the purchase. If i had to do over i would pay the extra for oem.

motto, when did you buy your CCOT fenders? Was it recently?
-Chris