AMD Challenger Fender

[quapman]

Well, I decided to buy a repro pass. side fender for my T/A to give me time to rework the old one and still be able to drive the car this Summer. I searched the web for hours reading reviews and anecdotes about other people's experiences with Goodmark Vs. AMD Vs. Dynacorn. Hands down, the majority said "AMD is the best". I guess what they left out was "the lesser of three evils".

I bought the AMD fender from Jeff at 521 Restos. Jeff is a great guy to deal with and has been working with me and AMD. Here's the problem...While the MATERIALS are high quality and the body lines seem to match up, the workmanship and total lack of quality control is appalling. Basically, the headlight bucket area is spot-welded onto the main part of the fender +/- 1/2" from how the factory did it. This BRAND NEW, out of the box part WON'T EVEN BOLT TO MY CAR. The gap between fender and bucket bracket is so small that I can't slide it onto the upper core support far enough to get the bolt holes lined up. The jack screw weld-nut wasn't even in the slots before it got welded and the fore/aft h/l bucket bracket is too far forward by about 1/2". The support brace to the wheel opening is just plain crooked and sloppy looking. To make this right, I'm going to have to trim BRAND NEW metal and drill out spot welds, re-align and re-weld the parts.

Jeff says that AMD has told him this is "normal".

I say F that.

Pics: AMD Fender by moparbeave

 

[quapman]

Gap too narrow.

Wow. Just wow. I'd be fired for this level of incompetence.

This is the original fender. You can see the difference in the distance from the grille hole to the bucket bracket. It's a good 1/2"

 

[quapman]

More wow.

More misalignment before spot-welding

 

[340challconvert]

Are the AMD units made in China? I think their early stampings (08-09) were better? It is worth it to repair a decent original if you can find one.

 

[DetMatt1]

That's really too bad, you must be frustrated. I have had pretty good experience with AMD but I haven't bought assembled parts, just things like floor pans, quarters, etc..

 

[challenger6pak]

I have used AMD fenders and they weren't at all like this. Have you spoken to AMD yourself? I would go to AMD and, if you email them, include a link to this thread. The fender should be better than the one you have.

 

[quapman]

The label said "Made in Taiwan", which I know is a step above China, but...

If I don't get anywhere with Jeff, I guess I'll have to talk to AMD. >

 

[340challconvert]

If makes me cringe to see the condition of your "new fender". Sorry that happened to you!

 

[Adam]

Are you sure thats actually an AMD fender? I had to replace a new Goodmark fender with an AMD. The Goodmark fender was about 3/8 in too short. Move it forward to line up the hood and the door gap opened up, close the door gap and the hood stuck way out. The AMD fender was much better.

 

[challenger6pak]

Quapman, call Aaron at AMD. He does the technical for them. He should be able to help you. We can't put ph. numbers in posts. Call the 866 number you see at www.autometaldirect.com

 

[quapman]

Thanks, guys. Jeff at 521 is still working on it, so until he gets completely stonewalled, I'll let him keep the reins.

It came in a giant AMD box and had an AMD sticker on it, so......

 

[challenger6pak]

From what I understand, there are two sets of stamps out there. One is AMD and the other is Dynacorn. Both are from Taiwan.

 

[Brads70]

I had the same issues had to cut it bigger to get it to go on to the upper core support. I used 2 new AMD fenders to cut up for my fender flair project. ( kept the mint originals so I have the option of going back to stock some day)

 

[jimbyr]

I bought 2 AMD fenders to replace the ones on my 71 340 Challenger because mine needed quite a bit of work. I was painting the car in the back of my shop which doesn't have AC so had to do it before it got humid here in Florida. The passenger side was Ok but had the same problem you're having with the driver side. The fender wouldn't go on the car because the headlight bucket and supports were welded in the wrong place. I would have had to drill out all the spot welds, mount the fender and all the other pieces and weld the headlight assembly in the right place. I decided to spend quite a few late nights at the shop and fix the old ones instead and save the AMD pieces for the next project. My fenders weren't nearly as bad as I thought. Someone did some really bad body work on them previously and once they were stripped down and a few patches welded in they are good as new, almost. Got the Plumb Crazy laid on her last week too. Time to put her back together. I did replace the floor pan, shaker hood, cowl and firewall, trunk lid, trunk floor and extensions with AMD parts and those parts fit good, no problems. The AMD shaker trim ring needs work to fit on their hood though

Jim

 

[340challconvert]

I bought 2 AMD fenders to replace the ones on my 71 340 Challenger because mine needed quite a bit of work. I was painting the car in the back of my shop which doesn't have AC so had to do it before it got humid here in Florida. The passenger side was Ok but had the same problem you're having with the driver side. The fender wouldn't go on the car because the headlight bucket and supports were welded in the wrong place. I would have had to drill out all the spot welds, mount the fender and all the other pieces and weld the headlight assembly in the right place. I decided to spend quite a few late nights at the shop and fix the old ones instead and save the AMD pieces for the next project. My fenders weren't nearly as bad as I thought. Someone did some really bad body work on them previously and once they were stripped down and a few patches welded in they are good as new, almost. Got the Plumb Crazy laid on her last week too. Time to put her back together. I did replace the floor pan, shaker hood, cowl and firewall, trunk lid, trunk floor and extensions with AMD parts and those parts fit good, no problems. The AMD shaker trim ring needs work to fit on their hood though

Jim

Would love to see some pics of your work. Car sounds Great!

 

[jimbyr]

Would love to see some pics of your work. Car sounds Great!
View attachment 26181

What's left of the old Firewall cobbled up with galvanized sheet metal

New AMD firewall and cowl

Would love to see some pics of your work. Car sounds Great!
View attachment 26181

New Plumb Crazy top of firewall and bottom of cowl

Would love to see some pics of your work. Car sounds Great!
View attachment 26181

Taking the rest down to bare metal

New AMD 2 piece trunk floor and extensions

PPG Epoxy primer and primer surfacer

Plumb Crazy base coat/Clear coat

 

[dongei]

Had the same problems with my AMD parts. Had to repair the hood and both fenders. The parts and shipping are expensive, not worth the money. If I knew I had to do all that work I would have kept the old ones.

 

[DetMatt1]

Nice work jimbyr!

 

[quapman]

You guys think we can stay on topic here? Man, I thought *I* had A.D.D.

 

[DetMatt1]

Lol! Staying on topic is overrated, having fun and showing off your skills is what it's all about!