Official 50s-60s Front Fender Thread

[63ragtopDud3]

@pastellgreen Makes me feel more confident now that my drivers side is probably OG.

@Busstom Yeah, hard to tell a difference by the pics, but that 3/4" of extra space between the fender and tire and is quite noticeable. Especially when lowering the car.

Thanks fellas

[pastellgreen]

Alltogehter I posessed three bugs from 1961 and one from 1963, all with their original sets of fender. The measurement had been always 33,5 cm on both sides on them.
Additionally I still keep a left NOS fender in grey primer with VW label. Same measurement. I also have a right fender that is an early aftermarket one in grey primer, its measurement shows 33,0 cm.

I believe, the wheel arch could have been increased with the introduction of the new front axle in 1965, because of the also increased suspension travel.

[Busstom]

I suspect you have variation due to a fender change through the years. I don't know which one (if either) is original, but that kind of disparity is common with so many different dies used over the years. You may have to go on a sort of scavenger hunt attempting to match those two fenders.

All that said, factoring in parallax (your pics are angling down at the point being measured), it looks like <3/4 inch, which is easily attributed to an aftermarket fender. I just measured 3 fenders, for certain, one is an original 1965 VW fender, they all measure between 12 and 12.5 inches, but it's all subjective because we're dealing with arcs and imprecise datums, and just 1° of difference in the angle of the tape changes the measurement.
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[63ragtopDud3]

Can anyone with an early 60s tell me the exact width of what the fender is supposed to be? (second bolt above the turn signal hole). My passenger side is nearly an inch off and tends to flare out compared to the drivers side that flares down more. I'm pretty sure the driver's side is from a '59. Thanks!

[janerick3]

The old dies were worn out by February and some fenders stamped from them had crinkling around the lip where the bucket was welded in place. These fenders still had the two, side-by-side drain holes in the buckets.

Only the rear fenders had reinforcing ribs between the bolt holes. I assume the ribs went away at about the same time as the running board bulge on the fronts.
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[pdxeuro]

Does anyone know exactly when the ‘59-60 front fenders lost the running board bulge? I have a late May ‘59 bug (Birth certificate says shipped June 10th ‘59. The metal wire tubes are there. I can’t tell if it’s ribbed due to thick undercoating at this time. The bulge seems either quite subtle or not really there compared to pics I’ve seen of others. Thanks in advance
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[Big Bill]

This is a great thread to point out the different fenders for the early cars. I recently picked up a nice 67 which I have sworn over the years I would never buy. Anyway it is starting to grow on me now that I have dug into it and figured out the different bits and pieces that a lot of the early bugs didnt have, I have been thinking about putting a pair of 66 style front fenders on it as I just cant wrap my head around the upright light setup. If I am reading this thread right it seems an earlier 64-66 type fender would fit, the car has an after market Passenger fender already and the OG Drivers fender has a crease/ fold in it already. Great thread thanks for the info.

[Smurf]

[AlteWagen]

possibly an earlier euro fender with turn signal installed later. Check the hole and see if its factory stamped or hole saw. If it has the 2 bolt mount with no large drip boot that is a dead give away.
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[Smurf]

Can anyone help me with this fender ID? I was looking for a ‘61-63 fender and I bought this one thinking it was similar other than the wire tubing but it’s def got the early bottom bulge & bigger headlight bulge. The bucket has what looks like dimples and only one drain hole? OG paint though

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[pastellgreen]

Saw them listed on ebay from a reseller here in germany for about 400 Euro each.

link still visible:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/VW-Kafer-11-52-07-59-Ovali...Swsqhes-t5

[Chickensoup]

[AlteWagen]

BBT is if full swing on their 53-59 front fenders. Looks great, wonder what the pricing may be. KF were around $1K a pair and thats where the current rear reproduction ribbed fenders are going for.

https://blog.bbt4vw.com/2020/05/15/bbt-news-75/
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[Navydave73]

[Navydave73]

[boingo158]

Hey guys. I know this is an old thread but I am trying to source fenders for a 59. I have heard conflicting information that the bullet fender is the right one and that the fender 58-64 is the right one with the exception of ts placement. Front and rear in question here. Can anyone confirm the proper one if the above set of pix is right or wrong?

[AlteWagen]

Overall fender shape is the same from 59-66 with the turn signal location being the difference (beside the wiring tube in 59).

There were various reproduction fenders made which are different than OE German VW fenders in the bucket, flare, rolled area and running board area not to mention material thickness.

Nov 63 through July 66 are the same
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[whitebrasilian]

ok. from what your suggesting...

In Aug 63, the 64 models start to roll off the line. They have smaller bullet/peanut turn signal markers placed a few inches from the trim.

In Nov 63, the 64 model changed to larger turn signals that are placed further back and closer to the molding.

Does this timeline also see the change in fender shape in Nov 63? when did the early 64 fender start. When did the late 64 fender end?
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63 Notchback ( 2014, undergoing restoration )
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[AlteWagen]

[AlteWagen]

Oct 63 was the last of the small "peanut" turn signals, in Nov the newer large signals were used further back and closer to the body.

The pic of the white bug is using early signals in the late signal position.


The decklid change was the same month, Nov 63
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