67 vs 68 fenders, headlight bucket position.

[Seank]

So I have a 68 cuda in restoration and I modified a 67 passenger fender for the passenger side.

Only mods was to weld up the emblem holes, bust off the 67 bezel retention plastic grommet and add a tang / screw clip for the 68 bezel front edge screw. No problem. 68 Bezel fits fine..with no headlight installed.

Well I get everything all painted up in the final color, headlight installed, and started installing the 68 grill and I have a problem, passenger side bezel won’t fit over the headlight. It seems the 67 headlight bucket is more offset towards the center of the car than the 68. Can’t be I say, never heard of such a thing.

So I measure the edge of the headlight to the fenders edge and its 3/8” of an inch more offset towards the center of the vehicle than the drivers side (which is a 68 and it fits perfectly).

I tried whacking the bracket with a sledge and a block of wood to bend the bracket over but no success. Looks like I’ll have to drill out the spot welds and move it over.

Am I smoking crack or is there a real difference between 67 and 68 fenders?
Thanks
Sean

 

[autoxcuda]

So I have a 68 cuda in restoration and I modified a 67 passenger fender for the passenger side.

Only mods was to weld up the emblem holes, bust off the 67 bezel retention plastic grommet and add a tang / screw clip for the 68 bezel front edge screw. No problem. 68 Bezel fits fine..with no headlight installed.

Well I get everything all painted up in the final color, headlight installed, and started installing the 68 grill and I have a problem, passenger side bezel won’t fit over the headlight. It seems the 67 headlight bucket is more offset towards the center of the car than the 68. Can’t be I say, never heard of such a thing.

So I measure the edge of the headlight to the fenders edge and its 3/8” of an inch more offset towards the center of the vehicle than the drivers side (which is a 68 and it fits perfectly).

I tried whacking the bracket with a sledge and a block of wood to bend the bracket over but no success. Looks like I’ll have to drill out the spot welds and move it over.

Am I smoking crack or is there a real difference between 67 and 68 fenders?
Thanks
Sean

I've never heard of that. I thought the 67 and 68 bezel interchanged except for those screw hole differences. I think I have a 67 bezel on my original passenger side fender.

My driver side fender is a factory replacement (I could see the white p/n's on the inside) and it has a 68 bezel. But that size is smashed around the bezel.

I think I have 68 and 67 Bezels I could try and measure on good loose 68 fenders for you. But I won't be able to do that until Wednesday night.

I do have a 67 fender I can measure for you where I'm at now though to confirm.

Do you have a picture of the way and what your measured to on your fender so I can replicate it? If not I'll take a picture of my measurements.

 

[67DartGT340]

Hey Sean I think it is the same for the Darts. I have 68 fenders on my 67 and when we went to put the headlights and the bezels on last spring, we noticed a bit of a difference. Just enough to piss you off so that everything does not sit clean and flush as it should.

Mark

 

[Seank]

Yeah I'll take a pic tonight of it. Bizarre. As the distance between the fenders is dictated by the header panel and the headlight buckets are welded to the fenders there is no adjustabilty. When I measured the headlight bulb SS retention ring to the fender its different on the 67 side by enough to piss me off and the bezel wont fit over the bulb.

I think if I remove the two outer spot welds I can bend the whole bracket over to make it work and re-spot weld it.

Such is life with A bodies.

Sean

 

[matthon]

I believe it. 67 are an odd ball year, they look the same as the 68s and 69s, but not so. The parts interchange books that I have seen always either leave out the 67s, or start at 68.
I would be interested in the outcome on this one.

 

[autoxcuda]

Just took this of what I think is an original 68 Fender. It has the 68 side marker hole and looks stamped. It doesn't have a hole for that screw in the inside upper corner that gets that nylon spacer.

 

[autoxcuda]

I thought this is a 67 Headlight bezel. Is this true?

My passenger fender is 100% original never been off. Factory sealant, original paint on the engine compartment side, ect... Nov 14, 1967 Sceduled Production Date car.

The headlight is a Hella H4.