By Brian Brennan Photography by THE AUTHOR

nyone working with vintage sheetmetal, something that is more than 30 years old, will most likely have to deal with corrosion, packed-on dirt, cracks, dents, and other impacts. Our ’65 Chevelle is no different. While swapping out powerplants it became obvious that the inner fender panels needed help. So, a quick call to Golden Star Classic Auto Parts was a great solution to quickly solving our problem.

The Golden Star OEM-style inner fender panels (PNs IF03-64R-RH and IF03-64L-LH) are designed to protect the engine bay and other related sheetmetal from corrosion. These panels come stamped to match what was there from the factory and come with a protective coating that can be left as-is or can be prepped for painting.

In our ’65 Chevelle project we looked at fitting the inner fender panels while the sheetmetal fenders remained on the car. It didn’t take us long to realize that the removal of the hood and fenders would make the project go more smoothly. So, off came the factory sheetmetal, hood, and both front fenders. Our Chevelle, while sporting lots of patina, is in truly good condition. The factory inner fender panels did their job and have sacrificed themselves to save other components throughout.

Once the hood and fenders were removed, we fit each inner fender panel to its respective fender. The initial fit was very good and required a minimal amount of fitment. Remember we are dealing with a car that is 57 years old and over time things change. It was to be expected that the mounting holes from the new inner fender panel to the original sheetmetal fenders matched up very closely.

We did find that one hole needed a bit of massaging. Now, the first reaction might be to elongate the original mounting hole and possibly the new inner fender panel hole. Don’t. This can cause fitment and allow the panels to move on their own, introducing new fitment issues. As you go through the accompanying photos you will see how we trimmed a small portion of the new Golden Star inner fender panel, thus allowing the new hole to align with the factory original mounting hole. From here it was a simple matter of aligning and completing the project.

At this time, we also installed our new hood hinges that came directly from Eddie Motorsports. We opted for the billet aluminum hinges that utilize sealed bearings as well as stainless steel nitrogen gas struts. While these hinges come in an assortment of finishes, such as bright polish, raw machine, or anodized, we opted for the black anodized versions.

Well, there you have it. Follow along with the photos for this truly easy-to-perform inner fender replacement project on our ’65 Chevelle.

3. Here is our ’65 Chevelle engine bay with the old panels already removed. (Note we are dropping in a Chevrolet Performance LT1 for power.)

5. After a little head scratching, we decided it was much easier to remove the respective fender and fit and conform the new fender panel to the fender on the shop floor.

7. The two overlapping holes; original factory hole (beneath) in the fender and the new hole (top) in the Golden Star inner fender panel were slightly off on one of the mounting holes.

9. Using the new hardware from Golden Star we test-fit once to ensure our holes now properly align.

10. Part of the Golden Star rocker kit includes these clips that contain their own threads and will hold themselves in position.

12. You can see the original factory fender sheetmetal (patina) and the new Golden Star sheetmetal (black) and how they bolt back together.

14. These billet aluminum hinges utilize sealed bearings and stainless steel nitrogen gas struts. They are available in raw machined or bright polished finish.

16. Another side project was to make an aluminum panel that will hold electronic engine control hardware. It attaches to the new inner fender panel as well as the factory sheetmetal fender (driver side).

17. Overall view showing the new aluminum panel crafted by the Hot Rods by Dean staff is in position.