Some monkey broke both the tabs on the front fenders of my SS - long before I bought it. Over the years I've never dealt with fully broken ones, just bent tabs. There's something else holding mine in place at the bottom, and I'm not sure what it is, without taking the fenders off. The metal flange is still there (bent). The tab on the fender is completely gone.

It still bugs me that the tabs are broken and I have no idea how legitimate the fix is. Are there reinforcement kits available these days? Or kits to secure the fender once the tab is broken off?

I guess the only real answer is to find fenders with tabs in-tact, and repaint the front of the car - but I'd rather keep the car original rather than repaint the front end. What have y'all done?

 

I wouldn't replace the fenders.

I'd make replacement tabs out of some durable plastic - get creative, maybe use a heat gun to soften it to get the right shape if I had to. Scuff the surfaces for adhesion and secure it to the fenders with structural adhesive (like the stuff they glue Corvettes together with).
Hang the fenders back on the car, line them up, drill the holes and put in the bolts. You could even order a can of spray paint in your body color and match them up.

 

^^^ this ^^^

 

Thanks for the replies. I think I need to accept that the car won't be exactly factory-perfect. In the coming weeks I'll get it up on the lift and see what's been done, and if I can fabricate something to help out the situation. Still, though...UGH! What were GM engineers thinking? (Reduce cost, probably)

 

You may want to see if you can locate a 3D print shop...