Sweptline.ORG

I,m preparing to assemble the front sheet metal on a D300. Would it be best to mount the radiator support 1st. and then the fenders? Or fenders 1st.? Followed by the hood last. Everything has been painted and hope for as little paint damage as possible.

Thank you

I'm at the same place you are. Wondering about re-assembly order. I took core support off before fenders and that worked out well. My inclination at this point to to reverse order and loosely install fenders first and then core support and then hood as you mentioned. just a thought. Good luck.

I had bolted my fenders to my radiator support first and had a complete front end (no grille or other extra weight). Then, with some help from my buddy (shown in photo) to lift it over the tires, I put the front end on as a unit. I put the inner splash panels on after the front end was on. You could bolt the support onto the frame first, and then bolt your fenders on, but that wasn't how I did it. It may just be a matter of preference on "how" to bolt them on. To me, it was just easier to align the FRONT END as it would be one fender at a time. Basically... the choice is yours. IF I didn't have someone help me, I'd probably bolt the support on first, and then bolt each fender on one at a time. Leave the support bolts loose so you will have room for movement to help align the back of the fender to the door. The reason I left the lower splash panels off was for weight, and they would just get in the way. The hood should be bolted on last after you have the fenders aligned with the doors.