1960s 1961 front fender replacement

[MidModCad]

My '61 coupe is mostly a high quality survivor car with one exception. There is a five inch long bubbly section of rust emerging over the front wheel arch. A high end body shop advised the cost to weld in a patch panel could be very pricey and that's without knowing how far the underlying rust has spread. I'm considering a new/old fender, but the labor looks pretty extensive.  Without a body manual it looks like bumper, hood, trim, etc. all comes off.  Does anyone have experience with this job?

[SteveB3155]

Good luck in finding a new/old fender for a 1961.  They are as rare as hen's teeth!  Trust me, I've been looking for years.

[Clewisiii]

At least the grill and headlights must come off. not sure about the bumper.

I had to repair the lower rear section of each of my fenders. And a small area to the side of the headlights on each front.  They still need clean up and adjustment. But I think i am going to hand off to a body shop for the rest.  This was my first try in learning to weld.

[MidModCad]

Great detailed pics! I can see much better what I'm dealing with. Pretty sure I can source a replacement fender, so really it's a question of replacing vs. patch welding the one I've got. It's unclear which would be more time intensive for the body shop.  Even in a large metro area it's hard to find anyone who's done this kind of work on a '61.

[Moody]

Wow Clewisiii, nice work for a first timer!
As far as finding a repair shop, any good body shop that can do metal work could do this, even if they've never seen a '61. Metal is metal, and shape is shape to a metal man. I would say remove and replace would be the lesser intensity, if you can find a rust free fender. The repair would dictate R&R of the fender anyway. No way would someone repair this on the car. Unless they are a hack.