Removing The Dog House

The doghouse is basically all of the sheet metal that is north of the hood. My best guess is that the term comes from the fact that if you remove the fenders, hood, and front bumper/grill in one piece, it would make a pretty effective place for a junkyard dog to sleep when it's not patrolling the yard.

 

We however won't be removing the doghouse in one piece. We will taking it all back apart just like we did in the last couple of steps, the only difference will be that this time we will be taking off the fenders.

Removing the Fenders

While I recommend removing the fenders prior to paint for edging, this is not a necessity unless you bought a Firebird. Firebirds and Trans Am's came with different Fenders. The Trans Am Fenders came with rectangular holes right behind the front wheels for an air extractor. Any 82-91 Trans Am fender will work, however you want the 82-84 extractor as the new model ones were different in their shape.

Removing the fenders is for the most part a pretty simple operation. After you remove the hood and fenders, there is only a handful of bolts holding the fender in place.

The first thing to do is detach the inner wheel wells from the fender. These are the plastic panels that separate the wheel well from the engine bay. These panels are held on by the same plastic expanders that the front spoilers were held on by. There should be about twelve of them on each side. Be careful not to lose or break them as they are $1.75 or so each through a Pontiac dealership to replace them. Also, while you are down on the floor removing these expanders, go ahead and remove the two bolts which hold the bottom of the fender to the frame of the car.

Once the wheel wells are unattached, then you simply need to unbolt the fender from the inside of the engine bay. There are probably 6-7 bolts on each fender holding it in place. Once you remove those, you are all set. Just pull the fenders off and you are done. On the passenger side you will need to remove the stereo antenna from the fender, or at least disconnect it before pulling it off. Also, don't forget to disconnect the side turn signal markers.

When you go to put the new fenders on, just do it the same way but backwards.

Buying the Fenders

When you go to buy your replacement fenders, I would highly suggest against buying used ones. Find a body shop you trust, preferably the one who will do the paint job in the end, and have them order you aftermarket replacement fenders. They can probably be bought for between $100-150 a side. I know that you could probably buy a used one for $35, but the amount of time and energy you will spend in making it look new will probably far out weigh the extra hundred dollars you will spend to have brand spanking new ones. Not to mention, fenders are expensive to ship and not worth the money to do so. Trust me. I learned the hard way.