Front fender fitment

[AngryPirate]

So, I've had the entire front clip sheet metal off while removing the engine and now it's time to paint and reassemble.

I ended up with 2 aftermarket front fenders and well, the passenger side has been massaged to fit before the tear down and the driver side is what I am tackling now.

The inner fenders and the radiator support are all original, but were removed and then put back on. I understand that the inner fenders and radiator support are the support structure for the outer sheet metal and that it is kind of a 'floating' box.

The driver side front fender isn't even close to fitting. I have loosened all of the bolts on the outer sheet metal to try to get things to align. I'm most likely going to have to cut into the new fender as it's hitting the air boxes by the cowl prematurely and making the fender protrude well past the door.

My question is, is it common to have to loosen the inner fenders and radiator support and manipulate the inner support structure to get everything else to start to like up?

Does anyone have any other tips for dealing with these front fender fitment issues?

I've done some searching, but mostly people say they all need some work, but I haven't seen any common problems mentioned and how they were remedied.

I'll attach pictures in the next post in this thread.

Thanks for any suggestions or help!