new to site and need some help

I have a 79 merc zephyr, she is or was pristeen until just a few days ago. A deer took out my left front fender. Everything else is ok, she still runs an tires and alignment seem to be intact. My question is what are my options for repair, can I use a fender off of same year fairmont or maybe the z7 model? Is there anyplace that will manufacture a fender for this style of car? Or anyone on this forum know of someone that has the spare materials I might need? Any help is appreciated as I want my baby back, she may not be much but she's the world to me. Thanks in advance. Dan the zephyr man

'78-83 Zephyr fenders will work. Z7 is the same. Probably most likely to find one in a boneyard.

'78-83 Fairmont & Futura fender will fit, but doesn't have the vents.

If you don't find either of those, there are a number of cars whose whole front clip will bolt on.

Sweet thank you so much, I found a fella who's got a 78 ford of the same model and wasn't sure if I could use it or not, this restoration stuff is all new to me....but dang it can be fun!

Oh it is! I'm strongly considering swapping a different front onto my car. Unfortunately, if I do, my Zephyr fenders are spoken for.  

You can do that? You have just given me at least a good hour's worth of google searching. Wanted to look into making this a darn good daily driver, decent milage and what not. Any ideas on where to start? I am currently running stock i6 200 ci, single barrel holley. Also wondering if it is economical 5o switch to the 302. Any point in the right direction is appreciated. And I think I might have me a fender, gonna go peak at it today. Thanks for your helpful reply by the way.

I suppose the first thing I would do is, check all the things that wear out. Brakes, shocks, tires, and so on. Look for leaks under the car. And then repair what's needed, and make sure all the fluids and filters are changed as needed. That 6 is a super-reliable engine. Should run like a top as long as you want it to.

A 302 swap is pretty easy too. and there are a ton out there. It should be plenty economical if that's what you want to do. It's been done every which way in these cars. What I did was bought a parts car. It was a '90 Mustang LX 5.0L. I think I got it for around $300. Then I just swapped over everything I wanted. The only drawback is, you have to have a place to put another car while you strip it.

The front of the '83-86 mid-size Ford LTD and Merc Marquis bolt right on. It's a very different look! The '81-82 Ford Granada and non-XR-7 Merc Cougar bolt right on too. People have done other too, such as Fox body Mustang, but that takes some cutting and pasting. I'd like the Marquis front end for mine. We'll see how ambitious I am, and if any good candidates pop up in the junkyard.

I have given her a good once over all the basics are taken care of. She is a solid runner right now except the fender ding. But she does lack the get up and go of todays cars, which is why I was thinking 302. Still I like it the way it is, still on the fence with this one.

I did read up on the body swap outs and they look great, I did find one with a mustang 5.0 front end on it, looked like a real mean machine. But I like my soap box on wheels look, lol. Lot of folks stop and asks what it is, she's quite the conversation piece.

Well, people certainly don't expect cars that look like these to be fast, so you have that going for you, haha.

I love taking mine to car shows and listening to people talk, or talking to them. "What is that?" "Is that a Malibu?" "Is that a Fairmont?" Not many people remember the Fairmont/Zephyr for some reason. A major goal of mine has always been to make the changes I've made look factory, to confuse people even further. "Did they come with that engine?" haha

Yeah, it's definitely a cohesive look with the boxy front end. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Welcome to the site.
You should be able to find a fender pretty easy. Many people are selling parts or parts cars.

A 302 is a great option,I had one with a mild hop ups and with a 4 barrel carb. I was still getting 22 mpg on the hwy.
There is many hop up parts for the 6 cyl. engines too. Then you can keep you current engine.

You need to post some pics of your car!

Thanks for the reply, havent yet found one but I havent searched all that hard, holidays and all that entails (large family). What do you mean by hop up parts? Is it name brand? And I dont know how to up load a pic. I would like to keep the existing engine cause it is in really good shape.

"Hop- Up" is just a phrase like "Bolt-Ons" or "After Market".
I had alink to a web site for all the parts add horse power to you inline 6. Some one might know what it is.

check on some of the falcon and comet sites.