Apron seals

[Sharkdance]

Greetings all.
Am hoping for some input regarding inner fender seals. You know those tar paper like flaps at the back of the inner fenders that seal them against the firewall and supposedly seal the hood hinges from the fenderwells and keep them from rusting out?
Welp, I removed all of them from my aprons while prepping them for paint and am considering installing them without the factory seals.
Would there be an issue with dirt/water/rust without them? Has anyone else re-installed inner fender aprons without stapling new seals to them?
I haven't tried it yet. Dont know if Ill go thru with it as Im sure there would be a noticable gap between the firewall and the aprons so Im probably gonna have to buy some replacements. My old ones were hard and brittle and destroyed.

Just wanted some feedback first.

[mrsnicks]

You mean your truck still had those on it? No clue when mine disappeared... had the truck for 6 years and they were gone when I had it.

Patrick

[FORDification]

The main reason for those seals is to keep dirt/debris from dropping down inside the front fender brace, which is where front fenders typically rust out. I've coated the backside of both of my front fenders with POR-15, so I don't have to worry about those seals. But otherwise, you might want to reinstall them. They'll stop a majority of the mud and rain, and some is better than none, right?

[fordman]

i think it would look weird without them. regardless of whether they work or not.