David,
I am reliably informed that #9178 (and a few other early GT5) came from the factory the way it is today with the fiberglass flares blended to the fenders and not showing any discrete 'add on' line.
On the subject of cracking, I have had a few cracks in the front flares, but not at the join, simply because the suspension is set so low the tire has hit the flare a couple times.
The GT5S cars have all steel fenders, so are 'blended' by nature of the steel being a stamped panel.
Julian
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