Rich:
I was just about ready to respond to this question at the original thread.
No, the fender can stay on, just remove the hood and the inner fender (splash panel) and you can then reach in and take off the spring and hinge.
Well duh, no one stocks the hinge. How many times does THAT break?
You may want to consider painting it first, it'll probably be in primer or cad plated when you get it. No biggie, kind of a "show car" thing I guess.
Gilly