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HybridZ

Free Fender Flares!!! and how to do it!!!


OlderThanMe

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It all started when I was driving and exploded a roll pin deep inside my transmission. Well while the transmission was out I decided to put the new Toyota 79-85 pickup calipers and the new cross drilled/slotted rotors, both from www.motorsportauto.com , so once I had the brakes back together and the transmission repaired (all that took two months on my limited spare time) I was putting my 14x6.5in eagle 5 point star wheels(just like the American racing ones) back on to go for a test drive but the wheels barely hit the caliper (1/8 in. of clearance would have done it). I saved up a bit of cash and bought my 15x8 "Pro" series wheels from www.DiamondRacingWheels.com and when they got here 6 weeks later... I installed them wrapped with some no-name "VISA" 225/60r15 tires that I got from the local tire place. Well when I finally went on my test drive the tires made this HORRIBLE noise when I got to the street. I had just ripped a chunk of rubber from the side of the tread on the driver’s side rear tire. well my Z was driven a little bit around town for a couple days until I said that is enough! I didn't have the cash to get any flares from anybody so I just took a pair of vice grips and started pulling the inner lip out. All the time Bondo was flying off everywhere and black and blue paint chips where everywhere. I then proceeded with a hammer on the front fenders and started havoc on them first because they were rubbing first in cornering. I then went to the rear and started popping the spot welds with a screwdriver and beating the fenders out to clear my immediate problem. I had no care on how it looked because I had to drive my Z because it was the only thing I could drive at the time. Right now I am about to purchase a Miller 175 welder from www.millerwelds.com to restitch the wheel well to the outer fender skin with a fresh piece of steel. I will proceed to cut out the outer half of the wheel well so that I can get into the wheel well and continue shaping the fender from the inside to my desired shape. When I am finished I will stitch weld a piece of .25 in. steel round bar just on the inside of my newly shaped fender to add reinforcement. This process will remove paint and may show horrors of thick bondo and is not for the light of heart. This process is not going to strengthen your fender but will WEAKEN IT. I have had a door hit my flare and it bent the sheet metal pretty good but left that door in worse condition.

tools used

16 oz. hammer

carpentry hammer (for low clearance areas like near the struts where a normal hammer would hit the strut all the time)

Vice grips

screwdriver

ear protection (hammering on a fender while you are inside is like being in a drum at a concert)

eye protection (z87.1 shatterproof safety glasses)

spray paint (to temporarily keep the body from rusting any more than it already is...HAHA like my car doesn't have enough cancer already, if a little more surface rust would make much of a change)

I will post pictures in a minute

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here is a shot after most of the initial rear fender hacking. I will fill the holes in the rear fenders later on.

m23865872.jpg

 

I did not use that big hammer but had it there just in caes.

 

m23866737.jpg

 

there you can see where I popped the spot welds.

m23866074.jpg

 

sorry this one is sideways but you cabn see the amount it is flared I have flared it a little more since this picture was taken

m23866330.jpg

 

you can see the whole package in this photo. since this photo I have given the car a $4 flat black paintjob just to cover up that peeling clearcoat and rust that came from the bumper. The drivers door is mostly stripped of paint and just a little bit of primer on it. I like the current ride height but the suspension is way too soft so hee come the coilovers...and maybe a half inch lower:twisted: I am going to finish the rear flare starting from just above the door handle to match with the front flare. I also added some " door edging stuff from pepboys so I don't cut myself every time I rub against the fender.

m23866532.jpg

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Do them right and they will look something like this.............

 

z%20before%20paint.JPG

 

Just takes time and a strong arm for hammerin'. I recommend body hammers and dollys to really work the metal. And Bondo of course to smooth it all out. I ended up welding in a 3/16 rod just under the edge to add strength back and give it a nice look. This mod allowed 245/45/16 rubber under a lowered car.

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That was taken a few years ago, and I have a different car now. If I remember it was a good 2" overall. It looks deceiving. Can't tell from a stock fender unless you put side by side. Remember, all of the 2" is at the top and it tapers to no flare at the bottom. I started with vise grips to get the lip out. Then pipes of various diameters to roll further. Then onto the beating. As you beat with a body hammer/dolly you try to get the flare to begin as high as possible and get lots of stretch in the edge. It's a 280 and I had to cut about 4" out of the stock front valence for tire clearance in the front. I prefered the valence to an air dam.

 

You need to weld the rod in for support in the front and reattach the inner to outer fender in the rear for strength. I used rivets in the rear because each time I started to weld, the goo started fire and also contaminated the weld. I put the rod in after an autocross creased the front fender from corner loads. It was pretty thin up there.

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About 30 years ago I read an article in Hot Rod showing how to do this same treatment on a '65 Mustang (Like the Z, stock wheel wells are sized for D78-14 tires on 14x5 wheels). They used 1/2 dia. thinwall conduit for the edge. It added a lot of stiffness and gave the flare a smooth, non-bondo edge that would take a parking lot ding. it was hand-formed around the tire for the basic shape, then brazed to the ends of the sheet metal lip. The front corner was tapered in while the back edge carried down full width and then curved back so it had a built-in splash guard.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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