Thread: fender flares?

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Anyone can tell what a 47 Chevy frame looks like. He has a Camaro rear end under the car if I remember correctly.

Don, you"re killin me!!!!!!!! At first I was thinking that the flares where the only way out, didn"t want to buy the bigger fenders, didn"t want to narrow the rear, money issue also. The rear frame rail is stock 1947 G.M and I"m not able to narrow the rear end because the tires are already close to the frame rails. I really should have done some more homework on the rear tire/rim selection, but $500 for the Firestone Hawks and Pacer Pro star rims I just could not pass up, that was for 4 tires and rims brand new, and now I"m paying for it! I think the split fender widening method sounds like the way I"m going. My ? about that way, do you split the whole fender ? Or do you leave some of the fender in tack? Thanks again for all the input, I feel important!!!!

Lengthwise you spilt the whole thing down. Like someone on here said, find the flattest spot on the fender. Where I would do it (since my car is the same as yours) is at the very top where it's kind of round before it bolts to the car. That will be the only spot to do it. Also how is that 79 front clip of yours fitting? Does it fit well? I have the same clip but not sure if it's too wide or not.

I will try to post some pics soon. I have not yet put the front clip on yet, almost afraid to! Well here goes, guess I"m going to cut her tonight . Also thought about channeling the body to set the tires up underneath for that "bad" look.

Vettedreams---ya cut the whole fender off at the "split line" (which you determine). If you leave any of it intact, then you can't pull it out the 2" or whatever you require.---go back and read the answer I gave you earlier. Thats why you use a plywood "jig" to get the "cut-off" portion aligned correctly before you start welding things again. You sure don't want to go to all that work and put it back together all cock-eyed crooked. I see that whoever you bought the car from has molded the fender to the body---be aware that the heat from welding a strip full length of the fender to widen it is going to totally destroy all the filler that the guy used. I hope that if you have cut it all ready that you used a pneumatic cut-off wheel or a good sabre saw to make the cut. (I have seen people try and do this with a torch---Oh Ugly, ugly, ugly.) I am old and jaded, and I well know that a "red hot deal" and lack of planning up front can cause a ton of heart ache and extra work at the other end to avoid something that looks like a cobbled up mess.

Yeah Brians idea with the jig is a good one. If you don't make some kind of jig then you will have different looking fenders on both sides and picky people will notice it and never stop giving you hell about it. There is another way to do this too but probably way too hard to type it out here.
Get a book called "Metal Fabricator's Handbook" by Ron and Sue Fournier. Probably one of the best books I have bought so far to teach you the basics of making your own metal forming tools, buying them at a good price, making jigs to make COMPLETE front end grilles, roll cages, chassis, exhaust and headers, gas tanks and way more. Check this out and it should help you so you can feel more comfortable cutting up your fenders. www.Amazon.com has the book and it's where I got mine from. Fournier makes more books and they are good as well I am pretty sure because the guy is one of the best metal fabricators ever next to a few others.

I belive this is one of those 'problems' which is actually a gem.

Your tire/wheel selection is going to force you to widen the fenders... way cool, and more custom is better, right?

The plywood jig is the way to go. But one thing I would add.. don't weld the filler strip in pieces. Make a form and hammerform the fill strip.

After you cut the fender, you can put a piece of cardboard up to the cut edge, and transfer the body line exact.

Next, get some MDF and cut it to the profile, about six inches wide. Stack the pieces until it is wide enough to form the strip. Glue the pieces to gether, forming a top and bottom form. Think precision.. the finished piece will be only as good as the form.

Now, just cut some nice fresh 20 GA to length and width, plus about a quarter inch in width.

Pinch the fill strip between the two forms, using a bunch of C clamps to squeeze the forms together. The piece should protrude equally about 1/8" .

Now, gently hammer the protruding strips up around the form, so they will protrude to the top. When you got the edges formed all the way around, then you are done. Un-clamp the form and remove your center strip, now perfectly formed as if it were factory pressed!

The two 1/8" lips will allow the strip to keep its form, and will give extra stability against warpage while you weld. Once you have it all welded up, just grind away the lips.

Firebird77---Not necessary to build a hammerform, etcetera. That method has merits for some applications, but not this one. Old Chevy fenders are humoungus, and it would be damn near impossible to do what you suggest. Hammerforms are good for 3 dimensional curves and "complex shapes, but they are not required in a situation like widening a fender. And yes---you do need to put the filler strip in in peices. If you haven't done this yourself, don't try and advise someone on how to do it. Reading Ron Covell books does not qualify someone to give advise. That filler strip is going to end up being about 48" long, and there is no way in Hell to line everything up so perfect that you can do it in one peice.

Brian is right, you have to do it in MULTIPLE pieces. The way the 46-48 chevy rear fenders are shaped are weird... They are rounded out and just don't keep one round shape, it changes and widens and then narrows. Hard to explain and too hard to see in a picture.

Hey Vettedream , what width wheel is on the car now?

There seems to be a large number of people on this forum giving advise on how to do things that they have never done themselves. If someone is looking for an answer on a real and immediate problem, one of the last things in the world that he needs is "how to advise" from someone who has read about it somewhere but has never actually done it. There is a world of difference about reading about something, and the real world application of that knowledge.----Be carefull guys. Before you jump in with good intentions to advise someone on how to do something that may be critical to the success or failure of his project, be sure that you have actually done this thing yourself, and know all the pitfalls and variables that come from real experience.

Originally posted by brianrupnow
There seems to be a large number of people on this forum giving advise on how to do things that they have never done themselves. If someone is looking for an answer on a real and immediate problem, one of the last things in the world that he needs is "how to advise" from someone who has read about it somewhere but has never actually done it. There is a world of difference about reading about something, and the real world application of that knowledge.----Be carefull guys. Before you jump in with good intentions to advise someone on how to do something that may be critical to the success or failure of his project, be sure that you have actually done this thing yourself, and know all the pitfalls and variables that come from real experience.

Brian, if your talking about me then sorry but you are kind of wrong about that. I own a 48 coupe (same as a 46 and 47) and doing the same thing with mine. I have not cut mine in half yet but making cardboard templates and KNOW that one piece wont work. The top part of it (if in one piece) will want to crinkle because of the bend. It will take a bit of pieces to work especially towards the very front of the fender and the back part where it rounds out in 3 directions.

Originally posted by brianrupnow
There seems to be a large number of people on this forum giving advise on how to do things that they have never done themselves. If someone is looking for an answer on a real and immediate problem, one of the last things in the world that he needs is "how to advise" from someone who has read about it somewhere but has never actually done it. There is a world of difference about reading about something, and the real world application of that knowledge.----Be carefull guys. Before you jump in with good intentions to advise someone on how to do something that may be critical to the success or failure of his project, be sure that you have actually done this thing yourself, and know all the pitfalls and variables that come from real experience.

i'll drink to that.

FMX----No, actually I wasn't talking about you. I know that you do have the same car as the one in question. I know that you are a "keener" and that you do a lot of research, and that if you had it your way, you would have 40 years of experience by the time you turn 20.
However, it is something that seems to be a real problem on this website---people that have only read about how things are done, then suddenly begin to advise others on "how to do it".
It is a great thing to share knowledge. That is how old farts like me try to "pass on the torch" to younger more inexperienced guys.
Really people---the things you read about in books are just wonderfull---BUT---it never really happens quite like the book says. It will be close, Hell, from a distance it will be mostly the same, but there will be a host of issues with any of these things that the books won't prepare you for. Only having done it yourself will get you there. I know that on the 40's era Chevies there are going to be more twists in the "split line" on the rear fender than there are in a dogs hind leg. Thats why I specified multiple peices.--On a model A Ford rear fender----well, maybe, but not in this case.
A"hammer-formed filler strip in one peice"???? not in a hundred years.

Originally posted by brianrupnow
FMX----No, actually I wasn't talking about you. I know that you do have the same car as the one in question. I know that you are a "keener" and that you do a lot of research, and that if you had it your way, you would have 40 years of experience by the time you turn 20.
However, it is something that seems to be a real problem on this website---people that have only read about how things are done, then suddenly begin to advise others on "how to do it".
It is a great thing to share knowledge. That is how old farts like me try to "pass on the torch" to younger more inexperienced guys.
Really people---the things you read about in books are just wonderfull---BUT---it never really happens quite like the book says. It will be close, Hell, from a distance it will be mostly the same, but there will be a host of issues with any of these things that the books won't prepare you for. Only having done it yourself will get you there. I know that on the 40's era Chevies there are going to be more twists in the "split line" on the rear fender than there are in a dogs hind leg. Thats why I specified multiple peices.--On a model A Ford rear fender----well, maybe, but not in this case.
A"hammer-formed filler strip in one peice"???? not in a hundred years.

Heh alright cool. But yeah like I said, if you tried to do it with one strip or hammer formed the top part (where it welds to the inside part of the fender) then it will want to crease and just not work. My rear fenders have a bit of rust on them and finding those 4" widened fenders would be nice if they had them in steel. I looked on Yogi's site and nothing came up for my car, they have regular ones and then some extentions (maybe these are them).