Trimming the wheel wells

[lanierboy]

Since my stock size tires are about worn out, I decided that justifies a 4" lift kit, wider wheels and a little trimming to allow for bigger tires. My question is how much should I trim. Also, I don't just want to chop it up with my sawsall, I want it to appear as professional body work, without the cost. I have two questions,

1) How much should I cut?
2) Is there any aftermarket trim kit to cover up the rough edges?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.


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1987 GW "Christine"
AMC360 / NP229 / TF727
Holley Projection 2bbl
TFI Ignition upgrade

[scotty]

on a 4 door you can cut about 2 inches-basically cut off the bubble,or flair,if you wanna call it that,that surrounds the wheel. this can be done tastefully,if you cut carefully,and do alittle body work after,it would be hard to tell its been done. im sure you could find some sort of flair or trim to cover the edges,too. this was stag 1 for me- i had 32x11.5 inch mudkings on my stock wheels,with stock suspension with the fenders cut like that. id think with 4 inches of suspension lift,youd be able to fit a 33x12.5 or 14.5 on whatever wheel you wnated.

you cant cut any more than that without cutting into the door,and thats alittle harder to cover up- http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/smile.gif



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scott
85 grand wagoneer
258 with motorcraft 2bbl/904/twin stick dana 300/dana 44/welded amc 20
38x15.5 gumbo mudders
snorkel/dual batteries/onboard air/"custom" convertable
3 inch body lift/mostly stock suspension/"modified" fender openings
custom front/rear bumpers and brushgaurd

T18/dana 20 swap very soon
searching for dana 18 to replace the 20...

[porkchop]

I have cut my wheel wells, I am going to use regular vacum line as a trim for mine. Just get a piece that is the size you need and then slice it down one side, use an adhesive and you are set. Mine is not for show though. But I feel this could be done tastefully. Also there is the stuff at the auto stores, but it only goes on the one side and I think the adhesive would get dirty and it would come off.

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'67/'79 Wagoneer mix
"Old Timer"
Body of a 33 year old
Heart and legs of a 21 year old.
Spirit of a 1 year old.
360,TH400,QT,D44's F&R
SOA 32X11.50's

"I regret that I have but only one paycheck to give to my Jeep."

[Bernie]

The trick we used in the old days for opening up the wheel wells was to cut off the factory lip or flair and then cut out the desired amount and move the lip up. Of course you have to make a small filler piece because it now has to be a bit longer. It takes a bit of body work but it looks proffesional http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/smile.gif

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To many Jeeps not enough money!!

[River Beast]

I started out with 15x10's with 10.50's on a 3" susp.... they rubbed like h*ll. So I added a "3 body lift. (I now run "a little higher") I only trimmed to a 1/4" before the first body line of the flair... why... my buddy took his off at the 2nd line and lost the fender stability (the bends give stability). It depends on what you want it to look like.

I used 1/8" pinstripe to "mark" my line and used a fine tooth metal blade on my jig saw.. and took my time. came out really smooth and straight. I then used a silicone filler to close(fill) the gap between the inner and outer fenders to stop dust and dirt from entering the interior. I needed to touch up the edge a little when the main filler was dry but looks good and is flexible...

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Todd
78 Wagoneer "River Beast"
360/TH400/QT
Dana 44's locked w/ 4.88's
soon to be 38x14.50 TSL- SX Swampers
7" SOA in front-7" Rear Shackle Inversion Mods
4" Skyjacker Softride
3" Trailmaster Bodylift
My FSJ site: http://www.geocities.com/~spazz4life (http://www.geocities.com/~spazz4life)
My E-mail: spazz4life@yahoo.com
"If you can't stop...SMILE as you go under!"

[This message has been edited by River Beast (edited October 08, 2000).]

[BobBarry]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lanierboy:
Since my stock size tires are about worn out, I decided that justifies a 4" lift kit, wider wheels and a little trimming to allow for bigger tires. My question is how much should I trim. Also, I don't just want to chop it up with my sawsall, I want it to appear as professional body work, without the cost. I have two questions,

1) How much should I cut?
2) Is there any aftermarket trim kit to cover up the rough edges?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cut up to about 3/4" from where you want the final wheelwell opening to be (I used a 4 1/2" cutoff wheel on a minigrinder; quick and clean). Then, take a pair of vise-grips and some short lengths of angle-iron, clamp the angle-iron on either side of the sheetmetal up to just below where you want the wheelwell to be, and gently bend back a new lip, hammering along the new crease to make it as sharp as possible. Start with the longest, straighest wheelwell edges (top, mainly), and bend back the new lip in increments all around (do 30º first, then 60º, then finish up to the full 90º bend).

Then, you can attach the inner and outer sheetmetal with spot-welds or pop-rivets, with some seam-sealer between the panels.

I did this to my '78 Cherokee; see it at-
http://home.off-road.com/~wagoneer/cherokee/1978_chero.html

I think it turned out pretty good, considering. You do have to work out some different issues, such as how much exactly to cut off at first, which way to bend the inner wheelhousing panel to best mate up to the outer fender panel

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Bob Barry<UL TYPE=SQUARE>* '78 Cherokee 4-door
* '88 Grand Wagoneer[/list]http://studentweb.providence.edu/~rbarry/wheels/