On tires and flares....

[Tony Rio]

Hi all....

On my '78 WT Cherokee, the flares are a total loss. So since I am itching to play with my new sawz-all, I figured I would pose a few questions.

First, has anyone any pictures of using a TJ flare on a Cherokee? It looks as though the rear and the TJ rear are basically the same.

Also, I am thinking if I can get another set of rear TJ flares (I have one set already... which is why i am trying to figure out how to put them to use) I may be able to trim them for the front. It seems like this would be a better solution than replacement fiberglass flares since TJ flare are high impact plastic which is somewhat flexible.

Also, how bad would it be/look if I just hacked off the old flares and finished the edge flush... not installing any sort of flare?

Has anyone done any of this and have pics on how it looks?

Also, I would eventually like to run a 33x12.5" tire. On a W/T, can I do it without a lift? If not, what is the minimum lift I can do (spring, not body). If I have to trim some to make it work, that is fine.

I do not know what width my rims are, but I am under the assumption they are stock (have the Jeep caps). A pic to show what they look like is below. Can anyone tell me what width thay are, an d if I will have back spacing issues with a 12.5" wide tire?

TIA!

http://www.oiiiiiiio.com/tonyrio/bomber28.JPG
http://www.oiiiiiiio.com/tonyrio/bomber33.JPG

[ April 25, 2002: Message edited by: Tony Rio ]</p>

[JEEPGUZZZI]

The rims are 8" wide. You can get 33" tires in there, but with spring sag and some light-medium duty wheeling, you may bend the front fenders. That is what happened to my previous owner! If you want to see what a 4" lift on a '79 looks like, come on over. I have 32" x 11.5" x 15" tires on 15" x 8" wheels. I could run bigger tires now, but that would probably make me want a gear change. As far as the rear flares, a body man redid mine a couple of years ago, and they are rusting again. But, then, I drove it through a few winters.
If you are interested in looks, I would not hack off the old flares and leave them off.

[Iron Horse]

E-mail Adamstrator...he has pics of a Wag with TJ flares. Or you could do a search for "Holy Cross Pics" posted by Adamstrator....I *think* that's where I saw those pics.

[Hump]

Would chopping the fenders produce the same result as having an n/t cherokee? If it would, I don't know why you wouldn't just whack them off.

[Tony Rio]

http://www.ifsja.org/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002630&p=

Thanks!!!

Yes... I think it would look similar to an N/T, but I am afraid that with 12.5" wide tires in the future it would look a little silly with all that tire sticking out. I'm not too concerned about looks, but it's a pain keeping anything clean with tires that far pas the fender (I know from experience on my TJ).

Looks like the TJ flares might be the trick. I was hesitant on using the stock fronts, but they look pretty good IMO.

Woo Hoo! A fender flare fix that is pretty much not going to cost me anything! :D