Replace poorly done RSR front fenders with fiberglass OR re-do flares in steel??

[IslandHopper]

Hi all, my '73 Targa has wide (RSR?) front and rear fenders and bumpers done by the PO. Unfortunately, the front flares were installed WAY too low by the shop that did this. (I think they may have even taken Turbo flares and installed them so the front touched the bumper instead of mocking up the filler panel most do $!@)
I have been "working around them" for a couple years (running smaller diameter fronts, way cambered in and spaced in etc. but it looks wrong and doesn't drive well). They are absolutely driving me nuts and I want to make them right but have been holding off due to the $$$!

SO, from all my research on here and elsewhere there appears to be THREE options for me to pick from that I would be potentially OK with. Body shop labor is very expensive where I live, so given that, what do you guys think my best option is to make this right??

1. Purchase fiberglass or carbon fiber front RSR complete fenders and have them installed/painted. This would make sure they are the right height of course, but I lose being all steel.
2. Cut off the current flares and install steel turbo flares and have the correct filler panel mocked up. This option uses cheap parts but labor may be a lot more, and no guarantee they will be done at the right height etc.
3. Cut off the current flares and purchase RSR steel flares. These parts are MUCH more expensive (more than even the full glass fenders) BUT it would pretty much ensure the right placement, and I would remain all-steel.

Let me know what you guys think are the pros-cons of each AND if you know which ones would be the least/most expensive!

Thanks

[IslandHopper]

I just got an email back from one of the places that sell the high quality RSR flares, and they luckily will sell me just the front pair that I need (most places are only the set of 4). This to me is looking like the best alternative because they seem like they would "line up" properly and I wouldn't have to worry very much about them being the right height/placement or not, since they go all the way to the bottom/front etc., but I haven't had much body work done before so any input would be appreciated.
This pic is of the RSR flares I am talking about:

[javadog]

First off, figure out what you have now. RSR and turbo flares have a completely different profile and you want both ends of the car to match. If you have turbo flares on the rear, the last thing you want on the front is RSR flares.

Feel free to post pictures of both front and rear fenders, if you are unsure of what you have.

JR

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by javadog

First off, figure out what you have now. RSR and turbo flares have a completely different profile and you want both ends of the car to match. If you have turbo flares on the rear, the last thing you want on the front is RSR flares.

Feel free to post pictures of both front and rear fenders, if you are unsure of what you have.

JR

Thanks JR, I am pretty positive the rear are turbo flares, they are not "rsr" correct flares by any stretch, they are very linear and look just like turbo flares to me. Those were installed by the previous, previous owner decades ago when it was turned into a Turbo replica with whale tale... on the back half anyway. The front was left alone from what I was told, but as you can imagine the car looked ridiculous so the guy I bought it from wanted to make it look better and had to choose between putting smaller rear flares on in place of the turbo flares, or bigger fronts instead of the stock flares. He went the bigger front route but as mentioned, they're done totally wrong.
As for what is on the front now, I assume also turbo flares just installed correctly. Here are a couple simple pics of them. They are mounted so low they literally STICK OUT SIDEWAYS at the top like bad 80's shoulder pads!!!

[IslandHopper]

and here are two pics of the rear to show what I am pretty positive are Turbo flares. They seem to be very well installed actually, with good fit/finish from inside and out and have been on there for apparently decades.

[bgyglfr]

If you are going through the trouble, Why not cut them all off? Early targas look better narrow and it will be worth a lot more with the correct body.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by bgyglfr

If you are going through the trouble, Why not cut them all off? Early targas look better narrow and it will be worth a lot more with the correct body.

lol, because I really like it as a wide body and think it looks better that way, (and the rest of it is FAR from original anyway). Its actually a sweet looking car in person with the exception of the front fenders (that nobody else even notices) and I could care less about what its worth because I own it to drive it and have fun with it. Plus, how could I give up an A$$ like this! lol

[javadog]

I'd like to see a side shot of the car, taken from down low, maybe a couple feet off of the ground, so I can better see the profiles. My first thought is the front look more like RSR flares and the rear looks more like turbo flares.

JR

[bgyglfr]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

lol, because I really like it as a wide body and think it looks better that way, (and the rest of it is FAR from original anyway). Its actually a sweet looking car in person with the exception of the front fenders (that nobody else even notices) and I could care less about what its worth because I own it to drive it and have fun with it. Plus, how could I give up an A$$ like this! lol

Well, I can't argue with that. It is a nice looking car. It should be easy enough to butt weld the correct flares to the front and you will be good to go.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by bgyglfr

Well, I can't argue with that. It is a nice looking car. It should be easy enough to butt weld the correct flares to the front and you will be good to go.

Thanks! I am hoping it's that straightforward, as it didn't come out well the first time lol

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by javadog

I'd like to see a side shot of the car, taken from down low, maybe a couple feet off of the ground, so I can better see the profiles. My first thought is the front look more like RSR flares and the rear looks more like turbo flares.

JR

Well, this is the only side-on shot I can find, hopefully this will show what you need. (Different wheels on it in this pic)

As you can see, the front wheel arch is WAY too shallow of an "eyebrow" if you will, that cuts across instead of going up and then curving back down. To me, the only thing I can think of is that it is a short-hood flare that they mounted at the right place at the back, but then tilted forward so the front touches the bumper instead of making that 3" or so filler panel I have seen others do. That would also explain why it is sticking out at the top too I think, as you curve it forward, the fender becomes wider and it would stick out.

What do you think?

[IslandHopper]

OK so after doing a ton more reading, I think the best and easiest thing to make sure these come out right would be to get either proper 2.8 RSR steel flares OR ST flares! I have found thermoformed steel flares in both ST and RSR that appear to be high quality. Seems like this will be less work and better results than trying to mockup the filler piece for a turbo flare etc., unless something thinks otherwise?
Since my rear flares are most likely turbo flares, what do you guys think would look better for the front? ST or RSR flares?? The problem is, every time I look at pics, it seems like they vary wildly. I have seen multiple real RSRs with totally different looking flares, same with the ST. TDoes anyone have experience with these new high quality steel flares in ST or RSR? I cant really tell the difference from pics lol.

These are the ST flares:
And these are the RSR from the same place:

[ben parrish]

Great looking car but I agree, the fronts look off. Actually looks to me as if they put turbo rear flairs on the opposite side for the front. If metal is important to you, go with the turbo or RSR fronts but have a shop install that is familiar with the correct fittment. Fiberglass will be lighter and easier for a non-Porsche body shop to install.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by ben parrish

Great looking car but I agree, the fronts look off. Actually looks to me as if they put turbo rear flairs on the opposite side for the front. If metal is important to you, go with the turbo or RSR fronts but have a shop install that is familiar with the correct fittment. Fiberglass will be lighter and easier for a non-Porsche body shop to install.

Thanks. And that is interesting, I never would have thought someone could flip around rear fenders and use them, is that an old trick or something? Or just something weird they may have decided to test on my car (unsuccessfully in my opinion) lol.
So I haven't gotten any opinions saying NOT to move forward with installing the RSR or ST front fender flares on my fenders, so I am probably going to move forward with that.
That said, does anyone have any SF Bay Area body shop recommendations? It's funny because the shop that did the current front flares in the first place, pretty near me, is very highly rated and is a recommended installer from restoration parts, but im a bit hesitant talking to them about doing these since the first ones are wrong (then again I don't know if the PO Asked for them like this, who knows)
Does anyone think it would be weird of me to govtovthe body shop that put these on for the PO and ask them what can be done to fix them? (Not expecting it done I r free of course) or should I steer clear and find somewhere else?

[Modifier]

@IslandHopper - Where did you find those RSR flares? I am in the same boat that someone messed with the flares on my car and I want to officially make them right. I have found a few places with the RSRs but curious who sells those you posted in the pic.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Modifier

@IslandHopper - Where did you find those RSR flares? I am in the same boat that someone messed with the flares on my car and I want to officially make them right. I have found a few places with the RSRs but curious who sells those you posted in the pic.

I think many of the places that sell them get them from the same manufacturer. The specs all sound the same and I cant imagine there are a lot of people making these, and just a few years ago you couldn't even buy such a thing. Most places advertise them as a set of 4, I emailed two of them and AASE is the place that said they could get me just the front pair. They have the ST fronts listed by themselves already on their site too.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

So I haven't gotten any opinions saying NOT to move forward with installing the RSR or ST front fender flares on my fenders, so I am probably going to move forward with that.

I though that I had expressed that opinion. Maybe one of my posts didn't make it off of my keyboard, for some reason.

Having seen more ST, RS 3.0 and RSR cars in the flesh than I can remember, let me say that Porsche's initial attempts at making flares were not that fabulous. In person, they don't look all that great. They are a terrible match for the turbo flares that came later. Your car isn't something historically significant, so my thoughts are that you should do what looks best when it's all finished.

You don't like the current mismatch you have now, you won't like the future mismatch if you use RSR flares.

As to the body shop question, ask them what they did and why. If they didn't install these existing flares in this way solely to comply with specific instructions from a previous owner, then I'd assume they lack the talent to do the job right.

JR

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by javadog

I though that I had expressed that opinion. Maybe one of my posts didn't make it off of my keyboard, for some reason.

Having seen more ST, RS 3.0 and RSR cars in the flesh than I can remember, let me say that Porsche's initial attempts at making flares were not that fabulous. In person, they don't look all that great. They are a terrible match for the turbo flares that came later. Your car isn't something historically significant, so my thoughts are that you should do what looks best when it's all finished.

You don't like the current mismatch you have now, you won't like the future mismatch if you use RSR flares.

As to the body shop question, ask them what they did and why. If they didn't install these existing flares in this way solely to comply with specific instructions from a previous owner, then I'd assume they lack the talent to do the job right.

JR

Hi Javadog, thanks for the feedback. You did make an earlier post saying that the RSR fronts would be a mismatch for Turbo flares if that was what was on my rear, and asked to see a side profile pic. I posted it and asked what you thought, but that missing post must have been what would have come next.

That being said, your recent post is talking about me being unhappy with the mismatch, but that is not the case. I am unhappy that they are FUNCTIONALLY horrible. They are so low the tires hit when the wheel is turned, which has forced me to run narrower tires AND smaller diameter tires than the rear, run maximum negative camber, lift the front suspension up higher than normal, and space them INTO the wheel wells, all in an attempt to actually drive the damn car without ripping off a fender or at least rubbing horribly! As long as the front fenders will be wide to balance the rear, and let me use PROPER tires, with the suspension where it should be, then the side profile is my last worry. My car is NOT DRIVABLE for anything more than gentle cruising around town and slow corners which sucks far more than any "side profile" match. I NEED to fix this as reliably and affordably as possible (without of course just cutting a big hole in the side of my car...)

What I really need help determining however (looks aside) is the cost/function benefit of the three paths in my initial post. 1. Replace with RSR/ST steel flares. 2. Try to find a shop that can "modify" steel front turbo flares to fit properly, or 3. install wide fiberglass fenders.

If you have any info on that i would greatly appreciate it. While the side profile is a concern, you can see that I am far more concerned with USING MY CAR. If you feel that Turbo flares modified to match the rear would be best (in looking at the side profile pic I posted), then please let me know, and hopefully someone will have a recommendation for a body shop that I can trust to do that correctly! Thanks

[Cook&Dunning]

RD sells front turbo flares. From an affordability point of view, these are less than half of ST flares on their site. Could be an option?

Restoration Design | Fender flare front, left Turbo

[javadog]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

What I really need help determining however (looks aside) is the cost/function benefit of the three paths in my initial post. 1. Replace with RSR/ST steel flares. 2. Try to find a shop that can "modify" steel front turbo flares to fit properly, or 3. install wide fiberglass fenders.

Installing turbo flares is cheaper.
Turbo flares are easier to install.
Turbo flares offer more room for tires.
Either fender flare will require some remedial work to your fenders.
Turbo flares will net you (or your estate) more money when the car sells.
Steel flares add more value to a car than fiberglass and aren't much more money up front.

I wouldn't use the previous shop without more details as to why they installed the front flares in that manner.

JR