Fender flare "technic" question
 

Hey guys, I remember see a post not too long ago that showed some DIY fender flares (J.P. Stein and someone else I think). My question is that was used to produce the flares. Obviously a hammer and dolly, but did you start at the outer lip and work your way in, or start at the top of the flare and work your way out. I've got four fenders to practice on ('75 rust bucket), but I'd just like to lessen the "trial and error" .

Thanks a bunch!

"Okay, so what's the speed of dark?"

I realize you were not asking me, but I'm not shy...You might try cutting the wheel opening flange out first , then stretch using a high crown dolly and hammer, or high crown hammer and dolly, then re-attach the wheel opening flange. You will need more stretching towards the outer edges than further in, so start at the edge and work inwards. (clean all the paint and sound deadening inside and out) After a while I would try more stretching about 1" in than at the very edge, so as not to get a reverse effect from too much stretching on the edge. To check your shape, lay a flexible piece of material like a machinist's ruler flat on the surface. This way you can see the shape and pick up the low spots more easily.

Alternately, try leaving the flange in place and stretching the area just an inch or so around it, and then blend your work into the rest of the panel. The most critical thing is having a small contact area between the hammer and dolly, so you don't work yourself to death. You will be hammering thousands of times. The fender planishing hammer that I put in my first post might worth the time and money to make just to save your arms. Make templates of the stock shape so you can see your progress.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

Thanks John!

You do some fine work there, I guess you're talking about the pneumatic hammer with the "C" shaped device attached to it. Looks like a noisy piece of equipment for sure. So start at the outside, and work my way in, that's exactly what I needed to know.

Muchas Gracias!

(914 restore: "It's easy to make a cow into hamburger, but it's very hard to make hamburger into a cow") http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/smash.gif

I'm not very well versed in this metal working gig. I just jumped in with both feet and a hammer......it was a learn as you go deal.
Practice on a scrap fender is a gud plan. I woulda done that if I had one.........

The only cuts I made were on the fender lip around the tight radii
at the front and rear of the opening to give the metal somewhere to go as I folded it flat. After folding, I started at the top of the opening and worked up and out. Mr Kelly is right, thousands of hits (not gental ones, either). The doubled over fold must be stretched striking both the inside and out side. Most all the hits on the fender are done on the inside(dolly on the outside), except for flattening all them bumps (when you reach the flattening stage, you're almost done). My old hands were toast by then.

The pic of Mr. Kelly's custom air powered hammer thingy made me lust for it.

The most difficult part (for me) was getting a feel for the amount of stretching needed in the fender to stiffen the lip.

Don't be shy, John. Expertise is a rare commodity. Share yours as often as you like. The front flares look good. 225s on 8 inch wheels would be a good goal, front and rear.

Hey, what's wrong with a 2x4 for the big move and a 1x2 for final messaging? :D

It's not pretty, but I now have non rubbing 225s until I save up for some nice flares.

Love your work John.

Re: Fender flare "technic" question
 

Here's the thread you may be referring to: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-914-914-6-technical-forum/77059-one-inch-one-hour.html

Yep, that's the Post Zeke914! Thanks, you saved me a lot of 'pickin' and 'clickin'. Nothing left to do but start smacking on the practice (donor) car. I'll post some pics when I get it done.

You didnt mention custom OR GT-like flares. Here is what i did in four days, a couple of 20-gauge steel sheet, a MIG, a lot of elbow grease and.... a bit of madness! The thoughest moment is when you cut your sotck flares.... Personally, i had to cut the flares just to go me a reason to do the job....

I find the work done by JP Stein, Milt, and Farley D to be impressive. It takes a very strong desire to start and finish such projects. I started out building flares on Ghias exactly the same way, and it was a lot of work. A great way to learn what metal does. And you learn a lot about design by spending many hours just looking at the car. And of course some people wonder about your mental health (insert smily emoticon) Nice work guys!

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

flares, wheels, and offsets??
 

Well I'm mentioning them :)

Mr. Farley, may I ask if those are OEM Porsche Cup wheels with ET55 offset? If they are, may I also ask what, if any, spacers you are using and how far the wheels sticks out from the body?

The reason for all the questions is that I just bought some 7" and 9" cup wheels, but if I need to run the 1" spacers to get the correct backspacing, I don't know if the 9's will still fit under the standard 9" rear flares or if I'll need 11" rear flares.

The problem is kind of a catch-22. I could mount the wheel and take the measurements myself; but I can't mount the wheel unless I cut the fender. I'd rather not cut the fender until I had the flare in hand. Chicken -> egg -> chicken :p

thanks (anyone) for any info,

My pleasure. I am running 2 1/2 spacers on the front, and 1 1/2 spacers on the back. Those are factory OEM 993 7,5 & 9 x 17 wheels. I dont know about the offset though.

Your results may vary as my flares ARENT factory! I crafted them myself based on some fiberglass set i had.

Hope that helps.