Another way to get more fender clearance

[AME_VIP]

I was watching that show Super Muscle car or something like that on TLC. They build a Muscle car up and then put it in auction to try to make some money.

The episode was a Chevy Nova drag car called Gangreen.

They were having issues with the fender clearance on the rear wheels. The tire was too large. It was low so it was tucking the rear tire but was rubbing the fender. Instead of rolling or shaving, they took a block of wood and an industrial jack that is about 8" x 8" square with the round piece that goes up in the center. They put in the fender and opened the jack to force the fender out. They gained a lot of clearance and did not crack the brand new paint job.

Anyone else see this :)

[Gao Jian]

now I would love to see a DIY on that, it sounds really interesting.

[brianlin87]

link?

[KumaXL]

Yeah I sure did! That is actually a really old hot rodder trick.. :) You have to be really careful but it does work. You have to move really slow, since the peice is square and not the natural shape of the fender it can push out with ridges.. Really cool when it works tho! Oh and the jack is reffered to as a "bottle jack" they come in a vareity of sizes.. :)

[PMP-LEX]

I saw that too...but if they were scared of the paint cracking, why didn't they try to heat it up?

[username]

I was watching that show Super Muscle car or something like that on TLC. They build a Muscle car up and then put it in auction to try to make some money.

show is called rags to riches.
they spend too much money on brand new parts.

[allballes]

The show is Wrecks to Riches

[V8_Aristo]

I think this works better on Hot Rods and Muscle Cars since they have huge fenders and quarter panel that can be stretched w/o leaving wrinkles. On a newer car, fender and quarter panels are welded to other panels so closely that it won't flex as much. Which is a good thing when it comes to overall car stability.

About the show, they have "spend-o-meters" and "work hour totals". Does the work hours get calculated in on the total cost, it looks like it's not when I was watching it. It's not my favorite show, but it beats Unique Whips and Pinks :P

[One Ton VIP]

Wrecks to Riches is prob one of the better car buildup shows on tv imo... less focus on drama, and more on actual work. Way better than American Hot Rod, for sure.
The trick to avoiding deforming the sheetmetal with your block of wood when you use the jack technique is to make a wooden buck (glue a bunch of wood together), and shape it to your fender's general contour using a grinder and sander. But, ultimately, this method of flaring doesn't work too well on the rear fenders of most modern unibody cars cuz the inner fenders attach pretty low.. so that'd be the first thing that'd move when you jack it, not the outer fender skin.
Here's a good page with pics to give you the jist of the whole deal:
http://www.minitruckinweb.com/tech/body/0309mt_fenderflare/

[RaCinStylez]

I wonder if this will work for my sc or not....

[daltonnnn]

someone should do it on an import to see it can be done.

[thumper]

noob question alert: is sheetmetal thickness a factor? is japanese sheetmetal too thin in comparison to american stuff?

[Yummyriceball]

yah yah.. i would also like to see this done on an import...

anyone want to be a guinea pig?

[One Ton VIP]

It's been done.. it's not a new invention... BUT, it requires you to separate the inner and outer skins, which is why you don't see people doing it often on a modern, unibody car... easy as that. Larry Widmer (known as The Old One on the old importracing.com mssg boards) used a port-a-power to "flare" the fenders of his Integra by pushing both out at the same time, and using wooden bucks at the end also. You *might* be able to find his posts on this archived at www.theoldone.com (bonus points to anyone who can figure out who I am in the archived posts too :) )
Anyway... I reiterate, not the *best* method for modern, unibody cars.

[Gao Jian]

thanks one ton, I will be sure not to give this a try anytime soon on the newer cars!

[socalvip]

Im always open to new alternatives.. did anyone find the link?