Cutting sheet metal... eek.

[DarkMan]

I'm seriously considering making some modifications to BamBam's sheet metal. My rocker panels are pretty much destroyed after CCR2000 and I'd like to cut my fenders back enough to clear 32s without a lift. (You know I'm deturmined to be a big dawg without screwing up my suspension geometry.)

I know a few folks around here have cut fenders, etc. I'd like to know what to look out for.

Someone told me that cutting the front fenders gets you awfully close to the fire wall. True?

What do you use to turn back the sharp edge when your done? I certainly don't want to worry about cut tires.

Is there something I can do (besides paint and clear coat) to prevent rust around the cut?

How high up can I cut my rockers? Bottom of the doors?

Is there a recommended tool for the job? I made some notches in my pinch weld a while back with a rotary grinder and it cut like warm butter. Will that work elsewhere?

Any help you can offer would be great. I sure don't want to screw this up.

 

[Joe93]

Well here is what I did when I had to cut the front fenders to fit my 33's.

Tools Used:
Air powered 3 inch Cut off grinder
Tin snipps
Needle nose pliers
Vise grips
3 lb dead blow sledge (the soft rubber type filled with sand)
ball peen hammer
Regular hammer
Automotive Masking Tape
and some others along the way(can't remember all of them)

Steps:
1: Jack up the explorer and put the tire on the explorer
2: Lower the X to the ground and crank the wheel till it barely starts to rub( helps if you have someone to help you with this)
3: Find out where it rubs and what needs to be taken off to make it stop rubbing.
4: I took off my stock Sport trim and repeated steps 2 and 3. still rubbed alot.
5: Took the masking tape and I taped about an inch back from the edge of the outside of the fender. following the basic shape of the fender this will be where you will rebend the fender under into the wheel well.(always better to take not enough off then to much)
6: Unscrewed the the screw that hold the plastic wheel well liner in place to the fender.
7: Jacked the X up and put it on jack stands. (you will do this several times)
8: I took the Tin Snipps and Right about where the fender starts to curve down from the top. I cut about an inch from the lip of the fender that tucks under in the wheel well towards the out side of the fender.( if you don't understand what I am saying let me know)
9: Took the Vise Grips and pulled the part of the fender that folds under into the wheel well out till it was about even with the rest of the fender.( the cut in step 8 makes it easier to do without tweaking the top of the fender.)
10: Where you pulled the lip of the fender out you will see where there was a crease in fender, from being bent under into the wheel well. Use this crease as a guide so you can get the basic shape of the original fender. I took the 3 inch cut off wheel and followed the the crease up to where you cut the fender in step 8.
11: I then took the 3lb dead blow sledge and hammered the the rest of the fender back under the into the wheel well.
12: Put the tire back on and lower the X to the ground.
repeat step 2 to see if it rubs again. If the tire still rubs
repeat the previous steps till you get no more rub.
After you have cut enough fender away use the file and smooth out the part of the fender that you cut.
13: Repeat the steps above for the other side.
14: Take it for a test drive to see if the tires rub while the explorer is moving on the street. I took my explorer over several speed bumps to see if it would rub. If the tires still rub do all the steps again to trim back a little more.

Sorry this is long but I was just trying to give you a picture of what I did. You will get close to the fire wall depending on how much you cut away. I believe you can cut the rockers up to the bottom of the doors. If you have any questions or would like to see what I did to mine in person we could meet up some time and I could show you. Have you thought about doing the Warrior Shackle and Coil Spacers to help fit the 32's?. I think using those would allow you to cut away less of the fenders. Or maybe doing a one inch Body Lift? To keep things from rusting you could Herculine the under part of the fenders where you cut or you could use Hammerite(comes in sveral colors) and spray the cut part of the fenders. If you want any help with this Just let me know I would Love to help out. Also what size tire are you planning to run? 32x11.50's? I think the narrower the trie the less you will have to cut away.

 

[rpenner54]

I honestly have never cut the front fenders. I have however taken the biggest sledge to them I can find and wacked them pretty hard to "persuade" them to go where I want. I did need to cut out quite a bit of that plastic inner fender though. On the rear I used the sawzall and the grinder to take my fenders off.

 

[RangerX]

I think there was an article in one of the mags recently, comparing different tools to cut sheetmetal. The best way was to use an air nibbler.It gave the cleanest and most controllable cut.

 

[leebo]

Wouldnt you be rubbing your front swaybars with that size of a tire and no lift? I maybe wrong, but that's what hit my head?