Finished the fenders
Well got the driver side done tonight. So my 94 Explorer with 5.5" Superlift is now riding on buckshot muds 35x12.5x15 on 15" on American Racing Baja 13mm (i think) offset rims. (picked up a new camera too, hence all the pics)
As far as how much was removed....not sure if this really shows or not but this is the removed peice. pretty much when the flare drops straigh down i started cutting and followed that on around.
Preffered weapon of choice?? Task Force electric grinder $30 at lowes and a couple of think DeWalt cutting wheels $1.97 each. oh, and a powered hand sander.
The molding i put on was from advanced auto parts $5.99 and you'll need two packs.
What i did was i first cut the metal off following the flare of the fender with the grinder and cutting wheel. then took the grinding wheel to it to smooth it out. sanded the hell out of the inside with the power sander and some rough sand paper. sprayed the inside of the fenders with Rustolium, then went over the inside edge and a little more (but not the whole thing) with the spray in bed liner ($7 per spary can at advanced). do a couple coats. then with the outside of the fender i used electrical tape (bends easier) to mask off as close as i could to where the fender started to flare and followed it around. cut up paper bags works great to tape up to keep the rest of the fender clean. you really need to sand the masked off area pretty good for the bed liner to stick really well but be careful not to destroy the electrical take (get as close as you can to the tape). spray several coats being sure to get a good bit on the edge, i think i did like 4 coats. Once both sides have dried then just press on the door molding and then trim off what is left. The molding also hides any non perfect cuts you might have made when trimming the fender. Just be sure to let the bed liner dry all the way or it will peel off when you put the molding on.
I was rubbing the fender pretty bad before the trim, to the point that i did not even atempt to drive it. I put the tires on and was just like, hell no, there was maybe 30% stearing before it rubbed. Oh, and i also trimmed a little of the cab as well, you can see it in the 6th picture i posted earlier. There is a 45 degree angle that has the modling on it as well. I had to trim that to get the clearance that i really wanted, I don't want to worry about it even during suspension flex. I also used the grinder/cutter to trim up my plastic wheel well to help keep some of the junk from getting into the engine bay, not that its going to do much good, but i wanted to put as much of the wheel well back in as possible. Seen in previous pics 2,3, and 6. My bumper is still off because it was close to rubbing, about a centemeter when the tires lined up right. A little body roll probably would have made it rub. So it is still off and waiting for its own hack job, i might do that this weekend. keeps me busy at least.
As far as an alignment, i need the tires balanced too but who's keeping track
:
Aaron
...btw, i have all red e.b. front fenders with a grey truck ...
....it's nice to see an all red X....
