Building fender flares
- Thread starter DanielForest
- Start date
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Daniel, I really do not intend to sound negative but I honestly don't think this plan will work. The reason being the shapes of the front and rear fenders are so very different in pretty much every aspect. If you go look at your car and compare the front and rear fenders you will see what I mean. So cutting and splicing two rears will not yield a shape that matches the front fenders. Even using two rear halves will not fit the rear fenders because the front half and rear half of the rear fender is not the same shape. So splicing two of them together will result in a very different contour from the car no matter how you look at it. Plus you will need two sets of rear flares to do this, which seems quite costly. And splicing two halves together may not be a simple as it sounds - at least not to make it look good.
I think the better approach would be to start with a set of front flares designed to fit the X's front fenders. Then modify them by adding the pockets (as @autox19 suggested previously). The added pockets do not even need to be functional. Meaning the flares can be mounted from behind so there is no stress/load on the new pockets. That will prevent the possibility of the fiberglass mods failing.
Another option that is even simpler is to get a set of front flares and modify your existing rear flares to cover (eliminate) the pockets. Thereby making the rears match the fronts.
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lookforjoe
True Classic
I think given that you are not already fluent in working with fibreglass, trying to modify a flare to add the recesses would be the least painful approach, and even that is fairly complex. Trying to merge two halves of a rear flare & then get it to match the contour of the front fender, AND blend the two halves so that the arch flows in a cohesive manner is going to be a nightmare.
Try & get the flares & driving light pods from OZ if MWB can't get them. No matter what, bonded fibreglass panels NEVER fit without mofication - so if you can get the bolt on version, much better for you, I'd say.
Try & get the flares & driving light pods from OZ if MWB can't get them. No matter what, bonded fibreglass panels NEVER fit without mofication - so if you can get the bolt on version, much better for you, I'd say.
DanielForest
True Classic
I like the idea of getting the correct front flares and adding pockets. Seems like an easier project than what I had in mind, for a lot less money (half).
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Are they even available? The only ones I'm aware of were custom made by the car owners. But I haven't researched it so there may be something else out there.
Bobkat
1979 x1/9
great work! I have a boxed fender project that I have to get onto. What is the name of that material you get from HD? I will be metal on this one and that stuff looks perfect for a cheap fast way of working out some shapes.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Second that question. I've looked at what I believe they call "BullBoard". It is a heavy covering to protect interior floors when remodeling. The material type and weight are right. But it comes as a roll so it will not lay flat to make good patterns from - just wants to curl back up.
stingray250
True Classic
Well apparently, the product I originally purchased is no longer in production in favor of what they now call "house wrap". Go figure... The stuff came in real handy for all kinda quick mockup/fab work. Maybe a craft store would have a large enough piece of construction board to suffice.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
That's too bad. I've tried several types of art, craft, and other products but all of them are either too thin/flemsey or way too thick/hard for my preference. I saw a sample of the floor protection cover I referred to at a trade show. The sample was a particularly heavy version and it was a 10" square flat piece. So it would be perfect. A lot like the stuff in @stingray250 pics. But when I went to get some is when I found out that although the little sample was a flat piece, the product only comes rolled up. So it's too curly to use. I'm sure there must be something out there. But it would be nice to find one that's easily available locally and inexpensive for such use.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
I found the product I saw at the trade show:
www.surfaceshields.com
It would be perfect if it was flat. The curved nature could still work for some pattern making, but not all. However I really don't want to store a 100 foot roll just for the few times I could use it.
Builder Board™ | Temporary Floor Protection | Surface Shields
Surface Shields' Builder Board product is a heavy-duty, temporary floor protection board that replaces 10 sheets of masonite.
www.surfaceshields.com
bpimm
Brian Pimm
Get a piece of foam round stock the dimension of the inside of the recess wrap it with box tape for a release agent then wrap glass cloth around it with resin of course, let it cure, drill the foam out with a slightly smaller drill bit then pull the tape and you have a clean fiberglass tube to make the recesses out of. Use a hole saw to cut the holes for the recesses and glass in the tube sections making the bottom at the same time. a little bodywork and stick them on.
I have made fiberglass tubes this way and it works quite good. If there is more shape to the recess than just a cylinder, maybe it's tapered as well, put mold release on one of the existing recesses and out around it on the flare a bit, then use one of the glass fiber reinforced body fillers to fill the recess and build a flange around it on the face of the flare, pop it out when it's cured, drill your hole for the recess on the new flare, coat the mold with release agent and attach the mold to the new flare, then lay glass from the back to incorporate the recess. Don't forget to feather the back side of the hole to get better adhesion to the flare.
DanielForest
True Classic
So... I will install the rear fender flares soon (which in my case could still mean a year). I will take my time for the front one. Time to re-think it, but I believe I will do as Odie and Brian suggest. Starting with a set of front flare intend for the front of the x19 and build some recess to match the look of the rear. I will probably also install lightpods at the same time, so the extension for the air dam will be part of the lightpods and I will cut the one from the front fenders (if I'm using the Faza ones).
One of the thing I liked from the original Stradale car was also the fact the flares were looking like having the lip at the body "turning inside". This is not something the front Faza emulate. But I maybe just use a weatherstrip at the joint between the fender and the body, like the pic I posted on my previous post, just after the Faza flares. It was probably a Datsun Z car.
One of the thing I liked from the original Stradale car was also the fact the flares were looking like having the lip at the body "turning inside". This is not something the front Faza emulate. But I maybe just use a weatherstrip at the joint between the fender and the body, like the pic I posted on my previous post, just after the Faza flares. It was probably a Datsun Z car.
DanielForest
True Classic
I'm resurecting that 2 year old thread that I started. I'm still at the same point, contemplating my car in storage for more than 20 years now. I couldn't find time in the last 6 months to work on it. Since both of my kids (17 and 19) are having cars now, I'm usually focusing on keeping the daily drivers on the road. That includes changing the tensioner and timing chain on my Audi A4 just to discover I also need to remove the head and change some valves.
My project is still to follow Odie's advice and build front fender flares with recesses like the ones I got on my rear Faza flares using a model made for the front of the x19 but without the recesses. If this isn't clear, well, just go thru the previous messages. My only progress is I just bought from Roy a set of fender flares so I could start looking at the flares, and, maybe, start to do a real job on them...
Btw, if you found I had nothing to say, you are right. I just wanted to bump the thread so I could read again, and again, how to do that job.
My project is still to follow Odie's advice and build front fender flares with recesses like the ones I got on my rear Faza flares using a model made for the front of the x19 but without the recesses. If this isn't clear, well, just go thru the previous messages. My only progress is I just bought from Roy a set of fender flares so I could start looking at the flares, and, maybe, start to do a real job on them...
Btw, if you found I had nothing to say, you are right. I just wanted to bump the thread so I could read again, and again, how to do that job.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Tell me something new.
I should know, I also never have anything to say but seem to say a lot. 
carl
True Classic
My kids all live fairly close to me, perhaps too close, and depended on me to do their routine car maintenance. One weekend I changed the oil in Five cars and decided a guy in his late 60s had better things to do with his life than be the family free Jiffy Lube. They now use the real Jiffy Lube.
Just to show I'm not a real hardass, I sold my 13 GTI to my son in law for half it's value so I could buy a 17 GTI which my daughter is borrowing for weeks while her car is in the shop and she got pissy because she wanted my 124 spider instead.
Dan, you can't fool me, I'm not going to reread your thread, I spend too much time reading my own old threads.
Just to show I'm not a real hardass, I sold my 13 GTI to my son in law for half it's value so I could buy a 17 GTI which my daughter is borrowing for weeks while her car is in the shop and she got pissy because she wanted my 124 spider instead.
Dan, you can't fool me, I'm not going to reread your thread, I spend too much time reading my own old threads.
Steve Hoelscher
True Classic
My daughter is the only family member that lives within 500 miles. Last weekend she bought her first "nice" car with her own money and her own financing. It was a 2019 Kia Sorento. She had a $2500 trade and had saved $5000 as a down payment. Why is this relevant?
For almost my entire life, since I was old enough to hold a wrench I have been maintaining the family automobiles. Now with my immediate family living far away I had only my daughter's car (other than my own). So her purchasing a late model vehicle, in like new condition, I am finally free of the additional chores.
DanielForest
True Classic
I was glad my wife bought a new Rav4, and she don't even want me to changer her winter tires. The Rav4 was expected to be reliable but a few months ago she got the main circuit harnesses all corroded from water infiltatrion, and, even if the car is only 2 years old, it is out of warranty because of mileage. The cas is still at Toyota garage and the repair cost is now over 10 000$... She's hoping to make a deal with the dealership...or to sue them.
My 17 and 19 old kids are still living at home. But my son do most of his repairs himself. Sometimes broking something else but this is learning from experience. Also, he spent much more time fitting a new sound system and subwoofer and amp and... than the regular maintenance. He's willing to help me to do the jobs done, but he still expect me to do them or to tell them how-to step by step.
And, just to simplify my life, I'm just moving to a new job next week in a place nearly 3 hours from my house. I will get a rent there and travel on week-ends. No wonder my X19 is waiting in the garage for more than 20 years now.
My 17 and 19 old kids are still living at home. But my son do most of his repairs himself. Sometimes broking something else but this is learning from experience. Also, he spent much more time fitting a new sound system and subwoofer and amp and... than the regular maintenance. He's willing to help me to do the jobs done, but he still expect me to do them or to tell them how-to step by step.
And, just to simplify my life, I'm just moving to a new job next week in a place nearly 3 hours from my house. I will get a rent there and travel on week-ends. No wonder my X19 is waiting in the garage for more than 20 years now.
carl
True Classic
Steve, you can send me your address, I know you are not that far from me. I'll send my kids up to you to fill your free time void.
Dan, sitting on a car for 20 years without actually having use of it smacks of selfishness, not letting someone else finish and enjoy it. I think if I had a Fiat sitting more than a year I'd sell it as it would remind me of things I want to do but can't get to.
Which reminds me, I need to drive the X since I have been spending too much time on the spider.
Dan, sitting on a car for 20 years without actually having use of it smacks of selfishness, not letting someone else finish and enjoy it. I think if I had a Fiat sitting more than a year I'd sell it as it would remind me of things I want to do but can't get to.
Which reminds me, I need to drive the X since I have been spending too much time on the spider.
There is no such thing as "free of additional chores" when it comes to family and daughters.My daughter is the only family member that lives within 500 miles. Last weekend she bought her first "nice" car with her own money and her own financing. It was a 2019 Kia Sorento. She had a $2500 trade and had saved $5000 as a down payment. Why is this relevant?
For almost my entire life, since I was old enough to hold a wrench I have been maintaining the family automobiles. Now with my immediate family living far away I had only my daughter's car (other than my own). So her purchasing a late model vehicle, in like new condition, I am finally free of the additional chores.