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Sure you can make them fit with no lift. You're just going to have to cut a LOT of fender. As well as roll the inner fender a lot as well.
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I think you could definitely do that and it would probably look good too. Tons of work for a little garnishment like that though. I would like that more for the smooth edge that wont cut me, my tires or anything else rather than for the appearance. I think the main challenge you would have is matching the compound curve down low.Has anyone modified the front fenders to keep the factory rolled edges and stock look?
My thoughts are to try cutting out the fender and associated flare from the fender, then cut it in half. Stretch it an inch or two. (Not much room up front before you get into the marker light). Add a strip in the middle chopped from a donor fender then weld it all back up smooth it out and paint to taste. Getting the inner fender and associtaded backing / bracketry to match correct is gonna be the PITA.
Maybe if you've got the backspacing dead on you can get away with it. I've had more 4x4 chevys than I can count. This is the first one I've not had any fender contact on. My 1009 would scrub in a parking lot.I dont want to contradict patracy but.... I have 37s on my 1031 and only had to trim the lower corners a "little". Mainly I had to cut the part of the fender that curls under where I would call it the "rocker panel". I have no clearance issues at all with normal driving a light 4x4. I am in the process of doing a 1" body lift but only because it suits my needs in other ways. When I was researching this issue for myself as it sounds like you are, I found a number of members who were running this configuration with no problems. There is also a video on YouTube of a guy in Eastern Europe somewhere running a M1008 pretty hard up some steep inclines and bouncing real hard through some deep ruts in the woods and from the vid it looked like he had only trimmed a little. I contacted him directly and he confirmed that he had only cut out the bottom corners and had no issues.
I think the stock suspension is stiff enough that under most driving conditions you wont have enough travel to cause a problem. I also noted on mine that my front leaves have a pretty fair amount of age sag and if I put new ones on it I bet I would get at least an inch of lift that way.
Love the look of your M1008 with the 37" tires, I was thinking of trying the same kind of thing. Rather than putting the heavy HMMWV wheels on I like your idea of using simple steel rims. What rims did you use for yours? I was thinking of some pro comp 52's with something like a 4" backspace. BTW can't see the numbers on the tape.I have the wheels pulled off, the truck's up on blocks and I remembered this thread so I took a few pictures. I know stone picker has these rims and tires. He's in Fla. These are the standard GM 37X12.5X16.5 HUMMER Wheels, Hope it helps.