Fender tire clearance options/ideas

[albersondh]

Need to fit 37's on re-centered 24b's. Im using ORD shackle flip + 1" body lift and 52" springs up front. I will need to remove a lot of material and Im ok with that so long as it looks ok. Options:

1. Hack-em up.
2. Hack + plastic flares
3. Fiberglass integrated bulge/flare.
4. Reshape the metal.

Im interested in option #4 because the price of the fibergla$$ and pla$tic is . Also I just don't see this done; so fun factor is good assuming its not time/cost prohibitive. I think maybe pie cut, bulge, then fill the gaps? Anybody do this? How? Results, pics?

 

[richingalveston]

fender modification

there is a lot of room in the back of the front fender. I cut mine and re-attached it. It flares the bottom of the fender about an inch and a half. It moves the back of the fender toward the driver adding about 4 inches of clearance.

I have 4inch front springs with zero rate. axle in stock location and I am running true 39 inch tall tires that are 11 wide.

It is currently tacked in place with a couple of screws. I will permanently install it with rivets and then bondo the seam and shape it to remain looking stock.

The front of the fenders were cut also, just the part that hangs down below the inner fender. The inner fender has to be removed and cut before reinstalling and then it needs a filler plate where the gap is.

It is pretty simple to do but hard to explain.

 

[albersondh]

Perfect. Gives me some ideas and a lot simpler than I was thinking, thanks. Im holding off on blasting and painting my inner fenders because I was thinking some sledge hammer work may be needed. You got any shots of the cut inner fenders?

 

[CUCVLOVER]

sorry I can not help you with how to cut your fenders, but I can show you the wrong way to do it.
This is a truck that forsale on list of craigs. hint hint.
hope this helps.

 

[Chaski]

I know you are not asking for ideas, but i'm curious what offset are your recentered wheels? That might play into how severe your hacking needs to be. I have 5.4" ish offset flat centers in my wheels. Another guy I know has stamped centers that put his offset around 3.5". The scrub radius with stamped centers is quite a bit worse. I can stuff my wheel with stock bump stops with no rubbing on the inner fender at full wheel lock. The M1008 with stamped centers rubs on the inner fenders at full lock. Both rigs have fender trim jobs not as nice as Rich's but similar. Both rigs have 1" zero rate blocks in front setup to push the front axle 1" forward to gain inner fender clearance.


I'm all for the hack-em-up option, unless they are nice. Once I find some rust free somewhat straight fenders I plan on doing exactly what Rich did.

 

[albersondh]

I used stamped/pressed centers and I think they are 4.5"BS. Need to re-measure. My fenders are very nice and will suck to cut them up.... Im using B52's and will push fwd 1-2".

 

[Chaski]

Be mindful of pushing your front axle too far forward if you are going crossover with high steer. The M1008 has the ORD crossover with high steer, we used to have the zero rate blocks pushing the axle 1.5" forward, but had to change it to 1" forward when the high steer was installed. The pitman arm would make contact with the high steer tie rod. Also had to go with the smaller pitman arm sold by ORD.

 

[albersondh]

Yes, good point, thanks. Have not started buying steering yet because of potential binding/contact and other issues that may come up with clearing the springs. Want to get the axle placed first then start looking at parts/solutions. I think I will use a drop pitman arm and a bent drag link to help with binding/clearance issues. Thinking of doing hydro assist as well but not sure its needed for 37's. Plating the frame and using ORD box brace as well. I need to figure out a front sway solution as well, I have some ideas but don't want to get ahead of myself. Just finished blasting the front frame rails x-members and core support. Should be painting this weekend then I can start on reassembly. Need to update my build thread....

 

[Chaski]

Excellent.
We had the ORD drop Pitman on the M1008 and had to swap it out. The ORD drop Pitman arm isn't just a drop arm, it is also longer center to center. With it being longer and lower the high steer tie rod would make contact with it when the drivers side was compressed. That truck has the drop ORD draglink and works great now with the axle 1" forward and the non drop ORD pitman.. That truck also has hydro assist, with the ORD high steer it has a 2" dia 6" stroke PSC cylinder that is limited to 5.1" stroke. The cylinder mount is a DIY4x4 mount, and it iis fantastic. The tie rod connection is the PSC clamp on style. The hydraulic assist is awesome and it behaves well on the street. The only downfall is that you do lose steering power a bit when you are in and out of the brakes. The truck has a stock pump with no washers on the pressure regulator. A high flow pump would probably help, but it is a pile of cash.

While you have the front end apart you should drill and tap your box, and toss a seal kit in it. That way it is easier to talk yourself into hydraulic assist later.

 

[welpro222]

With a 4inch lift + 1inch body lift and 37s, you shouldn't have to trim very much. Unless you r gonna be flexing alot.

 

[olly hondro]

I used an M35A2 front fender to create a template, traced that outline on the fender, put the 4" cutoff wheel to work. I anguished for awhile about cutting, but lifting the vehicle high enough to avoid cutting is a worse option for me. The guys at work reminded me that its a 30 year old truck, very common here in the southwest, so its value cut or not is the same.

 

[richingalveston]

Fender hack

here is a few more pics of my hack job

The inner fender is removed before cutting. once the fender is cut I installed the inner fender from front to back and then cut the back of the fender with wheel so that the last two inner fender bolts go back into their original holes.

 

[richingalveston]

fixed pictures

 

[olly hondro]

Rear cutouts are temporary for this trail ride, will finish them up later. It like 1000 degrees outside and I don't want to right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxMPdzNYFNM&feature=em-upload_owner

 

[jlb713]

Not a cucv but it looks good. Not sure of tire size or lift...

 

[CUCVLOVER]

Looks good actually.

I would say 17 in wheels, and a 36-38, 12.50 tire, and a 6 in lift.

 

[Shrapnel]

Fender Pic

I ran 37's on my first MV, an M1010 with no lift. I think I had 5" of backspacing on the wheels, no rubbing issues. When you cut the fender leave 1/2" to 1" of metal and then use a hand seamer tool (like a one-handed brake press) to bend a new inner lip. This gives you something to attach the inner fender back to if you want. You can do it pretty cleanly if you plan it out and take your time.