OEM looking fendertriming for 37" tires

[K20chevy]

I´m trying to run 37" tires with only about 4" of lift. The suspension is a long travel type, so the wheels will move upward a lot. I kow for sure, that I have to trim the fenders to make that work. (I know there are bulged fiberglass ones out there, but I don=t like the look!) My question is: Has anyone tried to make the fenders look stock but still gaining 2" or 3" of room for the larger tires?

I had 3 possible ideas in mind:

1. Angle the front and rear portion of the wheelwell outward more but keeping the stock edge.
2. Section the feder, moving the front and rear portion outward more but keeping the angle the same. Therefore I would have to weld a section in the middle of the fender fron another fender to close the gap.
3. combine the two mentioned above.

Does anyone have any experiance with that? Maybe someone has done it and can show some pictures?

I want to keep the OEM look bad but need to stuff 37" tires up in there and be able to turn them lock to lock without rubbing anywhere.

Thanks for any info!

[baclay9]

My Dad's 3/4 ton had 6" suspension lift and 3" body when we got it. It was running 40" tires and had the front fenders trimmed. Not sure how they did it but you can't even tell. The bottoms are angled out more extremely than stock but they still look completely factory. I will get you some pics.
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[K20chevy]

Thanks a lot! I appreciate your help. Looking forward to the pictures. I´ve also seen a red Blazer featured in the off road magazine that had the fenders "opened" up. looks pretty slik. Just wondering how much is involved... any pic would be great!

[wilkin250r]

Looking for info on the same thing. I've got plenty of lift to clear my tires if they weren't out so wide (but I love the look too much to change it). And trimming the fenders would break my heart.

Looking forward to pictures.

[K20chevy]

@ wilin250r: I´m surprised that it is legal in your stat to drive with the tires sticking out that far. Cops already complained about mine and they barely stick out 3/4 of an in!!! So I might end up getting wheels with more offset to make the tires flush with the fenders to not get pulled over again...

[wilkin250r]

It's not really legal, but Nevada has always been more relaxed on issues like that. The entire state is pretty rural, with only little pockets of civilization here and there, so the entire state has a pretty decent off-roading crowd, they're not too nit-picky about the little details like that. We don't even have smog checks or emission standards except in the bigger cities like Reno or Vegas. They're much more concerned with the major issues like drunk driving.

Cops could indeed pull me over and write me a ticket, but they rarely ever do. But they will just down the road in California, so I don't drive my truck there too often.

[K20chevy]

Lucky you. Up here, the town cops are not too bad, but the state cops can be a pain. Most of the time they leave you alone as long as you don´t drive around like a maniak. The only thing I noticed after painting the truck, with the tires only sticking out about 3/4 of an inch, the paint is starting to look really bad by rocks and stuff kicked up by the tires. So I think with the tires within the fenders, this problem might not be so bad. Do you have that problem too???

@ baclay9: Did you get the pics yet?

[wilkin250r]

Originally Posted by K20chevy

the paint is starting to look really bad by rocks and stuff kicked up by the tires. So I think with the tires within the fenders, this problem might not be so bad. Do you have that problem too???

Probably, but my paint is so gawd-awful bad, I never really paid attention.

[K20chevy]

Originally Posted by wilkin250r

Probably, but my paint is so gawd-awful bad, I never really paid attention.

HAHA, ok!

[Ski-me]

When I first bought my blazer, it had 37's on it with a 2.5" lift. Definitely rubbed when turning!

[K20chevy]

So the 35s don´t rub? I am running 35 with a 4" lift right now and mine rub when the suspension compresses all the way to the bumpstops. So with 37s, I would probably rip the fenders off...

Thanks for the pics. Is that with 35s or 37s on it???

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by K20chevy

So the 35s don´t rub? I am running 35 with a 4" lift right now and mine rub when the suspension compresses all the way to the bumpstops. So with 37s, I would probably rip the fenders off...

Thanks for the pics. Is that with 35s or 37s on it???

Those are with 37's.....rubbed just turning on level ground.

I wend down to 35's now with the 2.5" lift and I get rubbing on turns with minor compression on the suspension. Strickly for street use. Any off road and I think I'd rub pretty hard if I'm flexing too much.

Here is the current 35's.

[K20chevy]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

Those are with 37's.....rubbed just turning on level ground.

I wend down to 35's now with the 2.5" lift and I get rubbing on turns with minor compression on the suspension. Strickly for street use. Any off road and I think I'd rub pretty hard if I'm flexing too much.

Here is the current 35's.

Thanks for the pictures. you don´t take the blazer offroad at all???

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by K20chevy

Thanks for the pictures. you don´t take the blazer offroad at all???

I've had it for about a year and just haven't had the opportunity yet. Too many kid activities.....

I do have a 14 SF axle in the garage and hope to drop that in some day. Also have an eaton e locker ready to drop in but I have no idea how to set gears so that has to wait as well.

[1985-GMC]

I plan on running 37s with a 4" lift on my GMC too but I plan on taking out about a 2" wedge from the rear part of the fender and about 1.5" from the front(it may change idk yet). My old blazer had 40s with a 4" lift and it didn't rub anymore after I retrimmed the fenders someone had just hacked off with a torch.

Before


After

[K20chevy]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

I plan on running 37s with a 4" lift on my GMC too but I plan on taking out about a 2" wedge from the rear part of the fender and about 1.5" from the front(it may change idk yet). My old blazer had 40s with a 4" lift and it didn't rub anymore after I retrimmed the fenders someone had just hacked off with a torch.

Before


After

Thanks for your pics as well. It sure looks like you got enough room now.. I´m just looking for something more OEM looking!

[1985-GMC]

Originally Posted by K20chevy

Thanks for your pics as well. It sure looks like you got enough room now.. I´m just looking for something more OEM looking!

Yeah I plan on doing it the right way on my gmc by taking the wedges out past the contour of the lip then welding it back together and do a little filler. I don't have the blazer anymore I was just using it for a lift and tire size comparison.

[K20chevy]

The closest to what I want is a red blazer taht was in some off road magazin at some point. Who ever did that, made it look almost stock!

My problem with the 73-80 fenders is, that the front edge is almost vertical, teh rear edge is angled some. So by angling the front to match (and keeping the sidemarker) and maybe moving the rear edge back 3" or so I might gain enough room. Just wish I could see what it loks like before I start cutting a fender apart just to try it out. the rear should fit a 37" tire barly if I remember correctly, jsut the front poses a problem.

[wilkin250r]

I've been removing quite a few passenger-side fenderwells recently in a quest for AC/Heater boxes, and it gets me thinking about obstacles.

If you plan on lengthening the wheel well, what about the inner fenderwell? In order to look right and look stock, you'd need to lenthen that as well, and I'm not sure you can. The actual sheet metal works isn't impossible, but the MOUNTING might be. I think it's got a frame bracket at the rear, which might be possible to move, but not much before you run into the heater box. And at the moment, I can't recall the front mounting, but I think it mounts to the core support.

I understand your drive, I've got tires that are a hair too big for my truck, and I just can't fathom cutting my fenders. The little fender flares around the wheel wells are part of what makes these trucks so beautiful, I can't cut them off. But at the same time, I love the tires on my trucks, I can't bring myself to go smaller. I've contemplated this exact same thing that you're thinking, modify the fenderwells so they fit larger tires, but still look like the factory fenders.

I'd like to see pictures of that red blazer you're talking about.

[K20chevy]

Here is the article about the blazer. it is a 6" lift though with 37s. Looks nice though.

http://www.off-roadweb.com/features/..._chevy_blazer/

I even thought of lengthening the stainless wheel trim for an even more OEM look. If I ever find the ambition to actually cut a fender, I´ll take pics.

You are right about the heater and that stuff... I thought about lengthening the inner fender too, but you are right, it is already at the cab on the rear part... Hm... I guess it is not as easy as I hoped for!

[Ski-me]

You also might be able to gain some more room by moving the front axle forward with some zero rate springs.....

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm

[K20chevy]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

You also might be able to gain some more room by moving the front axle forward with some zero rate springs.....

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm

Thanks for the info. But since I will convert to a Long Travel 4-link in the front, when the suspension compresses, the axle actually moves forward in my case. So with th tires centered in the wheelwell, I should be fine. But you are right, with leaves that would be a good investment....

[joe231]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=443538

Pics start at post #15
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[johnnypop]

Pie cut the body line at the curves and pinch it back, be sure you coat the inside of the fenders well once all the welding and bodywork is done or else you'll end up with a rotted mess after a few years of wheeling. The brown truck's fenders were done years ago, will fit 37's on a 4" lift with no rubbing, white truck has received the same treatment, both trucks awaiting sets of 37's right now cause money is tight. Looks super factory, basically you push the rear of the fender back to follow right along the inner fender, then the front I did about 2 inches to make it look clean

[K20chevy]

Originally Posted by johnnypop

Pie cut the body line at the curves and pinch it back, be sure you coat the inside of the fenders well once all the welding and bodywork is done or else you'll end up with a rotted mess after a few years of wheeling. The brown truck's fenders were done years ago, will fit 37's on a 4" lift with no rubbing, white truck has received the same treatment, both trucks awaiting sets of 37's right now cause money is tight. Looks super factory, basically you push the rear of the fender back to follow right along the inner fender, then the front I did about 2 inches to make it look clean

WOW, that looks amazing! If you wouldn´t know, you couldn´t really tell the difference! And if you say it clears 37" tires with 4" lift, awesome! That is what I need to do with mine! Do you happen to have a few more pics from the side? looking directly at the fender? Thanks!