Slamming - and cutting outer fenders

[wayno]

So I'm running an extreme porterbuilt cross member up front and I'm looking to lay frame - even with a 5.5 back space I can't clear the outer fenders so I'm thinking about cutting up the outer fender... I picked up some 3/8 rod to weld in to get it some rigidity after the surgery and provide a mechanism for creating a rounded finished looking lip once I'm done.... so the question is how much can I realistic take out of the top - yes if I had more help I could lay the hood back on and probably get to my answer but given I have a houseful of girls I'm leaning on you guys for help.

[jonzcustomshop]

check out some of dinos 63 build threads- a suburban joins the herd, or just a clean bagged 66...
he has pics, he trims right to the edge, and then trims the hood lip too....

[wayno]

So I did take a look at Dino's builds (realized I had drooled over at least one of them a few times before) - felt comfortable cutting mine back to the same point - questioning whether going any wider is a good idea.... looks like he is running a much narrower tire... but I also feel like the top of the wheel should come in some once it gets higher in the wheel wells -it almost looks like when I run it through the travel that it's actually perfect around ride height and then might even come out at the top ever so slightly when it gets to this point (maybe I'll post a video and get your guy's thoughts). Here's a shot with the fender almost resting on the top of the wheel - still not enough clearance to allow it to clear the tire and lay frame - or you might be able to slip a piece of paper in between - it would be incredibly tight and impossible to achieve from the driver's seat.

[jonzcustomshop]

try this:
set your hood on there and trace the edge with a sharpie or pen, you will see that you have about another inch... as long as you support the underside of the cut with some round rod, you should have no problems...

[wayno]

Thanks Jonz - took your advice laid the hood on and you were right I could reasonably take another inch out and I did that and I got the desired result I think - now to weld in the rod and give it a nice finished look - thanks for all your help- guess more than anything I just needed a push - the kind of thing I tend to be slow pulling the trigger on.

[jonzcustomshop]

glad it will work, I had to do something similar with my 60/61 build.

[Novalicious]

Quick ? what size rim is that? 20 or 22? Love the look

[Bigdock]

Sweet looking ride happy with Porterbuilt? Mine should be here in another 2 weeks can't wait to get started but I'm going for the older look with 15" rallies and some white walls. Good luck with the build tho
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[wayno]

Thanks Jonz- think it turned out well.

Those are the 20" wheels... narrow profile - we'll see how they feel if this thing ever sees the road

Definitely happy with the guys over at Porterbuilt... had some challenges with the motor setting a bit too low over the rack and pinion and they had new tabs out within a week to get me another 3/4 of a inch clearance - not many places would do that and never asked for a dime... add me to the list of folks singing their praises.

So I decided to go with some square tube instead of rod - I figured working with a square edge might be a whole lot easier to make look good especially with my skills around the welder. Plus I figure I can route wiring through it along the top of the fender if need be and possibly kill a couple of birds with one stone - so it's 3/4 square and a couple of pictures of before and after.

[groundbound64]

Hey Wayno,

What size / make of tires are you running? I love those wheels !

[wayno]

Thanks Man - they are Firehawk 255/35R 20's - got all 4 mounted and balanced for under $600 - so they aren't super expensive - tried to find something that wasn't going to break the bank every time I needed to a set.

[jamesrussell26]

i like the 3/4 sqaure tubing excellent idea.