Fender Trimming

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 09:07:55 -0800
From: "Bob Williams" 
Subject: Toy4x4 Digest V1 #758
To: 

> 
> Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 13:21:55 -0800
> From: schmidt2@gte.net
> Subject: fender trimming
> To: Toy4x4@tlca.org
> 
> Just a few days ago, I purchased some BFGoodrich Radial Mud Terrain
> tires for my 1985 4x4. They are 33X12.50. They fit pretty well, but I
> would like to trim the fenders for some additional clearance. Does any
> one have any tips to give me before I hack away on my truck? I'm only
> 16, and I don't have a lot of experience on doing this, and I need all
> the help I could get. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Go to your local tool rental shop.  Get a sawzall, and a small grinder. 
You should be able to rent them for about $30 for both for a day.  

Drive on some rocks, etc. to see where your tires are rubbing, and trim the
fender there.  You may have to get a big hammer and pound the back of the
front inner fender wells a bit.  When your springs compress on the front
suspension, the shackle moves back, and so then does the front axle, which
allows the tire to move up and back into the fender well.  

When you are trimming, start at the outer corners and take a little off at
a time, and then more if needed.  Use a magic marker or a pencil to mark
lines where you want to cut.  Then use the grinder to smooth your cut. 

Remember, when you get done you want your truck to still look good!  Check
with a local body shop or a four wheel drive shop or club in your area to
get some hints and tips.  Who knows, you might even find someone to give
you a hand.

Also, your truck now has tires that are 6ply rated.  They are heavy duty
tires, and your Toyota is nowhere near heavy enough to ever load these
tires.  If you have 8" wide rims, or if you are running factory rims, it
would be ok to fill your tires with about 24 PSI for street pressure.  This
will give you a better ride, and help the tires wear evenly across the
tread.  You may notice a drop in fuel mileage though due to the extra
rolling resistance.  Drive through a water puddle, then look at the tread
marks on the dry pavement to make sure that the tread is laid out flat on
the road.  Never run you tires on the street below 20PSI though.  Also, it
is necessary to rotate the tires front to back every 3000 to 5000 miles to
help them wear well.  

Good luck,

Bob Williams, Las Vegas, Nevada
94 4Runner, SR5, 22RE, 5Spd, 4" Procomp lift, Marlin Crawler, Dual T-case
BFG 33's, 4.88's, lockrite locker front, Detroit Soflocker rear. Dents and 
scratches continually increasing in size and number!

------------------------------


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 12:27:32 -0800
From: "Brandon Miller" 
Subject: Toy4x4 Digest V1 #758
To: 

I marked a line where I wanted the fender trimmed back to, and then I took
out a little alligator saw or whatever they are called (small hand metal
saw) and cut slity up to the line every inch or so.  Then I bent the tabs
over and it looks pretty clean.  Be carefull with a sawzall, they cut too
easily and not exactly all that straight, I'd use a jigsaw first but if you
don't feel up to the power tools don't use them, I didn't.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Brandon Miller
Sacramento CA
email - miller@csus.edu
home page - http://gaia.ecs.csus.edu/~millerb
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:38:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Luke P Miller 
Subject: Fender trimming
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

Hand nibblers are a bit of a pain to use, but they don't curl the metal.
In my experience, they can leave a rough edge when used to make a turn in
the metal, since it's just punching out little rectangles of metal.
I also have a nibble that attachs to an electric drill chuck. You can move
very quickly with it, and it punches out little round bits of metal, so
curves come out with a smoother edge.
I love die grinders and cut off wheels, you can be really precise, and
even get artistic with them. 

On Fri, 13 Mar 1998, Jay Kopycinski wrote:
> 
> This brings up an interesting point. I'm going to be doing some body
> trimming soon and wonder what everyone else has found to work
> well......possibilities:
> 
> hand nibbler
> air nibbler
> air die grinder (with small cutoff wheels)
> saber saw
> 
> Jay Kopycinski     '85 Toylet  (ROKTOY)
> 

Luke Miller
__________________________________________________________________________
1985 4Runner 3"Alcan front lift, 3" custom Mazda spring rear lift, 4.88's,
rear lockright, RS 9000's, 32x11.50 Michelins, ugly homemade bumpers (the
best kind)...
__________________________________________________________________________

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:45:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Luke P Miller 
Subject: Fender trimming
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

All this talk of trimming fenders, I thought I'd submit my own experience,
I think it would qualify for a Darwin award.

On my 85, the tires were rubbing the body seam at the rear of the front
fenderwells. Everybody just pounds it down with a big hammer. Well, I
decided I wanted to try and make it a little cleaner. So I broke out the
die grinder and went to work on it. Ground it down even with the rest of
the fenderwell. Cured some of the problem.
Six months later Mr. El Nino came along, dumping inches of rain on
Santa Barbara. I got in my truck and felt the mooshy wet carpet. Pulled it
out and looked for the leak. Couldn't find anything obvious. So I left the
carpet off and waited for the next storm. While it rained, I sat in my
truck and looked for the leak. Found it, coming through the seam sealer
right by the driver's side kick panel and the firewall. When it cleared
up, I poked around with a knife, poked right through the seam sealer,
daylight shining through! And rust. Ouch. Now I have to go home and weld
it up and seal it tight again. Passenger side was almost as bad.

The moral of the story is to pound down that seam, at least it will be
water tight. 

Luke Miller
__________________________________________________________________________
1985 4Runner 3"Alcan front lift, 3" custom Mazda spring rear lift, 4.88's,
rear lockright, RS 9000's, 32x11.50 Michelins, ugly homemade bumpers (the
best kind)...
__________________________________________________________________________

------------------------------