Easiest way to do fender flares

What is the easiest way to do fender flares without spending much money?

Buy vacuum formed ones made for the car that attach with screws and don't require paint to look right.

Develop mad metal forming skills and make/weld your own.

You need to elaborate on the skillz and toolz available for the task.

Cheaper than the plastic is to go cut some off a car in the boneyard.

I once tangled with a parking lot post I didn't see. Caught it in between the fender and the tire. Flared the fender nicely, and didn't cost me a dime. Did the job in just a few seconds even.

I have available welding tools. They are just a bit of a drive to get to and basically I want to have the car ready for paint minus welding a couple small spots when I take it down there because it will get painted in the same place. It is for the Yugo to cover 13x7.

EDIT: beat me to the punch with my question

You also need to elaborate on what you mean by flaring. Do you want box flares to fit 14" wide wheels or do you need to pull your fenders to clear a larger tire? The latter can be done with a baseball bat. the former, in my opinion, is best done by extending the fenders. I've never been a huge fan of box flares unless we're talking about some obscene racecar from the olden days (like Moby Dick). This is what I plan to do this winter:

http://e30.us/flares/

I can do composites. I just didn't know if anyone had anyone other brilliant ideas.

Here are some pics of what a friend of mine did, even simpler than that E30 above. The rear is hardest since it's a double fender, need to chop/bend/weld the inner fender first:

In reply to DILYSI Dave:

Yeah, I do think this is the best way to go if you have the $ for it and they're available.

It took us forever to the the flares on the challenge miata. We cut off the wheel arches and moved them outboard then filled the gap with foam and laid fiberglass over that to blend it with the body. Wouldn't do it again unless it was really necessary.

Here's some pics:

Cut Lip Fiberglass Finished:

Edit: there's a lot more pics you should be able to go through on those photo album links too.

It's like this website was written for you: http://www.misfittoysracing.com/Yugo/flaretutorial/index.htm

Written by a GRM'er.

You're welcome.

RealMiniDriver wrote: It's like this website was written for you: http://www.misfittoysracing.com/Yugo/flaretutorial/index.htm Written by a GRM'er. You're welcome.

That was one approach I was considering.

Depends on the car. If there are screw/bolt on flares available..that's usually the easiest.

What about those universal flares? Garbage?

Omni fenders?

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/how-much-box-in-my-flare/33256/page1/

( and no worries.. project is about ti be back underway very soon)

93EXCivic wrote: What about those universal flares? Garbage?

IME their fit is universally bad.

There is a bit of a flare tutorial here

http://www.retropower.co.uk/projects_126_Blackbird.htm

I think I am going to go fiberglass like the Yugo from Hell.

I was actually thinkin' the other day that some of those big black round garbage cans have a lot of plastic in them......Couldn't be THAT hard to heat and mold.

mndsm wrote: I was actually thinkin' the other day that some of those big black round garbage cans have a lot of plastic in them......Couldn't be THAT hard to heat and mold.

Depends on what kind of plastic they're made out of. If it's thermosetting, you won't be heating and remolding it.

I'm thinkin' rubbermaid plastic. I know what happens to tupperware in the microwave.... me and a heat gun could go to work.

I'm of the firm belief that Ebay Datsun Z car or AE86 Corolla flares will fit on ANYTHING.

93EXCivic wrote: I think I am going to go fiberglass like the Yugo from Hell.

Having done it once before I could flare a yugo in a weekend with time to drink beer. Actually I could probably have all 4 fenders done in a day and then you'd just need to do the bodywork to smooth them. Its not a terrible process.

However, if you follow my process (YFH was my doing) fix my one error from a purely aesthetic point of view and make the rear flares start at the front of the fender (door opening) rather than a few inches back. At the time I did it to keep all the flares the same but in retrospect I think it would look better the other way.

Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions on the process.

mndsm wrote: I'm thinkin' rubbermaid plastic. I know what happens to tupperware in the microwave.... me and a heat gun could go to work.

I've seen this done on 4x4 truck builds to fit massive 45" tires. They cut up a big, round Rubbermaid garbage can.

JThw8 wrote:

93EXCivic wrote: I think I am going to go fiberglass like the Yugo from Hell.

Having done it once before I could flare a yugo in a weekend with time to drink beer. Actually I could probably have all 4 fenders done in a day and then you'd just need to do the bodywork to smooth them. Its not a terrible process. However, if you follow my process (YFH was my doing) fix my one error from a purely aesthetic point of view and make the rear flares start at the front of the fender (door opening) rather than a few inches back. At the time I did it to keep all the flares the same but in retrospect I think it would look better the other way. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions on the process.

Why did you use fiberglass mat instead of the weave?

How hard would it be to do flares like this?