Anyone else making their own flares around here?
I'm not a fan of the bolt on flare look and everything that is cool is also stupid expensive. But I figure I can do 100 bucks in 22 gauge, fiberglass and bondo so I'm making my own.
This is my pattern:
Rather than making a plug and a mold to shape the fiberglass I am making a sheet metal frame to support the shape of the fiberglass and do it in one pass.
My plan with the metal strips is to use it as a frame to hold the fiberglass matt in the shape I want it. The holes in them are for bonding. I'll put a layer on both sides of the frame and since fiberglass becomes one with itself when it sets there is no way it will come loose. The strips are welded to the fender and I will also bond it with the fiberglass so it should be a pretty strong structure.
I know you will ask so I'll just put this in now. The wheels are 17x10 and the tires are 265/40/17s and yes they weigh a ton but I have 450hp and 400 ftlbs of torque to turn them.
I know the back needs more girth then this because they have to be bigger than the front even though there is no need for the clearance.
But I figured I'd press on in the front because if this goes wrong fenders are easy to replace. And there is just so many ways this could go wrong! So I am working the fronts now to get them the right shape and pretty much the same
And I have a ways to go!
So besides the obvious construction issues never doing this or even seeing it done this way there is a long list of concerns here. If I go too bold it will look added on, if I go too wimpy the big wheels will look like a monster truck. If the radius at the top of the fender doesn't flow the as the flair or if the wheel arch radus is too different it will look added on. If the front is bigger than that back it will look stupid but I need way more room in the front so how to make the back bigger without it looking empty. And the list goes on...
So I was just wondering if anyone has ever tried something like this and has any tips for me.
BTW the top choice for paint at the moment is blitz black with semi gloss stripes. Like this but not so shiny in the stripes
Closer to this contrast
Yes I know most folks would go black wheels but I really like the 5 spoke nickle wheels. She's way more muscle car than anything else so I think it works.
Reply With Quote
