ttt123

so I love how the front wheel well flares out on my 1994 but then the rear wheel well just sits there with no character sooo i decided to have a little fun... well more like having fun since I've just started this little project tonight.

my goal, make a mold off the front wheel flare and transport/blend it into the rear so its a little wider and has a little more curve to it. I've seen the flares on ebay and .... naa they just don't cut it for me. so follow my destruction... I mean mod of my corvette. did I mention I've never done something like this before lol

feel free to throw out any advice. no criticism unless its constructive and helps people learn please. sorry but i hate when people throw out the "leave it stock" etc. to each his own

Brian

1bdvet

Keep us posted!

92ragtop

Be cool to see how that turns out. Of course you'll have to get 315's for the back.

1993C4LT1

ttt123

New rims and tires will be bought if i dont destroy my car lol

ttt123

ok maybe I'm a little biased since this is my first attempt at fiberglass like this but man that looks sexy !!! lol I love it !!

keep in mind this is only the mold and not a part trimmed and fitted. hopefully i can get a pair of parts out before the end of the weekend and start fitting it in.

question: how do I glass the part into the body? what I mean is do I lay the part over the existing wheel well and glass onto it OR cut the corvette panel and the part to where it would be flush where they meet and glass the backside and bondo/smooth the top side? I hope that makes sense.

any input will be appreciated

Brian

92ragtop

I wouldn't cut the existing fender. Essentially you want to do a lap joint for strength, rather than a butt joint. When you install it, put a layer of glass between the existing fender and the edge of the new flare. You may even want to consider putting in some retaining screws as well. Once that is cured, then you would glass over the outside to blend everything together.

ttt123

Be patient with me ... Im a newbie to this lol so a lap joint i assume would be just laying the fender on top of the existing fender as if i was glueing it to it correct? A d then blend the two together with glass/resin... Not bondo?

With wider tires wont my tires hit the well if i do t cut some of the stock fender out?

Thanks for the input, appreciated.

Brian

Dt86

You can't use bondo on these cars because it doesn't expand and contract at the same rate as the smc panels on the car. It would eventually separate from the panel. The pros can better guide you in the paint/body section.

Paul Workman

Perhaps Brett will swing by in a bit. He makes flairs for the rear quarter to accommodate 315s, BTW, and he builds classic Vette panels from "nothing". You're following in his footsteps! He'd be the one I'd ask about your project, but I agree that bondo is probably NOT going to be very satisfactory in the long run.

BrianCunningham

Looks nice I seen them on autocross cars that have been lowered quite a bit

65Z01

Interesting.
My FSM has a body repair guide in which is mentioned how to repair a hole or crack in an OEM SMC panel.

Raidmagic

15 years ago my wife backed into my car and cracked the quarter panel. I repaired the crack with fiberglass and finished up the body work with body filler. Here we are all these years later and the quarter still looks as good as the day I fixed it.

3JsVette

Is this why a lot of the super "wide body" European cars (especially Porsche) use "bolt on" flares. Is it to avoid cracking, easier replacement, or another reason?

ttt123

Well ill do some reading and watch some vids before i attempt to attach.

I still have to make the two parts and trim them up to fit. Ill post pics as i make progress.

Again.... I think it looks like it should lol i love it !!!

ttt123

well plan B. foam and make a mold. don't cringe at the pics. that was just me shaving some off to START the shaping. so please give me some ideas. I want either a con-caved or con-vexed look. i don't really care for the straight angle look. if you have an idea..... i'm open to it. i just want something that looks mature and mean.

as far as the molds i made from the front.... ya idiot me didn't make them thick enough so when i pulled my parts from them they were extremely warped because the weight made them relax when i laid them up... lesson learned.

Corvettewaldon

you need to cut both new piece and existing body panel so they meet up flush (like your welding in a piece of sheet metal on a car), then bevel both sides and do your glass. good luck. doing glass work is a whole different animal than doing bondo/body filler.

mikeb

Don't forget the wings.........

ttt123

Well started round two. This time ill take a little more time to make things a little stronger.

ttt123

so my parts came out a lot better this time but i wanted to see what i could do with clay... ya i'm not that good lol so i put the parts i made from the front fender on and blended (very roughly clean up will come on the finished parts) the edges and shaped it the best i could... please be honest and give advice, criticism, suggestions etc. this adds exactly 3/4 inches to the width.