bedsides - race-dezert.com

poolman · April 8th, 2001, 21:58

How do people stretch or flare out thier "metal" bedsides?

jeff · April 9th, 2001, 00:26

Here's an example picture of how most people go about pulling their bedsides... this picture is just easier than trying to explain it in words. Once the inner fender is cut and supports removed, the fender can be pulled a number of ways - by hand, with blocks of wood and scissor jacks etc.. Then to hold the fenders in their new position you'll need to extend the stock fender supports - some people re-use the longer support and then just modify / lengthen the shorter. This picture is an example of a pretty fast pull job - many people spend some extra time to make it look a little cleaner than this example. Hope this helps. Oh yeah - make sure when you cut that inner panel that you don't go all the way through the actual bed metal - in other words, don't use a sawzall.

JeffS · April 9th, 2001, 11:15

>> many people spend some extra time to make it look a little cleaner than this example

Hey !! what are you trying to say ?? !! That was a custom, front yard, on the grass, at 12am before a race, wakin up the neighbors, fab job about 5 years ago. ... some of my best work ... LOL ;-0

Well here's the rest of my story that goes with the pic used above.::

** Flared Rear Fenders ** '93 - '97 Ford Ranger

First, you need to cut the panel between the inner and
outer fenderwell as shown in the picture.
Then you need to lengthen the two bars that hold the fender out.
(Conduit or copper pipe works well for that, just smash and bend the ends and drill a hole in the smashed part.)
There is one in front of the tire and one in back of the tire.
They go from the frame to the fender, and will hold the bottom of it out.
You may also need to cut some material from the inside of the fenderwell
way in the back underneath the taillight. You'll see what needs to be removed
when you start pushing the fender out. Where you cut the panel above the tire,
put something there to push the fender out. ( I used a spreader made for spreading
differentials.) You will need to attach a plate (like in my picture) so that the
fender will stay pushed out at the top. I hope these instructions aren't too
confusing. I will try to get more pictures later and if you have any specific
questions, please e-mail me. I know it's a scary project to start, but I was
careful and didn't notice any points where the bedside wanted to crinkle or dent.
I can now stuff my 33x12.50 BFG's all the way up inside and not hit the outer fender.
It's well worth the effort. Good Luck.

Jeff S.

http://www.off-road.com/~jstraw/mytruck.htm
http://www.off-road.com/~jstraw/fendercut.jpg

There are pics of Cory L's fender flaring process at :
http://crlong01.www7.50megs.com/flare.htm

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