45mm front fenders

[RedSVTFlareside]

I'm not done yet, here are some teaser shots. Floral foam for the mold. Fiberglass flares when finished will be riveted on and the metal fender cut. Don't worry, I'm not done yet, just taking a break while the first layer sets up.
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/f267f7eb.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/f267f7eb.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/18ebfa30.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/baa27cc1.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/0938ff61.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/f7d5286b.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/3cac7b63.jpg

[GSXRJJordan]

That's sick! What are the specs of the VS-XX's on there?

Edit: BBS... nice :)

[drftwerks]

the back of fender looks good, the front near bumper needs work.

[RedSVTFlareside]

BBS E26 style wheels
17x10 275/40-17
17x12 315/35-17
I don't know the offsets. I just never have measured for offset. I measured off of the center section for rim half sizes.

[Matej]

You can just hammer the front fenders to like +60mm.

[LS240]

That looks sick already! +Rep for ya.

[luckyslide16]

That looks awesome, cant wait to see it finished. Keep the updates coming.

[RedSVTFlareside]

You can just hammer the front fenders to like +60mm.

I could have

But I didn't:)

[boogerlovers]

did you see this technique on Muscle Car...cuz i did haha, good luck with it...i wanted to try this but i kinda dont have the time...:hahano: it looks really good so far

[SW20Racer]

diggin your pignose man. keep up the good work and show us some after pics. soonish.

[LS240]

I love the technique. I've been planning on messing around on a few cars with the spray foam insulation, but this would be cheaper and seems like it would be easier to work with too. Do you use anything to help it stick to the fender while you're shaping it/getting a mold off of it? Seems like it might have a tendency to fall off as you're working with it, especially the smaller pieces. Also, how does it respond to actually being shaved down with a grater or something? And is it hard to get smooth?

I think I may be heading to the craft store in a bit and buying some floral foam in bulk. I know you can buy this stuff cheap.

Cheers.
-Layne

[240drifter1]

did you see this technique on Muscle Car...cuz i did haha, good luck with it...i wanted to try this but i kinda dont have the time...:hahano: it looks really good so far

I saw it to on that Mustang they are doing.

Looks sweet.

[RedSVTFlareside]

I did happen to catch that episode of muscle car. haha. I took some ideas from that but was actually planning this before I saw it. I might make a reuseable exterior mold of this part like they did on muscle car.

[SW20Racer]

Also, how does it respond to actually being shaved down with a grater or something? And is it hard to get smooth?

Cheers.
-Layne

you can literally shave this stuff down using the palm of your hand. any ol' sandpaper will work....

as far as making it stick, i dunno. just get a glue that wouldnt chemically eat the foam (maybe something like elmers school glue or whatever)

[a_ahmed]

thats really cool, i cant wait to see it finished.

I am going to need to pull front and rear to fit my tires... 17x9+17 255/40/17 azenis which are usually wider than the typical tire...

[boogerlovers]

I did happen to catch that episode of muscle car. haha. I took some ideas from that but was actually planning this before I saw it. I might make a reuseable exterior mold of this part like they did on muscle car.
o thats cool man...like i said yours looks good so far...and a mold would be dope...

[GoodOl'S13]

How Are You Going To Make Them Symmetrical?

[300hp owen]

love the DIY attitude and those deliciously wide BBS's's's''s's's'!!!
god luck!

[LS240]

How Are You Going To Make Them Symmetrical?

One way to do it is to use paper, cardboard, wood sheets, or something like that and cut templates to shape for the first fender, both vertically and horizontally. Then simply reverse them and when you're shaping the other side, continue placing that template over your work as a reference. You can get it pretty close that way.

[RedSVTFlareside]

I took lots of measurements to keep it symmetrical and I used a bendable straight edge for the contour. I think it came out pretty symmetrical. More than the 20mm widebody fenders that I took off the car.

[IIIXziuR]

MUSCLE CAR episode.
On the Mustang rear, I remember that one.
Pretty cool.

[floodo1]

wow you guys act like muscle car invented this or something!

props for being abnormal man!
are you going to use the fglass that you layed up on there as a mold, and then pull a set of fenders from that mold?

[lflkajfj12123]

for some reason i think it'd be cheaper if you just bought flares or overfenders

but job well done anyways..

[floodo1]

for some reason i think it'd be cheaper if you just bought flares or overfenders

but job well done anyways..

umm no d00d. fglass can be VERY cheap to make if you just want a functional part and arent too concerned bout weight. you can get resin and glass at home depot and you probably wouldnt spend very much at all to do this.
even if you buy glass and resin online it would still be cheaper than buying fenders probably.

not to mention these are custom, AND you have a mold to make as many as you want! (if this guy is going the mold route and not a direct layup + mad bondo route)

[dirtdiggler666]

that green foam works great i used it for a mold on a jet ski part and it came out great A+ keep it up

[floodo1]

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/3cac7b63.jpg

whats up with those NACA ducts on the front bumper? You do realize that isnt a correct usage of a NACA duct right?
still looks kinda cool :)

[floodo1]

oops, double post

[Unvevo]

Thats going to look awesome.

[Quail]

Can't wait for finished pics!

[RedSVTFlareside]

whats up with those NACA ducts on the front bumper? You do realize that isnt a correct usage of a NACA duct right?
still looks kinda cool :)

I was having some cooling problems and didn't want to just cut holes in my bumper with a hole saw. How is it not used correctly?

[Ian]

they're supposed to be used to pull air in from flat surfaces...like a hood or window

[Matt93SE]

Dammit, Ted! Stop working on that car and take it to the track!

But it looks good.. keep it up! :)

[RedSVTFlareside]

they're supposed to be used to pull air in from flat surfaces...like a hood or window

True. They are supposed to create a low pressure area and pull air in to the duct from a flat surface. I think they're still working on the front of the car though. I need to paint them still. Hell, I need to paint the whole car.

On topic update. 2nd layer of mat is laid. Curing... debating between 2 or 3 layers.

[Matt93SE]

I recommend checking strength after the 2nd layer cures for a while and see how it does. Glass doesn't have to be thick.

It it's rough though, you'll want enough thickness to sand down a bit and skim coat it with Bondo. a necessarily evil unless you're working off a mold.

[RedSVTFlareside]

I'll be sanding down and skimming with some fiberglass filler. I'll probably just finish off my roll of mat. I'll cover the important areas and areas that I think I might do more sanding on. I'll definately check the strength after the 2nd layer cures. Thanks for the advise Matt.

[floodo1]

I was having some cooling problems and didn't want to just cut holes in my bumper with a hole saw. How is it not used correctly?

Naca ducts are almost always used on flat surcfaces...here is a non-detailed rough quote

The NACA duct takes advantage of the Boundary layer, a layer of slow moving air that "clings" to the bodywork of the car, especially where the bodywork flattens, or does not accelerate or decelerate the air flow.

this is why you almost always see them on the side panels or roof/hood of vehicles. Most likely just a plain opening there would have the same overall effect. Naca ducts are used because they are low drag intake openings, but in your situation i doubt they are any less drag than a regular opening.

still like i said they look cooL!

[floodo1]

True. They are supposed to create a low pressure area and pull air in to the duct from a flat surface. I think they're still working on the front of the car though. I need to paint them still. Hell, I need to paint the whole car.

On topic update. 2nd layer of mat is laid. Curing... debating between 2 or 3 layers.

thats not how they work at all, google it


are you going to make molds, or just do a direct layup with lots of bondo?

also you should use as little mat as your budget affords. you should start laying up cloth in layers that are angled in relation to each other (to build up unidirectional stiffness). mat is pretty low strength and mainly used to just get bulk. also when using cloth try to use pieces as big as possible, ie dont use strips. a lot of the strenght of composites comes by having long fibers (mat is bunch of short little pieces)

[RedSVTFlareside]

thats not how they work at all, google it


are you going to make molds, or just do a direct layup with lots of bondo?

also you should use as little mat as your budget affords. you should start laying up cloth in layers that are angled in relation to each other (to build up unidirectional stiffness). mat is pretty low strength and mainly used to just get bulk. also when using cloth try to use pieces as big as possible, ie dont use strips. a lot of the strenght of composites comes by having long fibers (mat is bunch of short little pieces)

Mat woven into a cloth is what I think I'm using. This is my first experiment with fiberglass, I'm not too keen on terminology yet. I'm planning on doing this as a direct layup with as little filler as possible. I know this will involve a lot of sanding but thats the way I was planning. I might make an exterior mold of it when I'm finished to make duplicates.

You're right about the naca ducts. I wasn't really trying to make use of the duct and I know what they're designed for. I just wanted to put something in the hole that wouldn't impede the flow and looked kinda cool.

[RedSVTFlareside]

So I hurried up and got the fenders on the car so that I could drive to norman and get it aligned at eurosport. They are far from finished. I still have to sand them down, alter the wheel opening, skin with some filler, sand and finally prime. But they're on the car and it looks cool.

Since my last update. I have made the final cut on the outside of the fenders and a rough cut of the wheel opening. I took off the metal fenders and removed some material for tire clearance. No pics of this unfortunately as I was in a hurry and didn't have my documentary photographer handy. So this is the result of the last round of work on the fender.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/969e630a.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/969e630a.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/47b91621.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/7fc7e2bc.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/ee4ba142.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/a981d1a8.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/844ba9b8.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/8dbb9998.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/f5a18be9.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/10a45077.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/d416fc15.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/RedSVTFlareside/Making%20Front%20Fenders%20from%20Scratch/f7e2758b.jpg

[nevaland9]

sickk^

cant wait to see done and smoove

[Quail]

Its gonna look hard when its finished!

[300hp owen]

weird.
love the wheels/tires though, holy wide fun yes!