Well, I got pulled over the other day and was scolded by the local PD. They informed me that my ride was a "gross violation of the law" and that I had to do something about that. Huh, lucky I was not driving my orange truck. They would have thrown me in jail.
So I have to do something about my Boggers and the fact that they sttick out way too far for the local police, and being the law abiding guy that I am, I should figure something out. Well bolt on flares do not work for me since my tires tend to make contact with the body on occassion so thats out.
After talking with a good buddy of mine, he suggested that I make some mods like the desert racers do. After some thought I figured that I would give it a try and this is how it goes:

Stock profile showing that my tires do stick out a bit:





We start by cutting the inner support that provides strength to the bedside skin itself. Be carefull to cut the center and not too close to the inner fender or you might cut right through the inner fender well, Doh!





Once cut and free, the new wider inner support should be cut and formed:





Since the inner support has an arch on two directions, some fab work has to be done. Dont be alarmed, this can be done on any front lawn, or any sand box for the kids. Really. First, using a dead blow hammer, strike the center to start the form and work the metal from left to right. Strike along the center and it will start to bow:




Next turn the sheetmetal so you can do the same thing in this direction, this will give you the compund bends that are needed to follow the contour of the inner panel. Dont be afriad to spend a little time hear. This can be done with or without annealing the steel. I realize some may not have torches.
Be sure to only stike along a center line and not towards the edges, as this will undo the previous steps. If you miss, just go back and add some blows where you need more curve. This makes sense once you start striking the metal.




Now place a jack along with some support along the fender and the inner wheel well. Start adding tension:



Tack that thing into place and release the tension:



Add extensions or make a new corner support for the fenders and make the length suitable for your desired look:



Enjoy your truck with new flared look.



Tires should tuck and are out of sight and out of mind. Maybe the police will let me slide on by now.

This is approx a three adult beverage job. Pretty easy by most standards.


75F350

 

Nice work. I think it actually looks better than fender flares too, though it's hard to tell from the one picture. You wouldn't have pictures of the whole truck now that it's done, would you? You know, from the back, the side and the front...

So did it pull on the corners (front and rear) of the bed much? Do you think that there is any chance that with time it'll stress the bed corners out of shape?

Are you going to do something about the front too?

So, when I move back down to NorCal in January I'm thinking that I'll have to make a trip your way to see all of your mods in person so that I can copy them (you know that imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?). Between the SD/Cheby springs, the crossover steering and now the bed flare, you've done everything to your truck that I'd ever considered. I'm jealous.

 

This is a very subtle flare. I only gained, or shall I say the tape only states a 2.5" flare. Not a bunch really but does a fine job of covering the tires. See I run big nasty mud flaps in the rear and that was due to another suggestion by the Local highway Patrol.
I believe that this upgrade will allow me to drive on the streets and keep a low profile.

Ok, some of the pitfalls:

Yes they did stress the corners, mostly the rear. Since the wheel well is so far torwards the rear, this was a really tough bend. I had a heak of a time keeping it from trying to bend arounf the fuel filler. Since I still run full chrome (not chrome really), and plan to keep it that way I had to be careful with how far I started to stretch things.
Do I see any long term effects? this would really be just an educated guess, and that is no. SInce everything is still supported properly, the inner skins are actually fully welded, and the supports are holding most of the tension, I dont see any problems. Now, I dont see this thing staying perfectly straight, so a black paint job might show some of the tension wrinkles, but again these were kept to a minumum. This was a subtle flare, maybe a more agressive one moght have some negative affects but I will have to see.
I am not the first to do this, and this will not be my last one. I have some small tweeks to make yet, but this is growing on me, and I am liking it more and more.

Cant quite let the cat out of the bag yet as far as the front goes, but I can tell you it will be interesting. I am sure it will be something to talk about. While some will not like this mod, I am sure they will not like the plans for the front, but oh well.
I can say that it will keep the same lines and will do my best to maintian the clean lines that make me love this bodystyle so much, but it will be agressive.

Thanks for the compliments, and you let me know when you want to come around.
Fridge is almost always full, there are plenty of tools in the tool box in case we find something that has to be worked on, and I am sure that we can find something to talk about........

Lets see what I can do about pics. Its rather difficult to see depth in a picture, but you can see from the profile that there is something going on. Looks decent in person.

 

Damn...I may have to make a trip down that way to visit myself!!! lol

 

You are welcome to come along as well.
Boy you can really see the bow in that last pic. You can also make out where the "Ranger" badge is trying to pull away from the body due to the bow. So far all of the trim pieces have stayed on and not popped away, even after a few drives. Fingers crossed.
Too bad that darn chevy K5 hit me while I was towing out of the mud hole. Wrinkled a nice tail light trim piece. Looks terrible. Adds character thought.

 

Now the biggest problem....the distance!!!

 

Now that is COOL!

 

I was lookin into those prerunner front bulge fenders. Steve said like $500 a set. And i dont even get a kiss or takin to dinner.

 

Looks great, good idea.

 

that really looks good! i haven't seen any aftermarket flares that look good on these trucks imo. i like how you retained the stock look of the fender, curious to see what you come up with for the frt!

as for your body trim pieces if they be come a problem i would think they could be removed & ''massaged'' a little or possibly modify the mounting points to relieve some of the tension

again, looks good 75f350, you are an innovator!

 

Hahah. All the vehicle on vehicle damage my truck has is from my buddies K5 doing something. Broke my bumper mount. Backed into the front of me. Snapped a driveline u-joint towing him. And oh so much more...

Anywhoozle.. when are you going to modify the front?? If your not going to tell us your plans you might tell us when your starting it. The suspense is killing me.

 

New fenders will be buldge type pre-runner style fenders. The idea is to retain as much of the stock line as possible but will include a larger radius for the wheel opening and should have about a 5 inch flare. Should keep the local law enforcement out of my rearview mirror. I have become to not like the red and blue lights flashing in the mirror.

This project will take a little while. Might be a couple of months.

 

thats damn cool man great idea

i have an idea for the later model fords though, if you have the style side, get some fenders from a flareside box and adjust them and make them work, keeping the fiberglass fenders on the steel bed might be interesting though? but since the fenders on the flaresides stick out so far you could cover any tires haha