Hi guys, I just bought myself a 1996 f150 to use as a work truck for renos, and a daily driver as a restore my other car. There are no body issues at all, other than the typical rust around the wheels wells on the box.
I figured the best (read:cheapest) way to remedy the issue would be to cut out the affected area, seal it, and then bolt on some fender flares on the back to cover up the cut out areas.

Now my issues is, I cant seem to find pictures of specific flares. Id like to get the most cost efficient ones, that will cover the fender lip, so any imput would be greatly appreciated. What other ways have people tackled this problem?

heres what the fenders look like:

 

I debated the flare thing too but since my truck is 2wd and has stock sized "E" rated tires I didn't think flares would look too good.

What I did on mine was buy a pair of $25 (each side) patch panels on ebay and weld them in, prime and paint. Not my best welding job however it was "good enough".

 

Wow.. that hardly anything at all.... ofcoarse if not fixed will get worst, but still.

But yeah, they still sell those patch panels. You just weld right over your original one.


The thing I hate about those is they WILL rust out again eventually....


The proper way of doing it would be completely cutting out the entire quarter panel, and welding in a new piece.

 

I understand there is a right way to fix it, but I dont want to have to repaint the box, or try to blend paint with a spray can, but i could cut out the rust, spray the fender flares with colour matched paint, and make it look pretty good for not much money, and less work overall.

Keep in mind, its a $2200 truck, and im not trying to dump large amounts of money into it, but i do plan on keeping it for a while, hopefully.

 

Flares aren't cheap - at least that I've ever seen - unless you have a line on some used ones. Plus, I agree with frederic that if you don't have a wheel/tire combination that needs the coverage flares don't look good, anyway - stock size tires on stock wheels tuck well inside the fender as it is, especially in back. Personally I'd try the patch panels, though I'd have to go the adhesive route since I don't weld.

 

I have the same problem and was wodnering if anyone has taken flares from a 97 or above F series and retrofitted them to a 92-96 F series? Just a thought and am going to look into trying this once winter leaves.

 

where did you find these patch panels on ebay? I cant seem to find anything except for truck from the 70s

 

87-96 F Series Bronco Rear 1/4 Patch Panel Pair NEW - eBay (item 230589279124 end time Mar-24-11 07:48:22 PDT)

LMC Truck Parts - Page 26

Rear Wheel Arch Panel Left 39in x 13in 87-96
Rear Wheel Arch Panel Right 39in x 13in 87-96

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...er-flares.html

Amazon.com: Bushwacker 20501-02 Street Style Fender Flares - Set of 4: Automotive

 

Bushwacker Extend-a-Fender's are what you are looking for. Since you are wanting to do it on the quick and easy type of repair, cut out only the rusted area, remove the liner on the inside of the bed. Scrape/sand the affected area clean, and then coat with a good undercoating on the inside, and the rustoleum on the outside (fit the flare first to make sure you dont go above the visible section on the bedside with the rustoleum). While you are at it, this would be a good time to check all the interior edges of the bedsides for future problems and undercoat/prime them too on the inside to prevent any more cancer from showing up.



Bushwacker 20904-11 - Bushwacker Extend-A-Fender Flares - Overview - SummitRacing.com

$350 at Summit Racing

If you are wanting something a little thinner, use the "Street Fender" flares. They are only 3/4" wide vs 1 3/4 for the Extend-a-Fender" style.

Bushwacker 20501-02 - Bushwacker Street Fender Flares - Overview - SummitRacing.com

 

I know this is an old post....do the extand-a-fenders bold to the side of the bed? Most flares I've seen bolt to the underside lip and have decorative bolts that make it look like it was bolted around the edge of the flare.....my problem is that if I cut the rusted lip out of the fender, there is nowhere to attach the flares. Basically I want bushwhackers with actual functional bolts around the top edge of the flares.