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Did they make 4x4 fenders different from the factory at the front for wheel clearance? I have seen pics on 4x4s with the front shaped like mine from the pics below and I have seen people cut their fenders and I have seen them like on my 2wd trucks on their 4x4s.
The white fender is off 1970 f350 2wd which is same as my 1970 f250 2wd. The maroon and white is off the 1972 f250 4x4. I was going to use the white fenders on the 72 because they were in a little better shape but now I am thinking I dont want any issues with clearance. I am not planning on rock crawling with it or anything but the 4wd will get used hunting and whatever else comes up.
Well I don't know the answer for sure, but that looks like a custom cut fender modification on the 2-tone fender on the left.
It's possible that Ford used two different fenders between 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive trucks, but I doubt it. It's very possible that there are companies out there making custom fiberglass fenders with much larger openings, typically for the desert racing crowd, but I doubt there are many for this vintage truck. Just not that much pent up demand.
There may also still be fender flares made by Bushwacker or similar companies, where you cut out the entire radius and rivet on the flares, widening and enlarging the opening. But they may also have been dropped over the years, again for lack of demand.
But going back to your question, that looks like a custom PO (previous owner) modification to me.
Is the clearance necessary for 35" tires? That is the biggest I would think of going on the truck. Also, I plan on selling some parts later down the road. If I need to cut the white ones I would just plan on using the red/white fenders.
If your white fenders are nice maybe get a junk set that have the section you need for your red fenders and clearance them like smoky_diesel did. Looks nice and 99% of people will never know the difference.
Another thing is if you are staying with leafs in the front the axle moves back during compression so that should help you some.
Fitment with 35" tires is dependent on many things; ride height, wheel offset, bump stops, and so on. So hard to know until you can drive it to test.
Another option is to improve the clearancing on the red/white set by changing the edge as you see fit and adding a roll. It is a small area however, not easy to do compound curves. Worst case you can abandon and just use white fenders.
If I wanted bigger openings I would investigate F500/750 used fenders. They look the same except bigger openings. I don't know if all the bolt holes are the same though. Hence the investigating.
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