ok...i have a question for all of you, that im sure fenders or niolon could set me straight on right away, but its worth askin everybody.... what is the true difference in the fenders (front and back) between a half ton and 3/4 ton....besides of course the hole....i set the box on the frame today, and saw something i really didnt like...the front end of the back fenders was wide to cover the wheel, but the back of the fender was about level with the tire if not too far in.....quite frankly, it looked awkward as hell....
if i end up buyin new fenders instead of usin the old ones anyway, i dont want to spend that kind of money on something that looks stupid in the first place....do the bolt holes on a 3/4 ton fender line up with that of a 1/2?

what to do, what to do.....

 

Huron

I haven't a clue. Just bumping this to the top for you. One of the 3/4 ton guys here will get you the right answer soon.

 

What truck is this? You should fill out the rest of the User data in your profile and post a few pictures. Nothing to be embarresed about look at my truck. I did knock out the biggie "booboo on the roof this weekend looks a little better.

 

Here are stock 56 F-250 measurements I just got from the garage, looking at a rear fender:
10 fender bolts visible from the bedside
First two bolts from the front working back are about 6.7 inches from bolt center to bolt center, rest are 7 inches apart
About 53 inches from the front bolt to the rear bolt, measured flat down the bed
Roughly 11.5 inches from the bed to the highest bolts over the wheel
Wheel opening in the fender is a little over 35 inches across the bottom (widest part)
Depth in the wheel well from the fender opening to the frame is 21.5 inches

Maybe somebody will do the same with an F-100 and provide the comparison...

ROB

 

1/2 ton figures in bold, quick measurements but I got close. Chris is right, PICs would help, and so would your wheel width and backset

Here are stock 56 F-250 measurements I just got from the garage, looking at a rear fender:
10 fender bolts visible from the bedside
First two bolts from the front working back are about 6.7 inches from bolt center to bolt center, rest are 7 inches apart

Need to verify but appear to be about the same

About 53 inches from the front bolt to the rear bolt, measured flat down the bed

53 inches

Roughly 11.5 inches from the bed to the highest bolts over the wheel

12.5

Wheel opening in the fender is a little over 35 inches across the bottom (widest part)

35

Depth in the wheel well from the fender opening to the frame is 21.5 inches

19

Maybe somebody will do the same with an F-100 and provide the comparison...

ROB

 

I know on a 48 1/2 the fenders on a 3/4 ton are slightly bigger all the way around. They don't look like they are off the truck. But when you put them on you'll see the difference. There just enough to big to make a 1/2 ton look alittle fun.

 

ok...now that my computer has erased a whole novel full of information for you, i will try to redo it.....
first of all, i want to apoligize (AGAIN) for gettin ahead of myself before...
53 F250 soon to be a F100
rear end out of a 88 crown victoria
i did some measurin today and found out that from backing plate to backing plate, both rearends (the one on the 54 f100 box donor, and the crown vic were both 55"....from outside to outside on the tires was 68" on the 54, and 70-71 on the cv...the little difference there would make a little change in width,making the tires stick out a little (about and inch), whereas they were merely enclosed before, the little bit that the fenders are bent out of shape, im sure doesnt help any, considering, on the other side, the fender and tire are about flush....the difference between the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton fenders is only the whole size, i found out today, by only about 2 inches.....and a wise man once told me to "avoid bigger holes like the plague, because they look like hell"---haha, he knows who he is, and he has probably changed my life forever, or something like that ----anyway.... i have seen fiberglass fenders offered in a couple places that can be ordered stock or 3" wider, which may be what i have to do, since i wanted to put wider, bigger tires on it to give it the "meatier, meaner" look, but i cant do that with out REALLY offset rims the way the fenders are now....still open to suggestion...ill see if i can get some pictures on here about what the hell im tryin to say, because im sure its not comin out right....

 

Huron Farmer

Before I see a PIC, I would say you got a few options. I don't know what your budget is, or your fabbing skills, so it's hard to rank them in any order.

1. The glass fenders you mentioned.

2. Split the steel fenders and widen them.

3. Run the 3/4 fenders if you got em and they are decent. I got this huch there is more to that than I know.

4. Massively offset wheels might be expensive (custom).

5. Keep looking for a 57-72 F100 9 inch and save yourself a bunch of grief. They are out there and $150 buys one if you shop.

And you add new light to my offline quote on avoiding large fender openings. Instant messenger just doesn't allow for proofreading.

 

Offset smoothies from www.earlywheel.com are not that bad. I bought a set of 15 x 10 and 15 x 8 wheels. They do not charge extra for varying offsets because they build wheels to order.

 

huronfarmer what you need to do is put a 3'' wider fender on your truck. It will save you alot of time and work. I seen a set of them on a truck and if you are wanting to run a fat tire out back it's the way to go. Just remember if you are going to change the rear end in your truck measure good b/c the wheels have a offset to them anyway. The passenger side sets in further than the driver side does. About a 1/2 inch to 1''. This makes them look funny anyway. I'm going to fix that on my truck also. So if you bolt up your replacement in the same spot your still going to be fighting that awful offset look.

 

well, i think im just goin to cut the stupid things apart and stick a three or four inch piece of sheet metal in them.....that way, i can make them to my specs, and put as fat of tires as i want to...

 

Huronfarmer,

I believe that the stock fenders are tapered in towards the back and remeber talking to a guy at PF 2 or 3 years ago who widened his own fenders, but when he widened them he put a tapered filler in, about 2" at the front and up to 3 or 3&1/2 at the back. It really looked quite good and evened the lines up.

Regards, John

 

One thing about it. You are going to have alot of work ahead of you but you can always look back and say I did that. Good luck on you project! Show some pics if you can.

 

Huronfarmer - I have a biased viewpoint here, but another easy way to get an additional 2 inches of fender over the tire is to add the second wall to the box like I did. (See my gallery). I got 12 inch wide P295's under stock fenders without tubbing. The 2 inch offset of the fender (versus stock or 3 inch offset) also happens to line up the fender lip exactly with the edge of the running board. Looks like it was always supposed to be that way.