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Fender Trimming Fender TrimmingThis is how I trimmed my fenders to fit bigger tires. In this particular project, 87 S10-Blazer 4x4x2 I installed a 3" body lift and wanted to mount 285/75R16 (33"x11.5") tires on Firebird 16"X8" rims with 6" of backspacing. First thing, determine how much to trim. In my case I measured the distance between the 30" BFG All-Terrain tires on the factory 15x7" wheels and the fender opening before the body lift. The 30" tires where on the truck and I knew they didn't rub. I figured if I stayed with the same distance between the fenders and new tires the new tires also wouldn't rub. I measured the fender wheel opening at the bottom, and figured the difference. The difference is how much room your tires will need no matter how big you go. With the 3" body lift I still needed to trim roughly 2" on each side of the tire. With that in mind, I pulled out my old typewriter whiteout and drew lines from the bottom (2" out) up to the body line. I used a sawzall to cut along the fender lip first, and then on the white line I drew. This created a pie shaped wedge of material I removed. 
Then hammer the lip to the new cut line. Either weld, JB Weld or whatever you want to clean it up. I saved the fender lip because it has the holes in the flange I need to remount the chrome trim ring. Plus it eliminates the sharp edges. 
I repeated the same process in the back of the fender. This pic also shows the flange with the bolt holes. 
Next I needed to clearance the firewall to match the fender trimming. See the area outlined in the whiteout? I had to beat that area back about 3/4" with a sledge hammer. Make sure the firewall doesn't stick out past the fender lip. 
Install the inner fender well, and in my case I put the chrome trim ring back on. Hard to see in the pic, however I used 3, 1" long self tapping bolts to secure the inner fender to the firewall. Might be easier to see the bolts in Fender Trimming #6 pic. 
Fender Trimming #6 pic is with the 33" tire mounted to the truck. Notice the amount of clearance I have on both sides of the tire. Repeat as needed for the other fenders. 
This is my '00 S10-Blazer with 30" BFG All-Terrains next to the 87 S10-Blazer with the 285/75R16 Cooper Discovery S/T tires mounted on the Firebird 16x8" rims with 6" of backspacing. The only place I rub is at full crank and I rub on the frame. Less backspacing might stop the rubbing on the frame. 
Tools: White out Sawzall Hammer Jack and jack stands Torque wrench. Basic Hand tools to remove inner fender wells, and tires. Writeup by Tim Hanr3 Back to tech pages menu Last Modified: 4/1/06 JCH |