Think we all understand the need for fenderwell modification when it comes to stance and rolling stock versus clearance. Building inner fenders for the rear section of a truck is relatively easy, but what about the front? Interfering components such as the engine, brake system, A-arm suspension, and wiring makes tackling front wheeltubs a greater task.
Competition Engineering makes universal wheeltubs that are a cut to fit components. These do-it-yourself inner 'wells come in both 0.032 aluminum and 24-gauge steel. The 'well is bead-rolled for reinforcement and has a Pittsburgh locking seam that is easily fastened together. With a little patience, trimming the cut-to-fit fenderwells will add a much-needed touch to your truck when tucking goliath rolling stock.
Open tires in a truck just plain suck! They get road grime all over the engine compartment, not to mention what water does to the electrical system. The use of an inner fender eliminates these negatives and provides an area for mounting engine compartment components. We followed Jerod through his fender fitment and here is what we found.
1.The wheeltubs are composed...
1.The wheeltubs are composed of an arched sheet with a male lip and a flat sheet with structure ribs and a Pittsburgh seam. The first step is to make a pattern that will fit in the engine compartment and cover the tire. A piece of cardboard was used to form a template.
2.Slowly the cardboard is...
2.Slowly the cardboard is cut away until it fit in the compartment where the inner fenderwell will be. The great thing about cardboard is that if you mess up, the cost of starting over is fractional compared with other materials. The process of elimination formed a perfect template to start.
3a.After the template was...
3a.After the template was complete, it was transposed onto the DIY inner fender. All the rough edges were drawn over to make the lines smooth and all the transitions clean. The use of a tape roll helped clean up the curves.
3b.
4.Tin snips are the right...
4.Tin snips are the right tools for the next phase. A set of left, right, and straight tin snips is needed so you can make your cuts clean.
5.The majority of the excess...
5.The majority of the excess material was removed first. The snips will make a clean cut on one edge and a rough cut on the other. You can see the rough cut is facing toward the template marks, which is not the desired direction, but we were just removing excess material, so there were no good and bad edges to worry about. The final cuts were made a little slower, and in the right direction, to create a clean edge on the wheelwell.
6. A file can help clean up...
6. A file can help clean up any hard areas to get at with the tin snips. Fresh-cut sheetmetal is as sharp as a razor, so deburring the material is a must. The file is also used to remove the sharp edge that's formed when the snips slice through the thin-gauge metal.
7. The Pittsburgh seam is...
7. The Pittsburgh seam is easy to marry. There is a male edge and female seam that are slipped together, and then the lip on the female seam is rolled over to marry the male edge into the seam. It's important to make sure all of the male edge is tapped into the seam first.
8.After the male edge has...
8.After the male edge has been tapped into the Pittsburgh seam, the female lip is laid over to lock the seam in place. This is done after the wheeltub has been cut to the proper width and any material is removed for engine compartment fitment.
9a.Jerod used this vise as...
9a.Jerod used this vise as a ghetto-fabulous sheetmetal break. A 30-degree angle was used on the inner fender to get the lower section to mate up to the frame.
9b.
10.With the inner fender complete,...
10.With the inner fender complete, the unit was slipped into position.
11.A slight slice in the tub...
11.A slight slice in the tub allowed the wheelwell to lock onto the fender support rail.
12.Small tabs were fabricated...
12.Small tabs were fabricated to fix the inner fender to the truck.
13.The wheeltubs look pretty...
13.The wheeltubs look pretty cool, will keep the engine clean, and cover the hides, all without breaking our budget.