Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...
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Mr.Kiss
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Fawkin awesome ...... looks great
stinger12
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I spent all day screwing around with the flares, so I could get a nice round fender lip. Had to use a heat gun and lots of force in some areas, but I think I am pretty close to where I want them. Some of the lip will have to be fixed later on, once I bond them. There is only so much you can do with the screws and forcing them into place.
stinger12
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Mike and I did some math yesterday and we decided on a tire size. He said the rake of the car is perfect, and so are the flares.
The left rear flare needs an insane amount of work. The wheel well lip is not round, so it looks like crap right now. That will all get fixed with grinding, fiberglass, grinding, fiberglass...you get the idea. I got it the best I could with what I was working with. Its just a base for my work.
What does this all mean? I am finally ready to start bonding the flares in place
What a relief.
The Pedicament With L88 flares on Rubber Bumper Cars
Most of you know that the corvette is known for having a larger gap at the back of the rear tire, when compared to the gap in front of it (behind the dogleg). You have to do two things. One is close up the gap behind the tire to center the wheel the best you can get it. The other problem to address is you NEED to get your fender lip round. If you try and mount the flare at the exact same height of the original quarter panel, and then you make the wheel well arc round, it will look like a semi circle that's been stretched. The reason is because of the quarter panels being longer. The quarter panels on 74-82 corvettes are longer that the 68-69 vettes. You need to make a balance between the two problems.
I set my rear ones a little lower than the original fender lip, about 1'' lower. The front ones were set at the exact same height as the original fender lips. This way I can close up most of the gap behind the tire, and still have a round wheel well lip. Its a battle fitting these things correctly. Get it wrong and it will look funny.
You also need to make sure your rear flares are higher in relation to the ground than the front flares. You need to have rake. My rear ones are 5/8'' higher than the front flares. I made sure to set them like that. It took a lot of BS to get them set right.
Take your time, and remember measure 18000 times, and glue once!
The left rear flare needs an insane amount of work. The wheel well lip is not round, so it looks like crap right now. That will all get fixed with grinding, fiberglass, grinding, fiberglass...you get the idea. I got it the best I could with what I was working with. Its just a base for my work.
What does this all mean? I am finally ready to start bonding the flares in place
What a relief.The Pedicament With L88 flares on Rubber Bumper Cars
Most of you know that the corvette is known for having a larger gap at the back of the rear tire, when compared to the gap in front of it (behind the dogleg). You have to do two things. One is close up the gap behind the tire to center the wheel the best you can get it. The other problem to address is you NEED to get your fender lip round. If you try and mount the flare at the exact same height of the original quarter panel, and then you make the wheel well arc round, it will look like a semi circle that's been stretched. The reason is because of the quarter panels being longer. The quarter panels on 74-82 corvettes are longer that the 68-69 vettes. You need to make a balance between the two problems.
I set my rear ones a little lower than the original fender lip, about 1'' lower. The front ones were set at the exact same height as the original fender lips. This way I can close up most of the gap behind the tire, and still have a round wheel well lip. Its a battle fitting these things correctly. Get it wrong and it will look funny.
You also need to make sure your rear flares are higher in relation to the ground than the front flares. You need to have rake. My rear ones are 5/8'' higher than the front flares. I made sure to set them like that. It took a lot of BS to get them set right.
Take your time, and remember measure 18000 times, and glue once!
Twin_Turbo
Der Maulwurf
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Nice deep mags you have there 
Yeah, getting the rear flares in is a PITA if you want the wheel arch centered over the wheel.
With my car I took a shortcut that wasn't so much a short cut but a while I was at it, I moved the whole rear suspension back about 1.5"
Yeah, getting the rear flares in is a PITA if you want the wheel arch centered over the wheel.
With my car I took a shortcut that wasn't so much a short cut but a while I was at it, I moved the whole rear suspension back about 1.5"
stinger12
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You need to set your steering up before you fit the flares. Get your toe set first. I used a string against the wheel and measured two spots on the frame rail - one measurement at the back, and one at the front. Get them exactly the same, then lock your tie rod down. The wheel will be set perfectly straight using this method, or pretty damn close. Make sure when your wheels are pointed straight, that the flat on the steering worm gear is pointing straight up (12 o'clock position). This flat...
And here is how I set the wheels perfectly straight (I also measured the toe in/out at the tire tread just to make sure it was spot on, and it was).
Mike also wanted me to set the caster to 2.5 degrees before I did a final test fit on the flares. The reason is because caster moves the wheel forward and backward inside the fender. Most people just mount them and deal with the way they look after the alignment. I'm not doing that. I want this thing to look perfect.
When I am finished the car, I will cut the front springs to match my "all-thread setup". This way everything will be so close, that an adjustment in caster will not move the wheel much, if any at all. I had to buy a caster/camber gauge to do this correctly...it cost me $190. I will be able to do my alignment at home now, and will have it for the rest of my life. Money well spent in my opinion. Make sure you set your camber to 0 too.
Next I finished fitting the flares, and marked the areas they would be bonded too. Then I took the flare off, and marked the outline 1.5'' below the flare outline.
Next I took my cutoff wheel and cut the lip off - no turning back now!
Now most people just glue the flare on top of the original panel, then deal with it later. However, Mike wanted me to grind the glass thin, so the flare would not sit on top of the surface as much. When it comes time to glass them in, its gonna save me a lot of sanding time.
Here they are glued in place. Keep in mind I have to do a ton of work to these still. On my levelled out floor, each fender lip is exactly 27 3/4'' to the ground. I promise you, these will be the nicest set of flares you've ever seen after I'm done with them
Mike's little recess idea...
SO FLIPPEN TIRED!
And here is how I set the wheels perfectly straight (I also measured the toe in/out at the tire tread just to make sure it was spot on, and it was).
Mike also wanted me to set the caster to 2.5 degrees before I did a final test fit on the flares. The reason is because caster moves the wheel forward and backward inside the fender. Most people just mount them and deal with the way they look after the alignment. I'm not doing that. I want this thing to look perfect.
When I am finished the car, I will cut the front springs to match my "all-thread setup". This way everything will be so close, that an adjustment in caster will not move the wheel much, if any at all. I had to buy a caster/camber gauge to do this correctly...it cost me $190. I will be able to do my alignment at home now, and will have it for the rest of my life. Money well spent in my opinion. Make sure you set your camber to 0 too.
Next I finished fitting the flares, and marked the areas they would be bonded too. Then I took the flare off, and marked the outline 1.5'' below the flare outline.
Next I took my cutoff wheel and cut the lip off - no turning back now!
Now most people just glue the flare on top of the original panel, then deal with it later. However, Mike wanted me to grind the glass thin, so the flare would not sit on top of the surface as much. When it comes time to glass them in, its gonna save me a lot of sanding time.
Here they are glued in place. Keep in mind I have to do a ton of work to these still. On my levelled out floor, each fender lip is exactly 27 3/4'' to the ground. I promise you, these will be the nicest set of flares you've ever seen after I'm done with them
Mike's little recess idea...
SO FLIPPEN TIRED!
Last edited:
MYBAD79
Moderator
Looking good :thumbs:
I did the same when I fitted my rear flares, ground both parts thin at the 2" overlap. My flares fit great, got them from Vanacor. Too bad they seem to be out of business... now I have to make my own front flares to match the rear.... :cussing:
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I did the same when I fitted my rear flares, ground both parts thin at the 2" overlap. My flares fit great, got them from Vanacor. Too bad they seem to be out of business... now I have to make my own front flares to match the rear.... :cussing:
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JeffP1167
Well-known member
By setting up the flairs now aren't you concerned about ride height and wheel to flair issues once all the weight is back in the car and the suspension has settled?
Ozzy
Well-known member
Looking good :thumbs:
I did the same when I fitted my rear flares, ground both parts thin at the 2" overlap. My flares fit great, got them from Vanacor. Too bad they seem to be out of business... now I have to make my own front flares to match the rear.... :cussing:
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I believe I read that Vanacor is back in business.
as posted on CF:
Michael and Jackie Vanacor the son and Daughter-in-law of the late Bryan Vanacor, is now the owner of Vanacor's Corvette Parts.
We will be fully up and operational within a few months.
If interested in ordering from us please call 985/210-3762(Michael), 504/710-8288 (Jackie ) or email us at [email protected].
Vanacor's Corvette Parts is not affiliated with ANYONE in Mississippi, we are only located in Des Allemands, LA.
The number 1-800-225-6508 is not Vanacor's and they do not have any of our molds or parts.
Hope this helps.
stinger12
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No, I'm not concerned.
stinger12
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I pulled the front end off today. I chopped up my body dolly and modified it to hold the front end upside down, with lots of support, so nothing will change on me over the next few weeks.
I will be glassing in the flares, as well as the inner fenders. Inner fenders pop loose all the time, and I don't want that to happen to me. As great as this bonding adhesive is, it does not like flexing. Here is an example of it cracking when flexing...
I will be glassing in the flares, as well as the inner fenders. Inner fenders pop loose all the time, and I don't want that to happen to me. As great as this bonding adhesive is, it does not like flexing. Here is an example of it cracking when flexing...
stinger12
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Started to glass the flares and inner fenders in for good.
NEVER use fiberglass cloth on a vette. Always use fiberglass matt - cloth will checkerboard through a paint job within a few years.
Holy crap do I have a lot of glass work to do...:willy::willy::willy:
NEVER use fiberglass cloth on a vette. Always use fiberglass matt - cloth will checkerboard through a paint job within a few years.
Holy crap do I have a lot of glass work to do...:willy::willy::willy:
I've followed this thread from both forums and your work is amazing! Someday I'll have the courage to fix my '70 vert properly - it has an '80 nose on it, mid '70 L82 hood and fenders, and a mix of inner fender panels - all cobbled together from previous owners. When I do, your documentation here will be my inspiration to do things right.
stinger12
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I finished work at 9:00 pm yesterday, then headed into the garage and started working on sanding the flare into shape. Here is how it looks...
Then I started to make the fender lip. I used bondo on the backside for support.
I also extended the lip closer to the front of the wheel for more "curves". The blue is the area I am talking about...
And, as of 10 minutes ago...
Now I gotta wake up in 6 hours and go to work:ack:
Then I started to make the fender lip. I used bondo on the backside for support.
I also extended the lip closer to the front of the wheel for more "curves". The blue is the area I am talking about...
And, as of 10 minutes ago...
Now I gotta wake up in 6 hours and go to work:ack:
stinger12
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The drip rails on these cars always pop loose. They are bonded to the inner fenders, which sets your surround to hood height. Mike wanted me to glass it in to make it one piece with the front end. Fiberglass flexes and takes abuse...the bonding adhesive tends to crack when stressed.
