rolling fenders, how is it done

[351w_swap]

A lot of you have been talking about rolling the fenders to fit bigger rubber or just give you more clearance. Do you all have bead rollers or something? How do you roll the fenders and make it look professional with just hand tools? What are your methods of gaining the clearance necessary to put those big tires under the car?

 

[ttoney]

A lot of guys use a baseball bat. I am going to try it when my axle goes back in.

 

[mustangdave]

I'm almost positive Eastwood sells a fender roller for a pro look. Check it out.

 

[latamud]

Eastwood $300
Louiville Slugger $30, plus you can take it to your league games, or use it for home security.

 

[stangonline]

Yeah, but the baseball bat method leaves the car looking ghetto when your done. I'll be getting the eastwood one. I heard that tire rack rented them a couple of years back - not sure if they still do.

 

[4MuscleMachines]

I have the fender roller tool from Eastwood and it works wonderfully. I took painters tape and taped the fender lips one strip at a time until I had the entire lip taped. Then I put duct tape over it to ensure the roller head would not mar the paint. It didn't.

 

[simplyJ]

also make sure you use a heat gun to warm the paint... it'll help prevent cracking. I've used the eastwood roller on several other cars and it works like a charm. I'd definitely recommend using it over a baseball bat (trust me, I've even rolled fenders in a pinch using an old tire and rubber mallet... I DO NOT recommend this method)

 

[ForceFed70]

Well... here's what I did..

Got in there with my sawsall and cut slits in the fender lip every 3" or so. Then got in there with a rubber mallet and dolley and banged them over. Some of the paint on the fender lip flaked off, so afterwords I got in there with some color-matching paint and touched it up. But this was only for me as you'd have had to stick your head right into the wheel well to have seen it anyway.

I tried the baseball bat technique but it felt like I was going to wreck something..

 

[stangonline]

^^ I did the same thing on my 90 mustang, years back - because it was double walled steel there. The cuts started rusting in no time and when I tried a larger tire, it caught one of the "tabs", pulled it down and punctured the tire

What I want to know is - What do people do to add some structural strength to the wheel opening after rolling? Having the original 90 degree lip there makes that entire opening/arch stronger.

Jeff