azdesertrunner83

so i purchased a set of glass fenders for my truck and what i recived isnt what was in pic.so now i cant afford to buy the right fenders for my truck.im trying to sell the glass set.because of this it led me to under take this.a set of completly metal set of high clearance front fenders made from two fenders welded together.and some custom free hand metal shaping to blend the two.the result will be seemless to the eye but look baddass.ans in the end cost me almost nothing but a whole lot of time..................so for starters heres the pick of the stock fender for referance.



so i cut back the stock fender thats bolted to truck a good bit to give a firm base to weld my chopped up second fender to.i raised the factory fender opening 3" and pulled it back 1.25".but heres the kicker i kept the whole factory sqaure flair section.heres the pic with it just screwed in place for mock up. you can already see how much i cut off the top.



and some more after cutting the top layer fender back to match the door line i also got the top fender to lay flat and follow the under fender lines perfect.please take note in the gap in the front of top fender to bumper when looking at the next set of pics



and heres more after tacing it all up and shaping a new top nose peice it follows the factory lines perfect.and extended the front of fender to meet the bumper it also folloes the curvature well.so after i fully weld it and grind it back down and with a little body filler they will look seemless the to eye.






in the next couple of days im gonna cut and extend the rear section all the down to the bottom of cab just as the factory one did.

rattlewagon

Awesome job on the nose piece. How much higher are these ones?

azdesertrunner83

3" higher and pulled back 1.25" and thanks i hand shaped that piece from flat steel i put my body dolly in my vice to secure it and just started hammering away with my body hammer till it took shape then trimmed to fit.it took about an hour to get it just right.

Robert m

iTrader: (2)

What was wrong with the fiberglass ones you ordered?

dark_fairytales

Nice, one of a kind job, your work, and idea is kind of like sectioning a body. I am interested to see what you do on the cab side of the fender, as that area is really the location that has the majority of tire contact.

One other question, how long have you had the General Grabbers? And if you have had them for some time, what do you think of them as an off road tire? I am thinking Grabbers will be the next set I go for.

azdesertrunner83

i purchased a full ivan kit off a 86 to 88 2 door 4runner posted in a pic on the truck by seller and stated it was a 84 to 88 full ivan kit hood and fenders, when i compared the pics to what i recieved it clearly was not the same items, mind you i bought this from a guy on another forum and paid to ship them and what i got was a standerd 4" flair 2" rise fenders,a stock glass hood looking to be a glassworks kit and they are for a 89 to 95 2wd.truck body not even close i message the guy and he said tough luck. if they dont work for ya post an ad and sell them. i was apauled.at this the short of it i straight got scamed i paid almost $450 after shipping which if they had been what was shown in pics.would have been worth it as they dont make that kit anymore.but im over it now and moving on

azdesertrunner83

love my grabbers would not trade them for anything i would give them a 8 to 9 out of 10 over all they do everthing really well and are tough as hell i hit the deset at 50 to 60 mph and dont even think twice i usally air down to 10-12psi

dark_fairytales

That is good too know, your opinion is much the same as the reviews I have read about. I also have read that the tread pattern looks quieter then the Grabbers truly are on the road. Would you say that is true regarding the road noise of the Grabbers?

dromomaniac

Very cool project. This is my favorite build on the site right now.

Incidentally, I saw a 80's 4Runner, in Tucson, with the 'under-bob' and a chopped down top going on. I believe it was on a SFA and it was definitely on rather giant tires.

azdesertrunner83

i have an ifs truck so any mud tire noisey i would say almost as loud as bfg mt but not as loud a swampers or mtrs. i figured with how beefy these tires are i mean the side walls are unbelivebly thick ans tough a little noise can be cured by turnin the stereo up a bit

azdesertrunner83

i think i sold that guy some parts he said he was very interested in the direction my runner was going and made mention he was gonna incorperate so of my ideas.good for him i like hearing that more and more people are straying from the (typical) 4 runner build.i love seeing custom chop tops 2 door and 4 door runners. and full pre runner builds as well, i like a sas truck as much as anyone else.ive owned 2 myself.they have there uses for sure but some times a well built long travel ifs is a better choice.for specific uses.like mine im building a daily driver that can hit the open desert at 45 to 65 mph and soak up most of it in 2wd. and when needed still throw it 4 wheel drive and do med. trail driving and exploring.its just hard on a straight axle to do that kind of driving.and a properly set up four link with coil overs is way too expensive.i plan on a blazeland dyi lt kit hear hopfully in the near future. i already built a bullit proof idler arm
i scored a set of fox resi coilovers for early tacoma for a set of wheels i had laying around and plan on doing fj80 and hiem joint tie rods.when im all said and done im in my lt front end complete for about $600 plus a whole lot fab and time.far cheaper than a comparable sas.with the same high speed capabilty.just my 2 cents.please do nnot take this as a slam on sas trucks because it not i just believe its not always the best direction for every type of driving condition.sorry did not mean to sound like i was ranting

azdesertrunner83

ok so im all welded up i still need to pull fender and do some more detail grinding along the door edge cant get in there with it on the truck,in on pick you can see the filler i shaped from flat stock so that i could bring the fender all the way back down to the cab base. it will all grind up real smooth and look dam good after some lite body filler is applied.






and heres some pics of the welded and semi grinded rear half again i need to pull fender to finish grinding smooth.notice the fender meets the bottom of cab now.







and heres a pick of the whole truck i plan on cutting a little out on the rear fender wells too.



and a couple with my custom top im workin on


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