How would one go about radiusing the front wheel wells NASCAR style?

[Brock Samson]

 I've allways wanted to do that and I'd just like to know what's involved,.. the best way to go about it, and how much it might cost... 
thanks in advance.           

[Ghoste]

I'm sure it's not the way you want to do it but I once saw a picture of Dick Landy doing it by shoving a baseball bat between the tire and the lip of the fender opening and then sort of rolling it around up there.  Crude but effective, in fact, I think I may have once seen it as a Car Craft tech tip a long time ago too (which means it also works on Camaros)

[devilgear]

I have it in a mag too..people have used base ball bats with success, but I think the CC method was to cut the inside of the wheel lip with a saw at a few places and hammer and dolly them back...This way you don't risk screwing up your paint or body panels...Oh and my article came out of Hot Rods Paint and Body special form Feb 15 2005..

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Eastwood makes a tool which "apparently" will do it. It bolts to the hub.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=6159&itemType=PRODUCT

[PocketThunder]

I'm sure it's not the way you want to do it but I once saw a picture of Dick Landy doing it by shoving a baseball bat between the tire and the lip of the fender opening and then sort of rolling it around up there.  Crude but effective, in fact, I think I may have once seen it as a Car Craft tech tip a long time ago too (which means it also works on Camaros)

             Aint that the truth!

[Mr.Woolery]

Did rears ever get radiused as part of NASCAR prepping?  I've also considered this mod to my car.

BTW, Brock if you're in Southern California...I happen to have an Eastwood fender rolling tool if you'd like to use it.  It'll make for really nicely radiused/rolled fenders, and you're more than welcome to stop by and use it.

[daytonalo]

In no way is that Eastwood tool going to duplicate the #71 fender they must be Fabricated

[Rolling_Thunder]

yep - the eastwood tool merely rolls the lip in...      the nascar fenders are cut to almost match the contour of the tire...   the rears were as well i believe.

[Mr.Woolery]

yep - the eastwood tool merely rolls the lip in...      the nascar fenders are cut to almost match the contour of the tire...   the rears were as well i believe.

Cue the raspberry buzzer...  BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!

Actually, you CAN use the Eastwood tool to pull fenders (in a limited manner).  We've done so using it on other cars (mainly imports to fit big rubber when just rolling the lips isn't enough).  Anything you can do with a baseball bat, you can do with the Eastwood tool, only MUCH cleaner.

[Foreman72]

Eastwood makes a tool which "apparently" will do it. It bolts to the hub.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=6159&itemType=PRODUCT

i was flipping thru that catalog this morning...that was the first thing i thought of too...

[SFRT]

figure out what size wheel and tire your going to run, then bring it over to the shop.

[Cooperman]

I have an Eastwood fender roller too, and as great as it is, it cannot remove four inches of fender! There's a whole lot of fabrication involved 

[Mr.Woolery]

^^

I agree with that, that's why I said the Eastwood tool does have abilities with limits.  Ideally, a radius would be cut, then you can use the Eastwood tool to create a flared lip.   Obviously a full on fabrication shop will do a much more thorough job of radiusing a fender though. 

[Brock Samson]

  yeah,..  well runnin the pic of the K&K '71 Daytona is probably not the best example,.. after all that car was seriously prepped to run the salt flats at 200 + MPH,..  here with the hills and driveways that I like to take at 20 MPH  I don't think that's really a look i could shoot for...
Highbanked Hauler's got a fiberglass front clip with round front wheel wells,.. courtesy of an accident,..
Now that might be a way to go, but i belive he's got the only Charger street driven car I've seen on this site, maybe ever,.. that ain't a full on race car...
i'll try to find a pic of Hibanks charger 500 one of my Fav. cars on this site... it's near to Petty Blue too, it don't git much more bitchen then that in my book.   

[Mike DC]

               
I think I remember hearing one time that in the 1960s somebody tooled up a stamped fender flare piece and sold them to everyone in NASCAR (all makes).  Like it was just a steel flare a few inches across, and you'd attach it to the edges of a severely hogged-out stock wheelwell opening in a stock steel fender.

Usually you see the front fenders fully reworked, and then the rear wheelwells either left stock or just slightly rounded out larger at the top.  You don't often see the big flared round holes in the back like you see on the front. 


---------------------------------------------



Doing this now, I would get a set of rusty used fenders and do the whole 9 yards like a NASCAR.

I would go to the junkyard and see about finding some other (probably modern) car's fenders that could donate some metal to get the nice flared & round shape that looks right. 




But the early NASCARs were so heavily lowered, like the entire floor/chassis was a few inches higher up into the sidewalls of the car body . . . I don't think a stock unibody'd Charger would even be able to truly replicate that stance even with the wheelwells totally redone.  You just couldn't get it low enough with stock parts. 

Maybe dropped spindles would get you closer to it.  But even then, you'd still be worrying about the chassis dragging over bumps.  You'd probably need to reach some kind of compromise for a street car with a stock unibody.  Some lowering of the ride height + some raising of the wheelwells, but neither one quite as far as the real NASCARS had them. 

   

[SFRT]

doing the front is easy. like he said, get a pair of AMD front fenders, we can make the flare. radius the back is easy..... airsaw and a piece of 3" pipe is all you need.....

[suntech]

I think that car looks freak´n awesome, and the stance is just right, for a nose-coned /winged car. IMO it looks a lot better like this, than what it does with "factory" fenders and rideheight.

On a "normal" Charger i think it might look a little bit to radical, and out of place, but a happy medium........

If i was going to build a Daytona clone, this would be the direction i would be going. Hard core purpose buildt! 

[daytonalo]

my Next Daytona clone is going to be as close  as I  exact   duplicate of the # 71 car , right down to lowered chassis and roll bar and goodyear slicks , and yes it will be street driven

[bull]

Didn't Highbanked Hauler do this to the front of his C500?

[Brock Samson]

 his 500s' clip is fiberglass and one of my top favorite cars on this site..
still a mod I concider often..

[Highbanked Hauler]

his 500s' clip is fiberglass and one of my top favorite cars on this site..
still a mod I concider often..

  NOPE, its all steel and if you are serious I would do it a little different than mine.

[Brock Samson]

so it's just the hood that's glass?.. 
and how did you do it?.. 

[Highbanked Hauler]

 no, the hood is steel also. It was damaged in the front and I cut the inner frame away to straighten it.

[Brock Samson]

  wow,..  i was way off then, sorry I maligned your 500... 

[Highbanked Hauler]

wow,..  i was way off then, sorry I maligned your 500...  

NOT TO WORRY, most people think it is glass and its easy enough to do the hood. the fenders are a little more of a pain but I think its an easy fix but I haven't tried it yet.
    ABS sells a repair panel for the wheel well area of an 87 Ford PU bed. It looks like about the right flare angle to do a charger fender. It looks like it would be close to the 71 car fender.