Steel GT flare install questions...., average time to install?? Options

[Mueller]

Trying to buy a set of steel GT flares, if still available I hope to pick them up this week. For those that have installed them before, how long did it take per flare??

Anyone have the thread on making your own GT rocker panels from the stock steel units?

Besides Dunkles GT flare install, any other "how-to" threads??

Thanks.....

[Aaron Cox]

joe o (series 9) did a pictorial on both...

buttweld the flares... get the cool harbor freight clamps... east coaster just did the same install... i guess a few hours per....

[greg.treadway]

Make sure you fit the flares and the rockers at the same time. If you're going to flare some rockers then you'll be okay, but fitting the FG rockers after the fact will give you a big headache.

[Mueller]

joe o (series 9) did a pictorial on both...

buttweld the flares... get the cool harbor freight clamps... east coaster just did the same install... i guess a few hours per....

i bought the clamps last week (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

[East coaster]

Having just gone through this, I have a couple recommendations.

1) Fitting - I see folks suggesting to make your flares match the GT rockers. My GT rockers are such pieces of sh*t I would never make the body of my car match these fiberglass chunks of junk. I know I'll take flames for this, but put your flares where they should be.....centered on the wheel opening. My rockers aren't even the same between left and right. It's very easy to deal with moding the rockers to match your flares. The reason peoples rockers don't match their flares is because the rockers are crap, why use this crap as a critical reference for positioning your flares..........think about it!

2) Cutting - I trimmed the mating surface of the flares to get them to fit the body uniformly. Mine were coursely trimmed and didn't fit very well without some tweaking. Once they fit the body contours correctly, I clamped them in place at the bottom and held them against the body and used a sharpie marker to trace the seam onto the body. You can either remove the flare and cut along the line or leave the flare in place it use it as a guide. I tried both methods and didn't see much difference. If you have an air saw that'll work best for cutting the fender.

3) Welding - I tried TIG and MIG, TIG produced the best results. Mount the flare in place using the butt clamps and when satisfied with the placement, tack weld in between each clamp. I found the most important thing is to take your time and not try to weld too much at once. This will help control warping/shrinking. The time you'll save in hammer and dolly work will be well worth the time spent going slowly with the welding.

4) A couple other tips - I left the bottom of the factory fender in place (along with the factory brace) and butt welded the flare to it. It made for a clean looking and strong bottom edge for mounting the above mentioned rockers. This is hard to put into words, so here's a pic:



5) I assume your talking about repro GT flares. If so, you'll have to do a little hammer/dolly work to make the bottom of the flare mate to the bottom of the fender. The flare will be flat at the botom and the fender has an angled bottom. I did a gradual morph from flat to angle to mate the bottoms. Again, a pic is worth a thousand words:



Take your time and have fun! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

[East coaster]

Oh yeah, this should go without saying, but I managed to miss it on my first flare (dumbass!)

Make sure you clean BOTH sides of the weld seam to bare metal before welding. I missed the backside of the first fender I did and the crap on the backside contaminated the weld and gave me crappy welds until I realized why.

I found that the max I could weld without warping was about and inch at a time....

[Phoenix-MN]

Here is how I did mine, it took me about 7 to 8 hours per flare
http://phoenixhobbies.com/html/flares.html
and I used these dimensions from a 916 that was measured by someone.

[plymouth37]

I have installed a couple sets of the AA flares, butt welded, tack welded etc... as much as I like to give AA a hard time I have to say their flares fit really well. it took me about 8 hours to fit, weld, and dress 4 flares. looks like everybody is giving you good advice, be sure to butt weld! it takes a little longer but it is really worth it. P.S. those clamps are sweet!
my flare job (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)
(IMG:http://renegadehybrids.com/pr/ss9_porsche914_yuji_054.jpg)

[Mueller]

Just got home with the flares !!!

Took my wife and the twins (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) on the 200+ mile round trip to pick them up. Talked to Paul for about 45 minutes while Sherryl fed the girls and relaxed in the shade....

The flares do look nice and so far after laying them up against the car I see nothing wrong with them that stands out.....

A "little" bit more money than 'glass flares but I think it's worth it....

[John Kelly]

Hi Mike,

As long as you keep in mind that you cannot stop the weld from shrinking and warping the metal, and that you will have to deal with it one way or another, you'll be fine. You will have to either stretch the weld and the area that turns blue on either side of it, or fill, or both, depending on how much time you want to spend.

I would clamp the flare in place (lots of clamps) and scribe a line. It helps to mark it first with a magic marker so the scribe line shows up. Make witness marks perpendicular to the scribe line so that you get the flare in the right spot after cutting. The better the fit, the better weld. I've never had a use for those panel clamps. They leave an unnecessary gap between panels. Long reach vice grips work for me, but probably too steep of an investment for one time use.

Don't get caught up worrying about how much time it takes to install a flare. Take your time. If it takes you 20 hours per flare, so be it. If you are using a mig welder, you will have to grind the weld on both sides in order to hammer and dolly it. I would do very short, and hot tack welds. For gas or tig welds, weld an inch or more before hammering. On those flares, some areas may be easier to hammer from the inside with a dolly on the outside.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

[jonwatts]

Hi John, long time no read. New digs keeping you busy?

What about backing the weld gap with copper? Would that minimize the amount of grinding needed on the back of the panel?

Hope life is treating you well,

Jon

[WRX914]

Here are my flares. Dana did the install. I had mine blended at the body shop to get that nice radius.

[Mueller]

Here are my flares. Dana did the install. I had mine blended at the body shop to get that nice radius.

that is nice......thanks for the info peoples (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[John Kelly]

Hi John, long time no read. New digs keeping you busy?

What about backing the weld gap with copper? Would that minimize the amount of grinding needed on the back of the panel?

Hope life is treating you well,

Jon

Hi Jon,

Staying pretty busy. Vacation rental season is upon us at the end of the month...July and August will be hopping. I've done a few metalshapers retreats...need a bigger shop though. Here is our web site for anyone interested:

www.gullwinginn.com

The beach is great! I love living here.

Still working on my second flare video.

I've never backed up a weld with copper but I bet it works for mig really well.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com