QUOTE(mgp4591 @ Sep 19 2012, 11:42 PM)
QUOTE(mittelmotor @ Sep 19 2012, 01:30 PM)
They're 225/50-15s in back, 205/50-15s up front. Much fender pulling/rolling was needed to clear (plus 15x7 wheels with the right offset), but even so, the fender retains a stock look. I really didn't want to go the boxy flare route.
Indeed! I like the "stock" look also. Does the fender roller really work that well to pull it out far enough without rippling the sheet metal? I've got another idea for flares using the cutouts my buddy cut to fit his metal GT flares. He did a great job, and now I've got stock sheetmetal to play with! We'll see...
I did change my oil today and fixed a wiring short- can't wait to get rid of the 1.7. Looking at the Subie 3.0 and transaxle-seems to make sense to me.
I didn't use a fender roller, just a jack handle with a piece of wood duct-taped to it to spread the load. But first, I used a hammer and dolly to flatten the inside lip. This step will certainly crack and flake the paint off, but mostly from the portion that's rolled underneath, so it's not all that visible. Fenders will require a bit of touch-up paintwork, though.
Then, with the car jacked up a bit, I levered the fender out against the tire with the jack handle. I worked slowly and evenly, doing it in several passes. It takes more effort than you might think, but be careful and the result is a very smooth bulge that's hardly noticeable.
The left side was very tight still, so as a final step (with car off the jack), I stuck a piece of 1x4 wood between the fender and tire, toward the front of the opening. Then, I rolled the car backward, and the friction of the tire sucks the wood nicely between the fender and tire, pushing the fender out in a nicely uniform way. Continue rolling until the wood pops out the back of the wheel opening. I may do this once more with another 1/8" to 1/4" of material for a little more clearance.
That Subie conversion looks cool! Hard part, it seems, is the shift linkage, but as popularity grows I'm sure someone will market a plug-n-play kit.
... so I rummaged through some boxes of spare parts to see what else I can sell off.
)
... I might make the Halloween run on Oct 34th after all 