started out by stripping all four corners about a month ago, then bought my fuches, but since then I have kinda stalled out mostly due to work obligations, had to go to NE Washington for the forest fires for the last three weeks or so.

before I left I bought 16x6 and 7's and found that some stretching would be necessary in the rear. I have always liked soft flares anyway... but as follows is 1) as delivered
2-4) stripped and pounding started on the rear fenders

#2 stretched

#3 close up on fender

Lots of stroking on that sheet metal bro. Good work!!

71s rock!

#4 close up again...and problem area which i need advice for...

the part in red is bowed under a little bit and I am not getting enough stretch from front to rear to add the width inside the fender opening. the curvature top to bottom i like but again i cannot get the width i need , like the actual fender detail isnt pushing out for the width i need..oh by the way 225/50's on 16x7's in back..i need about another inch or so

dont worry i know i am not close to being done (bumpy). but I don't wanna undo too much from dollying where I needn't .

Looking good, looks like you'll end up with something like this;

my goal is more rounded to flow into the shoulders/humps but my problem is that the part around the weelwell opening is not following the flow or being pushed outward need help with what i am doing wrong......Lou, is that your car and if so did you do the work on the flares?

No, its not mine...however there are people here that can help you. I do like what you're doing.

BUMP

If you use a brazing tip on a torch and the samllest flame, you can heat the low spots and get your fender closer to where you won't need all that bondo to fill it up smooth. With a little heat, the metal will go everywhere you want it to. Don't get it to the melting point, just to where it starts to turn orange. I'd say cold beat it first like you have it then hit the low spots with the heat. You can use a baseball bat to role the lip out smoothly.


Just a thought.

Hi Tony,

You need to use a hammer and dolly to smooth the lumps before anymore stretching. If you choose a dolly that has slightly less curve up and down than the fender will when finished, you will find that it will help reduce the up and down curve and give you more curve front to back. The dolly must be flat side to side. This is critical to making a good flare.

The hammer should be wide and smooth with soft edges. Or invest in a slapper or slap hammer from Ron Covell at: www.covell.biz You can also make your own. A much more efficient tool than a hammer.

Start out with medium hard blows with a hammer while pushing out with the dolly from behind. As the metal gets less lumpy, you will have to hit harder and push the dolly out with more force to get the metal smooth. This is a lot of work. Don’t stop until the metal is a lot smoother. It can still have small discrepancies when you stop hammering, just not too wavy or lumpy. Then you can do another round of stretching and repeat.

Stay at least 2” away from the wheel opening with your stretching so that that it does not get too distorted. I don’t remember if you have my video or not, but here is my album with pictures of the tools:

http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/comm...d=9980138836765

Since I put the album together I have made another smoothing clamp that is flatter and wider. You can run it front to back on the flare and it will also help reduce the up and down curve.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

John, thank you for your quick reply to my earlier questions but I still have a problem. I spent this afternoon hammering and dollying my left rear quarter and it is reasonably smooth but the center of the fender detail is still tucked under by approx. 1/8 inch. The width does not appear to be increasing by any appreciable amount. the area I have focused the majority of my dolly work has been between an inch above the fender lip detail and about 4 inches above the detail, along the length of the wheel opening. what am I doing wrong or do i need to stretch again? I am leary of thi because of a) the tucked under portion in the center of the detail and I do not see any appreciable width increase in the fender( less than an inch) thanks again...other who have gone this route please feel free to chime in as the reason I did not post this as a PM is to gain as much input as possible.

side note all I am trying to intall in the rear is a 225/50/16 on a 16x7 fuch i need to get the fender lip moved out so what am I not doing I am on my tird session of stretching and dollying...

Hi Tony,

It takes many stretch and smooth sessions to make the fender move out just a little bit. Can you post a picture of the dolly you are using to smooth? And one of the metal surface after you have used the hammer and dolly?

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

haven't had the oppportunity to wokr lately or go to the shop...but will post pics later today. oncew agaain thank you for your continued support. also didnt realize just how many stretchand smooth sessions would be necessary.
Q) on rear end of the 914, just how far down the wheel well must I go down with stretching and smoothing. my goal is something like the red car in your video...those are beautiful arches you made...

Tony

Hi Tony,

You will end up doing most of the quarter panel. As you raise an area, low spots will appear next to it. You have to stretch them too if you want a smooth surface.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

I have done several more sessions of stretching and dollying but the edge of the fenderwell is still not coming out to give me the clearance I need.

A buddy of mine had mentioned that I need to actually stretch the fender detail itself(as in in the channel) I do not believe that this can be right and certainly do not want to find out for myself.

since last week I have increased my stretched/dollied area further forward and behind of the wheel opening but am still not seeing the clearance needed for 225-50/16s on 16 x 7 fuchs

images attached.

John- to answer your question about dollys I am using, they aretwo curves of general purpose dolly a flat and a heel dolly....the same types/profiles as seen in your dvd

heres another note that the area around the detail I have been working
problem highlighted in red

the contour lines exagerate my problem but hopefully you get the point...I have repeated myself bunches I know.

Hi Tony,

Either the dolly you are using has too much up and down curve, or you are not spending enough time hammering...I'm guessing it's the dolly. It looks like you are doing a good job.

The wheel opening detail does not get stretched. Think of what it would be like if you cut around it leaving the bottom attached and pulled/hinged it out to add more metal between it and the body metal. You are simply stretching the metal which will force the detail to move out. Although you are stretching outwards, the smoothing flattens the metal back down and makes the stretch happen in the plane of the metal...like rolling dough with a rolling pin...it gets thinner and longer.

The parts that are too curvy need more work with a flatter dolly. You might have to make a dolly from some flat bar with the right curve. It will be flatter than you think. If you do make one, make a handle for it while you are at it.

You also need to bring up the low spots in the valleys to where you want them. It looks like there are valleys front and back? Bringing the valleys up will effect the clearance at the tire as well.

One thing that might be a hang up is the way the dollies look. You may have a dolly that looks like my flattest curved dolly, but actually has a lot more curve than mine.

Hang in there, you will get it. Keep trying and posting pictures, and asking questions. A picture of your dollies might help me figure out what is not going right.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

palm nailer buddy..

I had no trouble getting 255's on the back.

I did exactly what you did.. I just didnt stop...

how this for progress... had to cover the bare metal before i went to the field, hence the black paint. All I have left is a littl shrinking to the front of the fenderwells .

Looks good Tony! Did you ever make or buy a flatter dolly?

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

i made the most progress with a slapping spoon. It made much faster work of the smoothing. today i am going to pick up th evise grip clamping tool for final smoothing and contouring. It seems to me, that tool should also allow me to pull out slightly any areas that need it. Does that sound right?

John, one other question, could a propane torch be used with quenching to shrink the area in the front of the quarter panel. there was a 1/2" depression about 8 inches around. would that work or is it too hot...damage causing to do shrinking?

Hi Tony,

The vice grip clamp is only a little bit useful for smoothing small bumps. It can also give you a little control by pulling as you slide it, but it is not a replacement for the right dolly. I updated the smoothing clamp... it has a larger flat surface, and does help reduce curve if wielded correctly. Picture attached. Running this front to back on your flare might help you reduce the up and down curve.



The depression you are thinking of shrinking: bump it out with a dolly to make it high instead of low, hammer and dolly to smooth.. before considering shrinking. If you need to shrink, I would not use a torch. A $35 shrinking disc is a far better choice...or you can turn a sanding disc upside down on your sander/grinder and use the back side to shrink. It will create enough heat.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com