I like the look feel of the steel 7" & 9" GT steel flares ... But have been kicking around the idea of going larger with the 9" & 11" glass flares since I am build a Lil' Street burner with a 280 hp Subie ...

Thought they may look a bit more aggressive, but retain the 70's factory race feel ...

Anybody running them ? ... photos ? ...

Thx. Dave

Look up member Ron s.

Yes I am, it is a V8 417 horse
CCLINAV8INJLO

Dekman has the wide flares in the rear...

I know he has more pics floating around if you search for them...

I'm pretty sure I got a couple of pics of the same car at GAF 2006.

dekmans are custom widened metal rears... nice work.

7's and 11' flares

A few more pics of 9" and 11" steel GT flares on JLO.

I like'm that way.Next order of bidness will be to replace the glass flares with steel ones.

Ya gotta love the wide look.




Ron

I love that rear valance.

Craig and Ron...Those cars look killer with those flares. I wanted the 11" when I did mine but could not find them at the time. I am presently considering a change to "steel" so I may change the 9" to 11" if I can find someone who can make them.

i think they show how it was done on armando's GT site... (widening flares that is)

Wow ..... I was hoping that they wouldn't look so good !.. then steel "7 & "9's would be a no brainer ...

Boxstr - No wonder you need that much tire ...

I know I had seen someone who widen the steel flair, but couldn't remember were on the web that was .. Thx .. Thought about that option too ....

What size tire and wheel are you guys running ?... Yes back to the ol' Tire size thing.. Ha ... couldn't find anything in the archives for these flares ....

here is the link http://www.pbase.com/9146gt/gt_steel_fende...stall_rear_left

The do-it-yourself method is the only thing that's gonna work in this case.


I'll be widening my own rears when the time comes.

That's what they make mig welders and grinders for.


Ron

Are the front flares wider too? We have been running 9" wheels onour flared car (front and back) for many many years. Why do people keep calling them 7" flares in the front?

One can fit a 7" rim under the stock fender in the front with little difficulty. We even have a 930 front suspension (about 2" wider) in ours and the 9" rims still fit.

Were the wider rear flares ever really available? Are they all custom widened 2" by sectioning in additional steel (how I thought the steel ones were made)?

I'm just curious. I don't need or want those.

hm... i always thought the limits for front flares were 8's ...

goot to know.

SirAndy mentioned he came across PN for the wider flares.....

The way Armando did it is a good way to go. You could simply weld in strips of metal, and then add some shape using a ballpeen hammer and sand bag then hammer and dolly and shrinking disc to get good flow with little or no filler.

You can also stretch a lot more than you might think. Looking at the pictures, it might be possible to stretch the tops of the flares enough to get two more inches without cutting or welding at all. Thinning the metal a small amount over a fairly large area makes big changes without compromising strength. You would stretch lumps into the top of the flare, smooth and flatten them down, and repeat many times to get the metal to grow, somewhat like the effect of using a rolling pin on pie dough. Easier than it sounds, but plenty of work.

A simple way to see how much metal can "grow" is to take a 1/4" wide strip and hit it with a hammer over a flat steel surface until it is 1/3 again it's original width. Then measure the difference in thickness. Then imagine doing this over an area 5"-6" wide. There are some very fast methods for doing this that I have posted before. I will be add more soon.

In Craig's case, yellow is faster...

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

[quote name='John' date='Jan 4 2007, 10:46 AM' post='842477']
Are the front flares wider too? We have been running 9" wheels onour flared car (front and back) for many many years. Why do people keep calling them 7" flares in the front?


The fronts on my car are the same size as any other front flare.However,mine are a full fender cap.

They overlay the fender,from the bumper to the windshield post.

The wheels are 8"wide,and do not rub.

In a few weeks,I'll be upgrading the front brakes to '78 930 full floating units.the hubs have an extra 1" spacer on'em.That'll push the wheels out an extra inch a piece.

It does look from a side look that the fenders'll take it.I'll know for sure when I start bolting all the hardware on.I believe 9" rims will work under the front standard flares.


Ron

soon. i have a set that yet have to be mounted. bought the wheels first but they were waaaay too wide for the standard GT flares.
so i bought a set of the wide ones ...

i'm sure McMark will post pictures once we get to the mounting ...
Andy

Great info ...

Ron.. have the glass flares been that bad ?..

I wonder if there would be any benefit of expanding a steel fair on the bench with a buck or would that allow for too much twisting ... Hate to weld in a flair, then screw it up ...

Also have been thinking about " the chicken or the egg " ... Match the wheels to the flares or flares to the wheels ... especially with expanding the steel ones ...

The fronts on JLO are 9" and the rears are 11". I would say that, you are doing the same amount of work glass or metal, I would mount metal flares. It may cost a little more in the beginning, but you make it up in the end when you sell the car.
CCLINFLAREDINTHEEND

Doesnt fiberglass wobble at high speeds though, especially that wide? Or do you brace the flare with some steel? Or am I just

I like the extra wide look, that's the way i want to go with my car.

Yes, I have 9" front and 11" in the rear. In the rear, 2" steel added to GT flares by previous owner. Love "Big Butts"! (on 914's only).

In a word Luke,yes the glass flares were that bad.

They came from AIR,and one side fit perfectly.The other side had a terrible "droop" to it when hung on the car.It took a lot of cutting and re-glassing on one side to make them look acceptable.


With the steel,I'll put a 15"wheel on to get the line-up and weld'm in.The I'll cut them similar to Armando's site,and re-install the 18's re-fit the sheetmetal and re-weld up each side.Won't be a problem


Ron

Hi Ron,

I hope this isn't too far off topic, but where did you find the extended SE spoiler with an oil cooler cut out? Did you have to do it yourself or is someone making them that way?

BTW- I used to have an '88 Merkur, loved it. Wouldn't mind to build another one of these days...

dekman,
Almost forgot to post and tell you .." Damn, that looks Nasty "

Thanks all, for the photos and info .... guess i'll be widening some steel ...

Dekman, what size wheels/tires are you using on the rear??

R

Rear: 11x16 Al "Fuchs type" 3 piece rims. Toyo RA1 255-50ZR 16 tires.(sticky street tires - love them!)

Bumping this thread

I have 9" front and 11" rear flares


I am trying to find a front valance that mates up to 9" front flares.


Anyone know of a vendor that supplies rather than custom?


Thank You!

Matt

We will need more pictures of your car before we can answer that question.

Those wheels are killer!! What are they?

Who can make me a set of JLO flares in steel? I know I'm gonna need some serious tire behind my LS.

Here is a slightly old picture before I fixed my headlights, But that give a front view.

Thanx for the compliment.

Actually the car is running a Chevy bolt pattern, and these are old school hotrod "slot" mags that I am running with the wheels flipped around. ( Obviously I painted them black and made a center plate out of aluminum for the Porsche emblem.

Here is an example:


I am looking to sell eventually when I go to a 16 or 17 wheel.

It's getting tough to find selection in 15" tires in wide sizes.

Bumping this up.

Gorgeous car and awesome idea on the wheels! At least you know that you will never see another set!

Thanx Sleepin for the compliments.

Yes the Porsche gods would scoff, but it give me more wheel flexibility.


Matt

See thats what they looked like! Then I said, Naw those cant be flipped chevy mags...
Really look killer!

Cheers


Not to change the subject back to the original topic, but anyone have front valence suggestions for 9" front flairs?

Bump it up