scrap487 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I've been thinking about what it would take to make fenders for my ea81... I dont know what all materials I should consider using. the three that come to mind immediately are fiberglass, carbon fiber and sheet metal. I'm pretty sure there are other materials out there, but I dont really know anything about them. a friend of my dads is a sculptur and does a lot of work with mold making and would be willing to help me out with such a project. ok first off, my goals are: more tire clearance wider to cover tires DURABLE possible mount for a light and antenna I know fiberglass is out of the question because it is weak and brittle and wont last long offroad. I've heard carbon fiber is very strong, and also very light weight, but can it equal that of sheet metal? I also dont like the look of carbon fiber so I would most likely end up painting it(I dont care about weight). how can I make nice looking fenders out of sheetmetal the shape I want with the same contours? what else is there? and lastly... if I did make some fenders, I would most likely have molds left over, would anybody be interested in aftermarket fenders? probably a modest charge for labor and cost of material. they wouldnt cost very much at all probably compared to what most aftermarket body parts cost... also not sure how I would get both sides close to the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rllywgn Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 depending on how you set up the fiberglass it can be quite atrong but yeah it will crack if you bash it... carbon fiber can do the same thing though it just has more structural rigidity then fiberglass.. Also Carbon fiber to cure correctly for strength it should be baked and pressure formed Making molds out of fiberglass is wicked easy though.. i was planning a similar project using high density foam to shape fender flares, then form a mold over the entire stock fender with the reshaped section in place.. with this you could crack out fiberglass fenders like there was no tomorrow... most of the "baja" trucks out there use fiberglass bodywork.. cheap and easy to replace.. for those little bang ups rllywgn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 yeah I dont know the process for carbon fiber, all I know is its incredibly strong and i've heard that it can also be quite ductile. fiber glass is easy, just dont wanna have to wait for one to cure and then paint it every time I bash one in. what about other plastics, or even polyurethane with some kinda of mesh/chicken wire and sheetmetal strips.... could bash the hell out of that... high density foam sounds like it'd be loads easier, I was thinking maybe taking a fender, slappin some clay on it and shaping it how i want and then making a mold. if anyone wants to donate a set of fairly straight(if such a thing exists..) ea81 fenders, its something I can easily do on the side down in the basement a few minutes at a time. if I had one now I bet I could have a good mold in 2 weeks. i kind of want to make the flares wide and tall enough I can make a slot for some round fog lights to fit in there... I think it would be pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jibs Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 DO IT! I've been wanting a set of fenders with built in flares for a while now. You may have to git up a junkyard for the fenders, but may be able to find them around. Good luck and keep us informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Duct tape and JB Weld! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncoolperson Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Duct tape and JB Weld! what about chicken fence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 alright if i can find a straighter set of fenders I'll do it. I dont have much time to look around for them though, at least not during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkx Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 carbon fiber is like fiber glass, but instead of just curing out in the open, it needs to be cured under pressure while heat is applied. raw cf is expensive too. you could probably lay up some pretty healthy fiberglass fenders if you go over it with several layers. plus you can repair it if the damage it suffers isnt too severe. i dont know if the same can be said for cf. i think takes a bit more of a beating than fiberglass, but will pretty much shatter when its pushed over its limits (ever watch an f1 car crash?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Anything you hit will be damaged, it doesn't matter what you make it out of. A #2000 pound car and a tree will dent anything you put between them. However, if you make some out of fiberglass, you would have a mold to make new ones when you trash the old ones? You may also be able to sell some to fellow Subie enthusiasts? If it were me? I'd cut the old fenders and find some JY flares that work and call it done! for cheap! I wouldn't waste a lot of time on this project... Carve and go! Glenn, 82 SubaruHummer--no fenders 84 GL Mad Max--factory fenders 01 Forester--fender flares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Maybe some rubber or plastic flares that bolt on. Or if you decide to make your own, make them bolt on. That way you can replace them without too much pain. That would also probably make it easier to get both sides close to the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 my current fenders are fubar... I also dont have an english wheel or whatever it is, I couldnt get that lip back on the stock flares for the wheel wheel lining th ing, or give the rigidity back lost when I cut the opening 3" bigger. flares look cheesy in my opinion too... and making a mold and making something out of fiberglass is really easy metal bends, doesnt crack. fiberglass DOES NOT BEND, and will be considerably messed up much easier. carbon fiber is waaay stronger and if you make it right(ie no fiberglass on the bottom layers like those cheap cf parts ricers get... and use the right kind of resin etc... ) and have the equipment, it will also flex when under a load instead of break and crack, and when it gets to its breaking point it will leave a small single crack in the finish/resin/whatever and not shatter or spiderweb or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 You could always beef up the modified fenders too, just add metal or fiberglass to the inside .. I am solving this problem with flares, (as soon as I get off my butt and put them on again :-p ) and I am with sweet82 ...cheap is good, and the flares bend and flex pretty good, I do like your idea of a molded fender, but I also agree that fiberglass is too brittle. Good luck what ever you do, I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 and what about the rear? bolting on widened fenders on the front would be easy... making the rear match however...? you would do the rear correct? if not then i'd think it'd look kinda goofy with wide fenders up front covering all the tire and tire poking out on the rear...:-p making flares would be a lot easier... and you can make them out of fiberglass and just make as many as you need... make em nice and not super flashy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobmater Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 sheet metal FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 sheet metal FTW! I wanna learn how to do this kinda crap with sheet metal, but I aint got nothing but a rough idea, bfh and a torch.... ? dunno how to make sheet metal look nice without a bunch of sharp edges and tons of pop rivits... though now that I think about it, pop rivits and many plates of sheet metal would make quite an interesting and unique looking frankenstein of a car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftedHatchSubie Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I wanna learn how to do this kinda crap with sheet metal, but I aint got nothing but a rough idea, bfh and a torch.... ? dunno how to make sheet metal look nice without a bunch of sharp edges and tons of pop rivits... though now that I think about it, pop rivits and many plates of sheet metal would make quite an interesting and unique looking frankenstein of a car LOL...I can here 'em now....LOOK OUT!! HERE COMES SUBENSTEIN!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 I am working on making flared baja fenders for my hatch. They are going to be fiberglass but I will keep an extra pair and the molds handy for replacement. I will post some pics when they are done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboRX Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 I am working on making flared baja fenders for my hatch. They are going to be fiberglass but I will keep an extra pair and the molds handy for replacement. I will post some pics when they are done. Hey sarge did you make that push/light bar? if not where can i get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 For those of you looking to tackle this problem... Glass will be your easiest (once the molds are made) and cheapest option. When you start, be sure to use E-glass and NOT the shredded mat. The E-glass is 10x stronger and isn't so messy to cut and work with. Minimum two layers, go three and it will be tougher than you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 I've been out of such things for a couple of decades, but "way back" it used to be a choice of mat, roving, and cloth (in various types down to "deck cloth"). I haven't heard of E-glass, but that doesn't mean much. One thing to consider is what type of resin to use: Polyester or Epoxy. (May be newer choices or blurred distinctions now.) Polyester is much more flexible than epoxy, but has less stiffness (duh!). Epoxy is stiffer but tends to be brittle (will crack where polyester would keep flexing). Polyester is an anaerobic cure, which means that the surface will remain uncured unless you use a special type usually reserved for the final coat (name escapes me at the moment, but it contains a wax that rises to the surface and blocks off the oxygen). Epoxy doesn't have this tackiness issue, but may need to be sanded if left to long between laying up the layers. There are also specialty resins, including "gel coat" which is intended to be applied to the mold (after the form release) and produces a smooth surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 E-glass is the cross woven fabric (more or less like burlap), very tough. You would use the polyester resin mixed with a very small amount of methyl ethyl ketone. This provides the catalyst for curing. Going this route you don't have to worry about time between 'drying'. Stay away from gel coat.It's just colored resin for the topcoat so the manufacturer can be lazy and not paint. And supposedly, it aids in the shell (product) releasing from the mold. It's a pain in the a** to match and repair if scratched, chipped or cracked. That part is just my buck fity:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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