Fender Rollers

[Jerry Kirby]

I will have need for a fender roller to increase the fender clearance on my '65. When Roger came by this Sunday among other things we noticed there was not enough tire clearance using the wheels and tires I want to use on my Futura project. I have a couple of questions regarding this/ #1 Does anyone in the club have a fender roller they would loan out? #2. If not has or will anyone ever have a use for one? #3 Does the one in the Eastwood catalog, part #31158 look like a decent tool? I might be wiling to buy the one in the Eastwood cat if someone other than myself would ever have a use for it. I hate to make the investment however if it would be a one shot deal. Any info on this would be appreciated.

Jerry K.
'65 Futura

[redfalken]

I've heard rolling a wooden baseball bat between the tire and inside of the fender rim works good but have never tried it.

I've seen that Eastwood tool before and it looks like it should work. I just hate buying tools with only one purpose unless there's just no substitute.

[Luva65wagon]

Jerry,

I did a little search last night on utube and there is a lot of people showing how this is used. And there was a guy with a pipe (AKA - A bat) doing it in Japan. The results were questionable, but it was a nifty video to watch. :ROTFLMAO:

If you want professional results -- get the right tool. There's far more money in your paint job than you'd want to risk. Just my opinion. I know 3 people who would rent yours right now (me included).

There was a place on-line renting them too -- for $275 deposit and like $75 for 2-weeks rental... that if you are one day late returning it they charge you full retail price for it. :WHATTHE:

[Jerry Kirby]

Roger,

I looked at the same video. That japanese kid really got excited, didn't he. I also checked to see if there was anyone around locally that did that sort of thing. There are a couple of places, but they want $40 a wheel plus a service charge. There also was a place that offered one for rent, but it was almost as much to buy one. So I just bought one from Eastwood. They had a 12% off sale. I got it for $219. And of course I will need someone to come over and screw the job up with me when I get it. Any volunteers?

Jerry

[redfalken]

If you're doing this after the final paint job, I would be very careful and do it in a heated garage or wait until warm weather. It would be much better to do before painting I would think.

[falcon cobra]

:ROTFLMAO:Why not just take the snips and make them round then funny car slicks would even clear,,, just kidding, can't you get the right offset and a tire that looks good and will fit? john h

[Luva65wagon]

The instructions recommend using a heat gun and warming up the fender lip/paint before you try and fold it over. That'll get it far warmer than the time of year you do it as as well.

I was one of those guys who, when younger (17), went to the local welding shop and had them hack the radius of my 62 Falcon to match my wheels. I actually do like that look, but if I had to do it again I'm be a bit more professional about it.

I think Jerry will have enough clearance after this is done, but if it doesn't clear under hard turns, well... he'll have to then go to step two, which may include different tires or rims.

[pbrown]

Here is a link to someone that used the Eastwood tool at Ford Muscle. There are some good photos.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/tech-exchange/481265-rolling-fender-lips-tire-clearance.html

[Jerry Kirby]

Thanks Patrick. An excellent tutorial. Looks like the Eastwood tool does a good job.

Jerry

[johnnyalki]

Here's what I did: I glued small pieces of a bicycle inner tube to my hammer and dolly. I then used a heat gun to heat small sections of the fenders making sure to not to keep the gun in one place for long periods of time. I then slowly went around the entire fender lip only bending it down a little (dolly on the outside, and small taps on teh fender lips). Then I repeated the process until I was satisfied with the results (I went around 3-4 times). It took about 20-30 minutes per fender. The paint on my car is 15+ years old and did not chip. As an aside, I tried using the baseball bat method, but that didn't work out so well.

John

[Luva65wagon]

After having used the Eastwood tool Jerry purchased, I will assure you that it isn't an easy job. Gene and I spent most of Saturday doing only this on his rear wheel wells. Of course the shape of the Falcon wells not being rounded made it tough and did the fact that in the minimum position we had to not only undo the shocks, but the rear leafs as well. They did roll over pretty good, but you had to work sections at a time to account for the varying radii encountered. Overall grade: C+