I need to "roll" the inside lip on the front fenders of my 72, and was wondering if it can be done without a repaint. Anyone out there with a suggestion.
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If the lip-rolling is done correctly, you will likely NOT have to repaint. But after 30 years, who knows how flexible your paint really is. To 'roll' a fender lip, a baseball bat or similar-sized steel pipe is inserted between the fender and tire, and moved up until it's a fairly tight fit between them at maybe a 45 degree angle. Then you simply lift up, bending the internal fender lip upward a little. Swing the bat/pipe down, roll it a little until its fwd of the area you just dented upward, and do it again. Repeat until a 30-45 degree segment of the top fender lip is bent upward enough so the outside edge of your tire cannot catch on the lip, even if the wheel is turned sharply one way or the other. The bent lip need not be hammered flat against the inside of the fender. Thats all thats involved and if the lip-bending is done slowly & evenly, the paint on the fender edge won't crack (usually).
I bent my rear fender lip up, and YES! the paint cracked in a "slit" along the circumference! DON'T DO IT! Marlin.
I NEVER tried this, but "warming" the edge or lip with a hair dryer or more carefully with a heat gun may stop the paint cracking when you form the lip edge. Play the heat source around on the edge that you are working on. (may need a second person) If you use a heat gun that has several heat settings use it on a low or medium setting if you don't the paint can get too hot and bubble and/or yellow.
Even though I have not done this particular modification I have used the hair dyer/heat gun for similar body fixes with success, but be careful.
Even though I have not done this particular modification I have used the hair dyer/heat gun for similar body fixes with success, but be careful.
I saw a body guy do it on a Mustang.He slit the paint with a razorblade and rolled it with a wooden dowel.It looked perfect!The razor slit kept the paint from cracking on it's own.I think he covered it with clear touch up paint afterward to keep it from rusting.The slit was made under the lip so you couldn't see it .
I have Pantera East wheels on this car and the tires do not rub and it�s Euro height too.
What wheels and tires are you running?
What wheels and tires are you running?
thanks all for the good tips on "fender lip rolling" Nice car mike. My wheels are the original "camps" and I have 185/70 15 in front and 215/60 15 in the rear, and yes I know that I'm undersized in the back. I'm about to buy new tires that are closer to original sizes. thanks again... Pappy
quote:
Originally posted by pappy:
thanks all for the good tips on "fender lip rolling" Nice car mike. My wheels are the original "camps" and I have 185/70 15 in front and 215/60 15 in the rear, and yes I know that I'm undersized in the back. I'm about to buy new tires that are closer to original sizes. thanks again... Pappy
Many owners with stock 15X7" front wheels run 225/50/15s
By adding a pair of stock 8" rear Campi's to the front, you can correct most of the horrible scrub-radius problems built into the Pantera suspension. You can also remove the spring spacers added after the fact by the DOT for federal bumper-height and headlight-height requirements, and lower the car back to where it was designed to be. This also helps correct bump-steering in the Pantera. After this, by rolling the front fender lips as described and some judicious metal-pounding on the inner wheel wells, 245-50x 15 fronts will fit just fine. In back, 8" Campis accept 265 or 275-50x 15s (if you can find them!) with no alterations, thus preserving the little-'n-big-tire look of the stock Pantera. The wider front tire corrects some of the Panteras built-in low speed understeer and the optional 7/8" GTS rear swaybar fixes the rest. Do all this and you'll be astounded at the improvement in handling, stopping and cornering your car can achieve, without flairs, with stock ride-comfort and retaining a stock look with all-stock parts.
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Originally posted by MARLIN JACK:
You know it's that 70 series in front thats your reason for it rubbing. Get yourself into the 50's. And MIKE! Love the color of your car! What is that "Cranberry"? And the stance looks much better since you took out the rear spring spacers. It was incentive for me to take out my rear spring spacers! It(my car) now has the look I wanted. And it seems to "ride" smoother since the springs don't have as much "preloading". Regards, Marlin.
[This message has been edited by MARLIN JACK (edited 10-01-2002).]
Marlin,
I wish I knew what color it was. The owner that had the car in 1991 when it was done cannot remember what color was used.
This is going to sound really strange, but removing the spring spacers only changes the preload of the coilover when it�s not holding up your car. Once the car is lowered onto the ground and onto its wheels the weight of the car compresses the spring between the upper and lower end of the shock until the spring holds up the car. Removing the spacer only changes the position of the lower end of the spring, relative to the A arm, causing the car to sit lower.