Cutting rear fenders- cut to or above pinch welds?

I know this seems like a simple answer, and I've got 6 tabs and 1 pdf file of walkthroughs on how to cut your rear fender, so I'm doing my research.

The problem is that some say to cut past the welded seams and fold them up, and others specifically say to NOT go past them, unless you want your fender to separate.

I don't want my fender to separate, but if I'm going to cut, I might as well go as high as I can. So whats the verdict, can I cut past the welds?

If you've got 6 tabs and a pdf showing various walk throughs then you should be able to make the decision yourself. Only you know your fab skills and equipment availability. With that being said if you cut the perpendicular slits in the fender past the pinch welds the fenders will not seperate and will allow you to fold them up as high as possible then just throw on some sealant to seal the newly created holes. If you cut the spot welds out that are in the seam then they will seperate and will require welding back together. The limit on how far you can fold is the rear doors on the front of the opening, for symmetry I would fold that section as far as you can first and then follow the same body lines all the way around.

I cut my slits up just about to the bend in the fender lip. So after you fold the tabs up, you still have that little lip of a flare sticking out to provide some structural rigidity to the rear quarter panel. It was slightly past the pinch welds, but I sealed it up with RTV.

i cut past them and then re welded I used our super duper awesome factory pinch welder to re make the pinch welds I just cut off, then went over with panel bond to seal and fiberglass...came out nice and no tabs for cut and fold...like dave said if you have the tools and the know how it depends on what you can do

yea if you have a little time and access to a welder, you can cut as much as you want and just make a filler pannel to weld in. that's how i did it, mucho more uptravel.


i did mine basically like this guy: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1078379&highlight=stump+fender+trim

you can cut to the lip just above them, what you are avoiding cutting is the spot welds themselves. as long as you don't cut through the spot weld the seam won't separate.

also worth mentioning, if your tires are 32" or larger you are pretty much never going to contact the top of the wheel well, your tires will contact the front and rear of the wells at the bottom long before that ever happens.

What tire size? I hate cutting fenders needlessly. You have to trim at the bottom of the wheel wells, and pound the pinch seam down, but the tire won't hit the top of the wheel well until you have real big tires or want a very low ride height.

I have 31's on a 3.5ish lift. I put off bumpstopping and smashed a bit of the sheet metal fender on one side, and I just noticed it's starting to rust.

I never wanted to cut my fenders, but now I figure the pros outweigh the cons, so lesson learned. Don't put off bumpstopping, it only takes once!

I'll be going to 33" down the line after I regear, so I might as well cut em now.

I don't have access to a welder or any fancy tools, so I want to keep it simple. I have an angle grinder, dremel, and sawzall. I put hood vents in, so I think I'm over cutting into the vehicle. Just wanted to clarify on the spot welds. So I will NOT be cutting up past them. That should still be enough to cut the rusty spot off. I have trim on the way, and I will treat metal with rust prevention substance before applying.

I just cut the tabs as high as the grinder would easily go then pounded them over. Been fine for me.