cut and weld

can some one please point me in the right direction of a good write-up on how to cut and weld the rear fender. And also is pop riveting a good substitute if i cant get a hold of a welder. Thanks

scott

Jeepin.com has a good write up. There are several on naxja too. How would you use pop rivits? Its a 90* angle between the side of the body and the wheel well, so they wouldnt work there. If you dont have acess to a welder now, I would just cut up to the pinch seam, and then cut and reweld later.

i would cut the inner fender more than the outer fender so that i have a lip that would over hang, then i would fold it up and use the pop rivets to go through the wheel well. I was just wondering if something like this would be just as good as welding. How would it affect the unibody if i were to cut above the pinch seam and just leave it unwelded until i got a chance to have some one weld it. I know i would get some water and dirt in side but other than that would there be any ill effect to the unibody. Thanks

scott

My rears are open from the same thing. I plan to weld them closed this weekend. The first time I drove through the rain the back of the jeep was full of water. be sure to pull the interior before you cut or weld so you don't have any fires to put out.

A quick search brought this up

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=29750&highlight=lower+quarters

maybe i was inspecific, i am looking to cut the fender not the lower quarter panel. thanks

Do a search for Bushwacker or flairs. I have pictures of my Bushwacker install at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/idmtntech/album?.dir=/d30f but no write-up yet. Also info on the http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/Page 1.htm web site under tech articles. I did not cut up past the pinch welds. Then used 90 degree cuts and folded (ie: hammered) the cuts back into the fender. In the Spring I am planning on removing the flairs and cleaning all the paint off then re-coating with paint. Also thinking about using the truck bed-liner spray as a under coating. When I cut my fenders it did not seem that I lost any strenth in the body, very solid feel but welding is also still on my mind. Lot of work welding all the cuts I made. Hope this helps.

im looking to throw on a pair of rear fiberglass bedsides (i have a 2 door) and im also looking to cut my inner fender well for more room in there.

he wants to cut the INNER fender and re-tub it for more room, not trim his fenders

For just the wheelwell I would say pop rivets are fine. I used sheet metal screws and they are all still there and tight going on two years.

Now the rear quarter panel is a different story. You could rivet this up as well and I think it would hold for mild wheeling but welding is always a better solution. Just don't leave it open. I did just that for a year and now have multiple cracks in the D-pillar seam. Someday I'll listen.

My write up

I did the opposite of what was mentioned above. I cut the outer more than the inner, then seperated the body joint and folded the lower up, stuffed it behind the outer and spot welded.