How To Roll A Wheel Lip

[horse sence]

got this idea from one of 68 gt 500 verts posts, i am starting with a ford tooling 65-66 fender
you will need a 1/8 inch wire long enough to go all the way around the wheel lip, i have a curved face body hammer and a flat faced hammer, steel flat dolly and a hard rubber sanding block also used as a dolly.i start by forming the wire around the inside of the lip ,smooth as possible no kinks, laying the fender wheel flair down on my work bench ,iam using a movers blanket so not to get any dings.
starting in the midle of the flair ,using my curved face hammer i hit the lip in an angle it will start to bend at the sharp bend on the wheel lip,slowly work the lip at about 1 inch at a time in both directions no to far at first the lip will start to lay over ,right now i am using the table as a dolly,
go all the way around and repeat un till the lip is about 1/4 inch from folding flat then insert the wire
starting in the center again gently hammer till the lip lays flat to the flair the wire is now pinched you can use a flat blade screwdriver to push the wire to the bottom of the lip now using the rubber sanding block as a dolly along the wheel lip gently go all the way aroud an inch at a time again with the curved face hammer till the lip sets flat pinching the wire all the way around now using the steel dolly on the edge of the flair face take the flat faced hammer and gently pinch the lip towards the wire ,dont hit the wheel flair or you will have inside dents around the wheel flair this will tighten the wire , the whole prosses took me 35 minuets to complete ,i have done a lot of them , i slightly ground the inside lip with a 80 grit flapper wheel to clean it up ,nice and clean. i DA sanded the wheel flair with 180 just to polish it no dents no dings buta bing and stronger than the factory wheel lip with more tire clearance

 

[mtaqua]

I did this without the wire, then welded the lip to the quarter on the rears. I did it with it installed, and sat underneath. Probably had to fix a little more due to the welding (putting heat in the thin metal (Chinese quarters)), but extra clearance is nice.

 

[PoppyMod]

Hi,
Nice ingenuity!
Happy trails...

 

[horse sence]

I did this without the wire, then welded the lip to the quarter on the rears. I did it with it installed, and sat underneath. Probably had to fix a little more due to the welding (putting heat in the thin metal (Chinese quarters)), but extra clearance is nice.

i have a little trick for the rear wheel lips as well .i will be doing some soon on my nephewes 64 1/2 ,i have done some from under the car as well,not fun and hard on the arms . i did a set on bubbys white gt350 replica already painted ,i made a hammer out of plastic ,to my surprise and his i didnt even crack the paint. lost the hammer guess i will have to make a new one

 

[PoppyMod]

Hi,
I'll add.... For those "rolling" painted fenders, the judicious use of applied heat (heat gun) will aid in preventing chipped paint by warming.

 

[02 281 GT]

I'm looking into this and would like to try it on the gratis coupe (I'll practice on the damaged driver's fender first). All I need is the round-face hammer and a rubber sanding block. I have a question: where do you get the 1/8" wire from? I've been looking at local places like Tractor Supply but can only find things like baling wire. Not sure if it's the right diameter.

 

[horse sence]

A friend gets it for me ,it is grape wire for growing grapes on ,he brings me the ends of a roll that are to short to use . A welding shop may be able to get some for you .
Just be careful not to hit the fender from the inside or you will have inside out dents ,the real trick is to get the wire to the bottom of the lip with out it poping out before the bend is finished . I use a flat blade screwdriver to push it in

 

[horse sence]

Here is some better pics

 

[02 281 GT]

Thanks! I have read in a few places that the 8.8 rear end with Fox axles I plan to use is too wide to run on a '65-'66. I'm hoping that this will resolve any possible clearance issues without resorting to excessive backspace or having to narrow the rear end.

 

[horse sence]

The rear wheel lips are a bit different when rolling ,i may have some pics of that some where

 

[horse sence]

For the rear wheel lips i use a cut off wheel and cut through the wheel tub ,be careful not to cut the quarter . I cut the tub loose because it will not roll smoothly with the two welded together . Once the lip is rolled i drill plug weld holes in the wheel lip and weld the lip to the wheel tub . Drill the holes after it is rolled or the lip will kink in all the holes

 

[02 281 GT]

Awesome. Thanks. Once we move I plan to get a rotisserie to make things like this easier. We'll likely be living at our new station longer than here since it won't be a temporary assignment.

 

[horse sence]

The rear wheel lips are much easier on a rotisserie