Meet Red, my 81 Restomod Build

[Randyzzz]

In case anyone is curious or even planning to run their lines this way in the future- the NiCopp comes in a 25’ roll. This took all but about 8” of that roll. The coil seems to come in either 16’ or 8’ length. I used one of each with a foot left over.

 

[Jeepskate]

I used to have one of those- my hands were never steady enough to use it…

Exact thought I had with my horribly unsteady hands.

 

[Jeepskate]

I’m using a Mastercool kit - hydraulic flare tool. It’s amazing. Makes perfect flares, plus does fuel line quick connects and 37* AN fittings. I’m just borrowing it but thinking of buying one. The Eastwood tool looks great but the Mastercool has one advantage- you can use it anywhere. Doesn’t need to be mounted.

I have that one too...needless to say I bought the Mastercool when it was time to get serious.

 

[Pman]

Randy-

I just got myself caught up on the build and MAN, this is good. I realized about 3/4’s of the way through that, if you have email alerts set up, your inbox is getting hammered with all of my “likes”. LOL. Got a good chuckle at the boxes of shifters you have laying around. Your garage has me beyond envious. I’m thinking of advertising mine as a Yoga studio because it’s so full of “stuff” that you have to bend/contort/balance just to walk around.

I came away from this with some great ideas. Your rig is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Randyzzz]

Randy-

I just got myself caught up on the build and MAN, this is good. I realized about 3/4’s of the way through that, if you have email alerts set up, your inbox is getting hammered with all of my “likes”. LOL. Got a good chuckle at the boxes of shifters you have laying around. Your garage has me beyond envious. I’m thinking of advertising mine as a Yoga studio because it’s so full of “stuff” that you have to bend/contort/balance just to walk around.

I came away from this with some great ideas. Your rig is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you!

 

[Randyzzz]

Flare questions…I bought a set of the Rugged Ridge flares and decided after a weekend of yard work I was going to install the rears. What a fiasco! The contour is correct, it just looked like they had “shrunk” ever so slightly. Attaching the top first made the side 2 screws on each side off about 1/4” or more. So I let them soften in the sun for an hour and this time started at the bottom. No real difference. I was finally able to get all but the upper corners screwed in, and using a bottle jack stretched the flares to allow the corner screws to go through. Didn’t like doing that one bit. All that stretching made them bolt up, but the horizontal portion of the flare is now bowed down and inward a bit. Here’s the pics.
I’m way too OCD to sign off on that. According to most reviews, the Rugged Ridge/Omix flares fit great. But there’s the occasional report of flares that fit like mine did. So…did I just get a bad set?

I called Collins Jeep and talked to their parts guy. He says they use both Rugged Ridge/Omix and Crown. He also stated they all bolt right up with no wrestling. (Sure.) He suggested I might have gotten an old or misformed set. So no real help there… or maybe that’s the solution- try another set.

I am able to find actual Jeep NOS flares for the right rear, but there are no left rear NOS flares in existence unless someone here knows something I don’t (hint, hint).

Any suggestions or input. I’m in far to deep to settle for poorly fitting flares. I have thought about letting the sun heat them up now that they’re installed, but with the memory in the plastic I don’t think that will be a permanent fix if it does anything to begin with.

Sorry for the wordy post, but this is driving me nuts!

 

[Pman]

What a pain! This reminds me of the Cobra reproduction front fenders that fit like garbage.

I’m not sure if Dawn or Jody Abbott have been on the site lately, but if anyone has them, they “might”. Want me to text them?
PS- I desperately need a rear passenger NOS flare. Send a brotha that number!

 

[spankrjs]

The set I bought/installed on my green Scrambler fit "good", but not "perfect". Definitely not 100% OEM quality.

All the holes lined up, but IIRC, there is a slight dip/bow in the middle like you have pictured, and it seems like maybe the whole flair sits about an 1/8" lower then the OEM flair.

My OEM flairs were cracking apart, so I had no choice. NOS would be preferred, but I am not willing to spend that kind of coin on a driver. The other problem with NOS/used, they are sill 30-40 year old plastic/rubber, will be kind of "dried out".

Every time I washed my Jeep or leaned against flares, they would crack/fall apart some more. I also live on a gravel driveway, so gravel thrown up/ejected from the BFG All Terrains lugs would punch through the flares

 

[Randyzzz]

The set I bought/installed on my green Scrambler fit "good", but not "perfect". Definitely not 100% OEM quality.

All the holes lined up, but IIRC, there is a slight dip/bow in the middle like you have pictured, and it seems like maybe the whole flair sits about an 1/8" lower then the OEM flair.

My OEM flairs were cracking apart, so I had no choice. NOS would be preferred, but I am not willing to spend that kind of coin on a driver. The other problem with NOS/used, they are sill 30-40 year old plastic/rubber, will be kind of "dried out".

Every time I washed my Jeep or leaned against flares, they would crack/fall apart some more. I also live on a gravel driveway, so gravel thrown up/ejected from the BFG All Terrains lugs would punch through the flares

I looked at your pics and the dip doesn’t look nearly as bad as mine. I had considered making a UHMWP “brace” that took place of the two upper “nuts” and supported the flare. I’ll do that as a last resort, but the molding of these flares is poor IMHO. There’s an imperfection in the top middle lip where the plastic was injected into the mold that shows. I let them sit all night with a piece of wood stretching up the outside. It helped some. Maybe that and sunny day when I get back from vacation might do the trick.I also ordered a NOS passenger rear just to see what it looked like.

I checked the fronts, they seem to fit well.

 

[Chamba]

I feel your pain Randy. I'm sorry it happened to your rig.

I bought those same flares and had the same issue. I tried heat guns, elongating the mounting holes, everything I could think of. It drove me mad.

I finally bought a set of Xenon extended flares and they are far better. I actually have 60 1/2 inch wide axles so the wheels are better covered with my new flares.

 

[Randyzzz]

I feel your pain Randy. I'm sorry it happened to your rig.

I bought those same flares and had the same issue. I tried heat guns, elongating the mounting holes, everything I could think of. It drove me mad.

I finally bought a set of Xenon extended flares and they are far better. I actually have 60 1/2 inch wide axles so the wheels are better covered with my new flares.

I think yours was one of the ones I found that had the same issue.

After my last post I headed back out to the shop to assess the situation. It seems that the stress put on the flare pushing the upper corners up to get the screws in also pushes the flare slightly “out” at that location. This pulls the top center “in”. I can get the top center almost perfect by pushing inward at the top corners. But that’s an even more difficult fix. I just want a set of flares that fit correctly!

 

[Belizeit]

You would think flares would be something somewhat easy to get right in the manufacturing process. I guess not.

 

[walkerhoundvm]

Mine were also good but not perfect. I found that working front to over the arch to back worked best.

 

[Pman]

It’s ridiculous that we have to go through this mess with aftermarket parts. How hard can it truly be to make a proper reproduction??? Remember the replacement dash indicator lights that were the wrong color? Ugh!

 

[Randyzzz]

I just started scrolling through Scrambler pics on Google. If I had to guess I'd bet 90% of the Scramblers out there have saggy rear flares. Some a lot worse than others. The Ball and Buck Scrambler has to be about the worst.

 

[Randyzzz]

It’s ridiculous that we have to go through this mess with aftermarket parts. How hard can it truly be to make a proper reproduction??? Remember the replacement dash indicator lights that were the wrong color? Ugh!

And the list grows. Door and cowl weatherstrip come to mind...

 

[Pman]

And the list grows. Door and cowl weatherstrip come to mind...

I have nightmares about the cowl seal... And will again now that you reminded me.

 

[Chamba]

I think yours was one of the ones I found that had the same issue.

After my last post I headed back out to the shop to assess the situation. It seems that the stress put on the flare pushing the upper corners up to get the screws in also pushes the flare slightly “out” at that location. This pulls the top center “in”. I can get the top center almost perfect by pushing inward at the top corners. But that’s an even more difficult fix. I just want a set of flares that fit correctly!

That's why I elongated the lower holes on my Rugged Ridge flares, to allow the flare to bow our less. It helped, but it was still wonky and drove me mental. These Xenon flares are still not perfect but I'm happy enough. Sadly, they are not going to work on yours as they are far from stock- looking.

They also have XENON stamped in 1/2" letters on the front flares. I've concealed them with seam sealer, so it's not really obvious.

 

[Randyzzz]

That's why I elongated the lower holes on my Rugged Ridge flares, to allow the flare to bow our less. It helped, but it was still wonky and drove me mental. These Xenon flares are still not perfect but I'm happy enough. Sadly, they are not going to work on yours as they are far from stock- looking.

They also have XENON stamped in 1/2" letters on the front flares. I've concealed them with seam sealer, so it's not really obvious.

Thanks for the pictures. I’m quite satisfied with the way the flare lays up against the body. It’s just that dang sag. I’ve got another rear coming, I’ll see how that works. If all else fails the UHMWP brackets will probably work. But what a pain. I might even order another set of flares and see if the second ones fit better.

 

[Chamba]

Not to keep flogging a warped flare, but here's a pic I found of my flare after I elongated the lower holes to relieve some of the stress and try to get the top not to bow out as much. This was the best I could get it after many hours wasted.