TJ flares?

[1crazy-jeeper]

Any body put TJ flares on your -8? My rear wheel wells are rusted out. I don't want to go through the trouble of replacing the bed sides and am considering new flares. I know the front ones look cool and should bolt up, but what is involved with adding them to the rear?
Any help would be good.

 

[GreatCJ8]

The rears are much easier then the fronts.
When I did the rears on mine I did the right side the way I read online how to do it 'Like This'
Then on the other side I cut the flare instead of sheet metal, much easier & faster. What I did was I held the flare up to the body & traced a cut line with a grease pencil onto the flare,
then trimmed the flare, drilled 6 holes through the flare & body side, bolted them on with stainless steel bolts & washers & was done..
If you cut the body be Very careful as you will be very close to the wheel well area.
I had no qualms about cutting mine as the 2 side panels will be replaced next year..

 

[1crazy-jeeper]

Thanks

Cool link. Since my rears have rusted pretty much back to the wheel well cutting is not a problem. I am going to paint the turd brown jeep soon and am on a tight budget. Since I don't own a welder it was $50 hr to have the bed side replaced. I figure I can get a new set of flairs for $150 and no one will be the wiser.

Thanks alot.

 

[deadfeat]

When I did mine, I actually cut out the rears above the wheel well and re-joined using some channel steel that a friend bent up for me. The result is even more rear clearence. The fronts I did about the same as the pick. All in all you really can gain a full 2" + cleaence.

Steve

 

[1crazy-jeeper]

Thanks for the info guys. I just ordered a set off of eBay. I plan to do a new paint job in July and need to address the rot. Luckily for me they make aluminum diamond plate to cover all of my bondo!

 

[kohldad]

How much wider are the TJ flares over the stock CJ flares? Have been thinking about the TJ flares because I need about 1-1/2" more coverage to help keep the mud out of the vehicle.

 

[1crazy-jeeper]

I will measure the flares when they arive. I'll also take some pics to let you guys know how the progress is going.

 

[2K1TJ]

Hey guys,
If anybody needs a set I have a brand new set that I bought. I decided to stay with the original flares.

I'll take $100 plus shipping or you can pick them up in NW Ga. I think I paid $120 plus shipping.

Sorry for the hijack .

 

[1crazy-jeeper]

Good news

O.K. Guys. Here's the scoop. I got the flares today. My wife hid the happy snap from me or I'd have pics. They are 1 to 1 1/4 inches wider than the original flares (in the rear) and quite a bit larger.
Since my rear wheel wells had rusted away I took the cut off wheel and just followed the wheel opening removing what was left of the raised portion of metal. The rear flares just popped right on and they look great. There couldn't be a more perfect fix for -8 rust than TJ flares. It will be a few days before I attempt to install the fronts.

Any opinions on painting the flares vs leaving them black. They are very faded and will need to be painted any way. I need to decide if I will paint them with the rest of the jeep or just go flat black.
hmmmm.

 

[CBRogers]

From others posts on the different boards. If you use a heat gun sparringly you can get rid of a lot of the grey oxidation that has accumulated on those flares.

Apparentyl if you take you time and do not get too much heat they will kind of self heal with a little bit of melting at the surface. Not that I have done it, but apparently others have with sucess. After that I hear that 303 protectant wourks really well to keep them from fading again.

Carl

 

[Panther]

I did what Carl said, used a propane torch on faded TJ flares to make them darker. You do have to apply the heat evenly to get it consistent.

When doing TJ flares on the front, you can install them in a few different ways. The flares themselves are larger than the wheelwells. So, you can cut the flares to fit the wheelwell, or open up the wheelwell to fit the flare. I did the latter by cutting wheelwell off the fender, bending back the sheet metal adn rivoting it in place so it looks like this

 

[1crazy-jeeper]

Check out my new bling!

I have just put one of the fronts on and I completed the rears a while ago. They look great. CHeck out my new wheels. added them today. Bling!

 

[1crazy-jeeper]

Rear