Let's be honest here. This is not a very exciting car in its base form. But beyond the initial view of the utilitarian shell, there are some really nice lines that can be  improved on. One of the things that we need to do is update the wheels, tire and fender areas to have a much more modern look and feel. And this is going to require fender flares.

After a lot of on-line research we decided on the metal fender flares that are original equipment on a Dodge Horizon. After a few weeks we found some in Florida and we were in luck - the gent had two front left fenders and two front right fenders - exactly what we needed. He cut  and shipped them and as soon as the box arrived we taped one on to the side of the car. To say that they will need a little fitting is an understatement, but so far so good.

The first step was to cut an approximate radius marked with the Sharpie on this flare. We left about 1" of metal between the start of the flare and the edge that we will weld in.

Once cut, we started fitting different flares to different corners. You can see in the picture that in essence they fit backwards. The front of the original flare is longer and that longer end needs to go to the rear. So front right flare from the donor car needs to go to front left on V-rex, etc. This is a first trial fit, the depth is still way too much. Perfect for a race car, but that is not what we are building.

Moving to the rear for a first trial fit, there is a lot of work to be done but the overall shape matches what we need.

We spent a lot of time on the depth and shape of the fender flares. Our primary tool besides looking and messing with it was a shape forming tool to help us work out the overall shape of the body. The body shape on the side is quite elegant and curvy. The flares need to match these curves to look "factory" and not be too obtrusive. 

One thing that was really important for the look we were after is that the tops of the flare where it meets the body needed to be concave, not convex. The vast majority of flares that are available today are convex - the beefy race car look. This is not what we were after. The Horizon flares have a really nice concave shape.

This is close to the final flare positioning. Total flare depth is approximately 2 inches. The overall shape of the body from front to back is like an hourglass - wide in the middle and skinnier on each end. If you take a string across the flares and the body it forms almost a straight line down the side of V-Rex.

Here is a side view of the final fitting. Extensions down the back of the flare will need to be completed.

Here is another view of the finished size clamped on.  They will be butt welded. We really like the shape and how it fits the curve of the body. It looks like what the factory would produce if they were making the Estate today.  We also like the fact that we have metal fender flares. Total cost for flare parts was $300. Plenty of room for a 8" or 8.5" tire without modifying the rear inner tubs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the final shape versus what we started with in the initial fitting of the Horizon flares.