Finally, I have to do the inevitable. It was coming but I just waited.

My 71 pristine FJ40 will see its first surgery. I'm putting a 15X10-3.5 inch back spacing and a 33 X12.5-15 Goodyear MT. The truck still has the stock spring under axle but with a 2.5" spring suspension lift.

So, what is the chance that the tires will rub against the body. Very likely!

Any suggestion in avoiding to trim the wheel well. Otherwise how much do I have to remove? I guess, first buy the fender flare, then use it as a template.

But generally, how little can I remove from the lip. Say, 2".

Your suggestions are needed. :( :( :(

Right! purchase your rear fender flairs first, after you receive them trace onto body with grease pencil till happy with position note center. I would go as high as I could. The limiting factor is the top edge which cannot go any higher than your rear wheel well boxes, trim carefully pay attention not to cut into passenger compartment. the flairs will cover the edge. I installed thread-serts in body so I can remove and replace damaged flairs easier and because I think screws look better than pop rivits.
Good Luck
Mike:fj: :jeep2:

I know they sell them out there. Which one you guys have good experience for durability, quality, and price.?:confused:

I am useing bushwackers , very durable.
Heck, one time some idiot changed lanes on the freeway into my passenger side, I was going about 10mph faster so all he caught was my fender flair. I heard this loud cruching noise and all the debre going threw my wheel-well. all that was left of his mirror was some jagged pieces, and my flair had some minor scratches!
The funny part is that I got $250.00 of insurance money for damaged flairs!(cost of replacment from local auto-body shop)

I think you will find that they are more likely to rub on the inside of the fender well, but maybe with a 10 inch rim they will also hit the outside lip too. I have 33s and 8 inch rims with 3.5 BS and they only rubbed a little on the inside at full articulation and I cut away the lower part of the support bracket.

One thing you may want to think about before you cut the wheel wells is whether or not you plan to do other modifications in the future, such as the rear spring flip or larger tires. It is easier to deal with moving the axle back if you do it before you trim wheel wells. Just a heads up.

DON'T DO IT :eek:

If your 40 is super clean, don't start shreeding the sheet metal. You won't be able to put it back on later;) `

Just my humble opinion though:D

All the above info is great, but there is one more thing
When you layout the flare on the body, make sure the top surface of the flare is parallel with the body tub. I've seen several installs where the owner has lined the bottom edges of the flare with the bottom of the tub and not seen that the top of the flare isn’t parallel with the top of the tub.
It’s just one of my many pet peeves.

I installed one of my flare sets with self-tapping stainless screw, they’re easy to remove for cleaning and match all the stainless hardware on my Cruiser.

My latest set of flares are extra long and extra wide aluminum flares, the mounting hardware is on the inside, I used 5 bolts on each flare which makes them really easy to remove when I go wheeling in big boulders.

If you run 33 x9.50s on stock rims with a 2 1/2 lift you won't rub.

BTDT

Don't cut a pristing cruiser ..................puuhhhllleeeease!!!!

Personally, I think the flares blow. You hit anything significant and it explodes. At least the bushwackers. I say rent a plasma cutter and make a clean cut. When you are done you can weld on a 1/8" thick 3/8" lip back in. Clean it up with a grinder and give it some paint. It will look stock but you can fit your tires. Also, like Pinhead says, you are more likely to rub on the inside of the fender well.

Here's a pretty good write up on installing flares.
Flare Install (http://www.rockcrawler.com/departments/landcruiser/techreports/fj40flares/index.htm)

Hey Woody, do you have this one linked?

J

I have 15x10 3.5 backspacing rims on mine and it does not hit the inside of the wheel well. That was with 35x12.50's and a 4" Skyjacker lift. Your lift will affect whether it hits or not too (how flexible it is).
Unless you go with a narrow rim and tire you will have to have flares to not get in trouble with the police.

I say first figure out what you totally want to end up with when you are done with the Cruiser, then go from there. If your cruiser body is pristine then would seem to me that you don't wheel it in any super tough spots, so the bushwacker flares should be fine. If you plan on doing any wheeling that you may make contact with the flares then don't go with the plastic ones. They do explode when you make any contact with them. I hit mine on a dirt bank and it cracked in half and right by the crack it went to bits.

If you are mainly going for looks and you must put fender flares on, go with the Bushwacker ones and paint them the same color as the rig.

Thanks for all the reply, support, suggestion, etc.

So far, I decided to go with a narrower tire. Bought a 33x10.5 BFG All Terrain tires and 15x8 with 3.75 back spacing steel wheels.

Since my 71 has a clean and straight body, I'm not going to cut the wheel wells. I hope with these tires and rims, I can still get away with no rubbing on some mild 4 wheelin. Yeah, I know, the 10.5 is narrower than the 12.5 and has less flotation. Ok, I get stuck, so, dig myself out. That's the fun of 4 wheelin - survival.

In the future, if I decided to build a serious rig, I may just look for a beat up or rusty rig.

We should just preserve the remaining original bodied FJ40.

Thanks a lot for your advise.:eek: :usa: