Yes absolutely! I'm actively looking for a solution for my 81 Cherokee widetrack with rotted out rear flares. The only concern I have with an aftermarket/non factory style flare is I'll have to match the front with the rear.OldFarmTruck22 wrote:The wide track rear fenders that have rot through problem and have deteriorated too far (especially at the bottom rear) for metal work are a problem. There was a guy that had stamped some replacement panels for these wide tracks, but he seems to be gone now.
Without a metal repair option, it leaves us to have to consider totally removing the factory flare (a lot of work) and installing the fiberglass flares (A LOT OF WORK), don't let them kid you, that fiberglass install is a lot of work that will cost you a thousand dollars or much more if done by a body shop.
So ... to be able to cut off the factory rear flare and BOLT ON a complete replacement that will handle bumps and scuffs much better than brittle fiberglass, is the better option for the cost conscious like me.
John, If your front flares are still good, I wouldn't even worry about it. You paint the front flares black and it's a visual match from 40 feet. I've seen pictures online of this exact fix. I'm not touching my front flares, only to match the color of what I finally decide for the back.SJohn wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 7:26 amYes absolutely! I'm actively looking for a solution for my 81 Cherokee widetrack with rotted out rear flares. The only concern I have with an aftermarket/non factory style flare is I'll have to match the front with the rear.OldFarmTruck22 wrote:The wide track rear fenders that have rot through problem and have deteriorated too far (especially at the bottom rear) for metal work are a problem. There was a guy that had stamped some replacement panels for these wide tracks, but he seems to be gone now.
Without a metal repair option, it leaves us to have to consider totally removing the factory flare (a lot of work) and installing the fiberglass flares (A LOT OF WORK), don't let them kid you, that fiberglass install is a lot of work that will cost you a thousand dollars or much more if done by a body shop.
So ... to be able to cut off the factory rear flare and BOLT ON a complete replacement that will handle bumps and scuffs much better than brittle fiberglass, is the better option for the cost conscious like me.
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I carry a tape measure in all my vehicles. I see something in a parking lot that i need a measurement from, I just do a quick measurement.
So here's the deal with WT flares. You can use the bushwackers because they have an excessive amount of extra material in both extension away from the side, and overlap (hang down) into the well. I'm thinking leave some flare metal under the new bushwacker to bolt to. The bolt pockets are an inch from the edge of the bushwacker flare. Who cares how it looks UNDER the new flare as long as you prime the metal cuts for rustproofing.Stuka wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:40 am I honestly think BJ's note saying they fit WT FSJs is wrong. A WT fender opening is so much larger than an NT FSJ/XJ, I am not sure what they would bolt up too. Looking at photos of an OE WT flare, next to a bushwacker flare on an NT FSJ, you can see by the body lines that the WT flare is larger. I would call them and ask if they have had anybody actually put them on a WT, or if its a typo. I still cannot find a single photo of a WT with the bushwackers on it.
Anyone know how to turn this into a picture and post it in this Thread? It would be good to have this picture for future questions.OldFarmTruck22 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 10:28 am https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=htt ... AdAAAAABAD
For Stuka
If anybody knows how to open this link then load it up here as a picture, that would be cool.
thanks
If you look closely at the picture above, the flat part of the new Bushwacker flare is bolted on slightly above that body line above the wheel well.
Cool, interested to see how the cheap ones look too.Rc4mike wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 6:54 pm So I’m trying to cover a previous owners chop job on my 84 waggy. Getting a pair of cheap Amazon xj flares for 100 bucks…just to see how they fit and look. If they are cheap material but look and fit good, I’ll get the bushwhacker set. I sure like how those look on that chief
Stuka, Could you post the lightened picture for us to see this? I am looking at the horizontal body line on the quarter panel. The new flare seems to align with that. On my 78 that is where the factory flare attaches to the quarter. I'm not the owner of the orange Chief, who knows what this guy was dealing with that caused him to place the flare so high, but I would drop mine down a 1/2" maybe.Stuka wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 2:36 pm Hmm, interesting.
Those are mounted about 1" to 2" higher than they typically are (based on other FSJs that have them). If you adjust the brightness and contrast (as the photo is kind of dark), you can see the flare indeed no longer covers the rocker area. It starts above the rocker. To bad we don't have some other photos showing this in better lightning from other angles.
My comment above was based on the flare start along the rocker, which would mean it would not go high enough to cover the top part of the OE fender opening. But if you are willing to forego that, you can move the whole flare up. It may just look a little goofy.
And personally, I think having rear pocket flares with OE fronts would look really goofy. So its really do front and rear so that they match, or spend slightly more and do the fiber glass ones which will look factory.