How is this done?

Do you mean the inside lip on the fender?

Drew Helm has a great way to do that. I'll let him volunteer the info, but it has something to do with a big socket on a 1/2" ratchet.

I heard oldtimers would use a baseball bat to somehow do that. You are looking at stuffing bigger tires in there right?

David

I used the baseball bat trick on mine. It works pretty well. You do it by placing the bat between the tire and wheel well at either the front or back of the opening , then have someone slowly drive the car forward or backwards as you hold the bat and let it roll up and around in between the tire and wheel well. start off with a small bat and then move up to a bigger one if more room is needed. Be aware though you might buckle the quarter panel if not carefull.
I ended up using a porter power to pump them out a little more for the size of tire I'm using.
You can see pics of them if you like here
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/firebird69racer/album?.dir=dfcc&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/firebird69racer/my_photos


Wade

Okay, the baseball bat trick works, but you have to be VERY careful and you need 2 people. It’s safer….and can be done by yourself using a socket wrench and a set of deep sockets.

This is assuming you already have the bigger tires on the car. Tape the fender lip with masking tape to protect the paint. Laying on the ground looking up at the clearance between the tire and wheel well you will see that the lip is closest to the tire in the center. Find the deep socket that just squeezes in between the tire and the wheel well lip about 3 inches from the tightest point. Use the wrench to ratchet the socket across the top of the tire….believe me the socket will grip the tire and roll while sliding along the tape. Reverse the ratchet and roll the socket back to the front. Select the next socket size up and repeat until you get a smooth “roll” of the lip with the clearance you want.

Let me know if you have any questions!

How about, "How do you fix a quarter panel that's been rolled?

My wife bought me a hotchkis sport suspension set for christmas for my 68.. it is supposed to drop the car about 1.5" from the factory ride. I am into the 70's style big wheels in back smaller up front and am currently running 275-60-15 on 10 " dishes in the back . The tires stick out about an inch at the top and when i hit a large bump the fender will scrape on the top of the tire . I was thinking of putting a set of air shocks on when I install the springs . what are the pros and cons of running like this ? will the car still hook-up ?or will the rearend just bounce around ?will I get any plus' from the springs ?
Ray

Can you do it with the wheel well mouldings installed?

ikrus, I dont think those 275's are gonna work with a lowered suspension.

"Can you do it with the wheel well mouldings installed?"

Yes, if you want to mash that too.

Jim, I may be mistaken but, it sounds like you may not like the idea of rolling the fenders.

I could be wrong....

I have owned three 1st gen Firebirds and 4 GTO's that have had the quarters rolled. When you are a restorer, rolled quarters are a disapointment to put it mildly. To think this is still happening to these 40 year old antique cars is sad to me. I thought that, just maybe, the owners appreciated them enough to not destroy the original sheet metal.

Having said that, in the interest of having fun and putting whopping tires on your cars, go for it! Keep in mind that you can run 12 second quarter mile times without rolling the quarters. At stock ride height and correct backspacing you can run BFG drag radials that are ten inches wide.

Personally Greg, I have seen pictures of your car and it's really nice! I can't picture you beating up your sheet metal without cringing at the thought.

Jim, you make WAY too much sense. Thanks for your input. I didn't think/realize that rolling the fender lips would compromise(destroy)the rear quarters. Is it noticeable when viewing the exterior of the car? Does it weaken the quarter?

I wouldn't say it weakens it. It's an irreversible change. Don't get me wrong, I beat my cars. 428's, 455's, Nitrous Oxide, traction bars, bolt-in sub-frame connectors. All with tires that fit. I tried the huge tire thing and it just slows down the car. It's a physics thing. You want to keep the weight down in the rotating unit. It subtracts directly from horsepower. The bigger the tire and wheel the more weight. The more you raise the rear end the less weight transfer to the rear tire, less traction. Big whopping tires are only good for looks.

if you want to race,why dont you distroy the mustangs or camaros?they are plentiful.but the more birds you distroy,the more mine is worth

I'm not racing.

I like the looks of the car with the 255's an the Cragar SS's...thats not THAT big. As I understan, you cannot get Cragar SS'd any "deeper" than 4.25" backspacing. I think 5" would do the trick.

I like the Centerline Auto Drags. NHRA certified for about the same price as the Cragar SS's.

If you drop the @$$ end of the car, the hook-up rate incrases dramatically. I know what appears to be a small shift in weight wouldn't seem to make that much of a difference, but a trunk mounted battery (on the right side to complement the natural downforce) makes a huge difference. Also, it enhances the handeling of the car a lot more than you'd expect. I was stunned at the results.

To answer a few questions and address a few concerns.

When done correctly and not completely flattening the lip against the quarter there is no structural compromise in strength of the quarter and you cannot see it from the exterior. I rolled mine with the ratchet, but only rolled the lip to gain about 1/4 inch of clearance on the tire. My car is lowered and with a 295 rear tire when I hit a bump the fender lip would cut the side of the tire. Rolling the lip just a little made all the difference in the world.

Think of it this way, too. Which flexes more a piece of angle iron or a channel? The angle iron is rigin, but does flex more than round tube OR channel. When rolled correctly the lip forms a "U".

Both of my quarters have either been patched or replaced so I didn't do any more damage to the original sheet metal than rust did.

The method I described is a very gentle/slow change to the shape of the fender lip, it's completely different than wedging a baseball bat in between the tire and lip and rolling the car back and forth.....puts much more stress on the quarter and rolls the lip much more significantly....plus the risk ot wrinkling the quarter.

Thanks Drew...

All good info.. As far as my bird goes I havent even considered rolling the fenders ... When I got my first bird 20 years ago the rear fenders were eaten up with rust so I cut them out and flared them so I could fit the old school n50-15 protracs under it. Too bad I backed into a buddy's car less than a week after and snapped one off.(lol)
With this car it has the centerlines on it already and the back spacing is maxed I will probably just switch rear wheels to maybe an 8" dish and 255's .
Ikrus

Give the Eastwood Fender Roller a try.

I agree with Jim.