Can any of you guys tell me how to roll my fender lips?

Just wanted to know how to roll them in with out messing anything up. Is it even possible or should i just take it to a body shop. I'm actually doing this because i want to lower my 99 SS over a set of 315 tires. Also whick springs would you guys recommend for a daily driver, tha't not too low but still improves handling?

risky proposition there... but the most interesting approach I've read about involved using a wooden baseball bat and rolling it around on the tire so it just contacts the lip... moving the lip just a bit at a time.

I'm going to get mine done in the near future... it's going to a body shop.

hehehe, You said wood...

Seriously, the wooden bat trick is the best way.. Might even put a towel around it to protect the paint.
later,
STEW

I think I'm gonna try that, thanks

Did'nt work too well , that metal is pretty damn strong. any other ideas?

Paul, You tried it on your 69'? I would venture a guess that the metal they used on that car is a little thicker guage than the thin stuff they used on the 4th gens..
Get a bigger hammer :D
STEW

No actually it's on my 99, but that metal is still pretty damn strong. The bat just kinda made little dimples in it and it seems like the whole quarter moves. I've seen that trick work on hondas but my camaro does not seem to like it:mad:

I did something similar on my '94. I got a metal pipe and wrapped one end with duct tape until it was well padded. I then put it up against the inner fender lip and knocked on it just hard enough with a 5 lb. hammer to get the fender lip to roll in. I didn't crack the paint at all and it looks great.

Guess i'll try that one tomorrow. Thanks again

Mike Taylor (94Bird),

Did the padded pipe approach really work for you?

How large a pipe?

How many inches did you roll the inner fender lip?

How hard did you have to push on the pipe?

I have been too chicken to try it myself, as I ruined an F-body front fender 15 years ago attempting to roll the fender lip with a padded sledge-hammer.

The first body-shop I approached wanted $400 dollars to cut each lip slighlty and repaint each quarter panel. The second shop was going to attempt your approach, but stood me up 3 times.

I have been running 315mm tires on 17x11 AFS wheels for 4 years on the rear of my 94Z28M6, which is lowered 1" with soft springs. The only time I scrub is with 1 or 2 rear passengers in the rear seats on moderate bumps or solo on very hard bumps (the types of alignment jarring / wheel bending bumps that you should avoid in these cars anyway). I have never seriously cut a tire in 40,000 miles.

However, it would be nice to be able to transport people without compromise. Would you do it again, given the risks?

Rick Raldiris

Still haven't gotten around to trying it yet, been a little busy with school. ANy ways i'm still a little scared but i'm gonna try it any ways.


Paul

ICORNER,


Yes, the method I described really did work for me. I used a pipe that is about 1.5" in diameter and wrapped several layers of duct tape around it on one side.

I didn't really push on the pipe. I laid it against the underside of the fender, angled up towards the inside of the fender and hit it with my 5 lb. hammer. I started out very soft, and then increased the force I was hitting it until the metal bent to how I wanted it. I started at the front side of the fender and moved to the back progressively.

I'd say that the fender lip was pretty close to horizontal when I started. It's now bent up probably 60 deg. That was plenty to avoid my rear tires hitting with the rear lowered about 2" and using 175 lb/in springs. I'm running 275 tires on 17x11" wheels for now, but will switch to 315 tires on all 4 corners next spring.

If you try it, just start off with soft hits and progressively build up to what it takes. I knew if the paint had started to crack I'd just stop, and touch it up. It never did.

Thanks for the response 94Bird. I will try it soon. I am very familiar with sledgehammer work. I had to use it for the inner fender wells to install the 315mm tires. At least you can undercoat in that area with no problem. Just be careful of the seat belt anchor points.

Rick R

I CORNER1 = I CORNER

Well, this weekend I rolled the rear outer fender lips using the metal pipe with lots of duct-tape as you recommended with good success. I changed the angle of about 8" of fender from 90 degrees from vertical to less than 45 degrees before I chickened-out. The paint did chip slightly on the lip itself, but the quarter panel and visable outer lip remained pristine. I used touch-up paint and undercoating up inside the well the clean it up.

I hit a couple of hard bumps with my 315mm tires with no rubbing at all. I even had to "jump" off a 8" step of uneven road from road construction coming out of parking lot, and did not appear to rub their either.

Thanks again.
Rick R

Glad it worked out for you. My paint didn't chip at all, but maybe I was just lucky.

Some racer shops will use a special tool that bolts on to the rear axle hub and has an arm with plastic roller, that can be adjusted for different angles and firmness.

They basically start at a small angle and roll the the arm back and forth, in increments until they get the lip rolled perfectly.

They stop until they start to see small deformations in the metal.

It's possible you can rent this tool from a tire shop/suspension/alignment shop.

Steve