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Fender flare'd cars owners. How happy are you with the result?
I have owned my 80 for almost 12 years and always desired the wide fender look.
I am almost ready to buy wide wheels, fenders and bumpers.
My car body is lovely, in great condition as well as the cost of the modification, I am slightly apprehensive about the work required to fit the flares.
Putting aside cars which are used for competition and the wide tire/traction is more important than appearance, how satisfied are you with the transformation?
Has the body mod aged well?
Any cracks, paint discoloration, filler showing through the paint.....
I had flares on my 69, (not an L88, but a 427), and loved them. my dad and I put them on and never did they crack, nor any other problems with them. I did have Hooker headers and side pipes. Looked like it just rolled off the 12hrs of Sebring grid in that era, sounded like it to. Lol That was 77-78. Different times then.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (appearance mods)
C3 of Year Winner (appearance mods) 2019
I am very happy with mine. I love the 335's in the back as it gives it a very aggressive look. Kind of makes burn outs difficult/expensive though.
My car was in primer and had a C4 ZR1 rear end, later front end, and different motor when I got it so I had no problem cutting it up.
I have had no problems with it so far.
The PO put flares on my 68 convert. Did a good job- no cracks and I can not even find a seam where they were bonded on the car- even looking with the car up on a lift.
My 71 had flares on it when I bought it in 1980. The car had paint about 1year old and the flares got all sorts of rock chips right at the door edge. After a while it looked the the lower part of the flare had been sand blasted...My only complaint!!!
Had the car repainted since then- I will put a protective coat- whether clear or some black plastic to protect the paint when I get it back on the road. There was a thread IIRC a couple weeks ago regarding this subject.
I have the small flares Eckler's sold back in the day-
I have messed with both type flares and even owned a wide body can am car...I love them.
The flares on that orange car of ronarndt are what most call "mudflap" flares because of the stock like kick out on the bottom rear, the reason you do not find a seam is because when ralph ecklers invented the mudflap or as he called them ZL-1 flares he made them on the fender so the install was like replacing a quarter panel.
A far more refined look than the L-88.
This is best for a street car because the L-88 style flare allows dirt, sand, mud , etc to get tossed on the car or to pelt the paint off, someone in another flare thread posted pictures of the unavoidable damage that L-88 flares will allow.
Flares if installed corrected do not crack,
You do not need flares to run huge rubber it can be tucked under the car.
My 66 was flared, loved it...
I have both L-88 and ZL-1 flares two very different looks, I just have to decide which to run on my 69, but for me flares are a must.
IMHO the ZL-1 or ecklers mud flap style look better on rubber bumper c3's than L-88 style, ZL-1 flares look exceptionally good and flow well with the 79-82 bubble glass.
Here are a couple cars which I like a lot, one with L-88 one with ZL-1 this shows why I have a hard time making up my mind...
My Flares were done sometime in the 80’s and to this day cannot find the seam. I’ve got 275/60/15’s in the rear and 245/60/15’s up front
You have the ecklers monza tilt front clip...pretty cool...
Like I keep saying the reason you guys do not find seems is the ecklers flares are on the fender they mount at the bonding strips....I had a guy get really mad at me saying is car was a rare factory flared c3...but it was ecklers flares...
Here is a picture, ecklers stopped selling the larger flares and did sell a smaller one like on richards car....
"The flares on that orange car of ronarndt are what most call "mudflap" flares because of the stock like kick out on the bottom rear"
13bats- I am absolutely crushed you think my Rally Red car is orange! Just kidding, of course. RA
sorry, I dont know if I blame my computer my eyes or my brain,
Several years ago I buy this kit car I since sold, it had stunning lipstick red paint...in person, but every pic I saw before I bought it and after I had it looked orange to me,
How are you digging that tilt?
If you have free time would love some pictures for my collection, the13bats@aol.com
the car I called orange your red one doesnt it have a tilt front clip?
Looked like the ecklers monza tilt clip...
OOPs I got your name car confused with rosslato...it has a tilt clip but your car does look orange to me...I'll just go hide now
OK- the car does have a different front end. The PO relocated the headlights to the grill area, eliminated the pop up headlight doors and mechanism and also forgot that you need parking lights and turn signals, cause there were none on the car when I got it. (He also fiberglassed over the back up lights, so there were no back up lights). I finally found some LED for the parking lights and turn signals that did not block the headlights. Not perfect, but the best I could do without cutting holes in the fiberglass. This front end must be a kit also, cause there are no obvious bonding lines. Ignore the poorly fitting hood- I'm still trying to get it to fit.
OK- the car does have a different front end. The PO relocated the headlights to the grill area, eliminated the pop up headlight doors and mechanism and also forgot that you need parking lights and turn signals, cause there were none on the car when I got it. (He also fiberglassed over the back up lights, so there were no back up lights). I finally found some LED for the parking lights and turn signals that did not block the headlights. Not perfect, but the best I could do without cutting holes in the fiberglass. This front end must be a kit also, cause there are no obvious bonding lines. Ignore the poorly fitting hood- I'm still trying to get it to fit.
Pretty cool...ecklers sold a front clip like yours, flares built in, headlights in grill and no stock headlights, they filled the side makers and had no turn or parking lamps, I would bet you a Coke or Pepsi that is what you have, when I got my 66 it had the 4 quad headlights in the grill and no parking or turn lamps, what I did was got the single 4 x 6 quad headlight that is both hi lo beam, I cant recall what it was from not super known but it's the same size generic bulb just two rather than 4, I ran them in the outer holes in the inner holes I found a close size stock turn lamp from a station wagon at the junk yard and used it as the parking light / signal...it looked okay and worked great.
"single 4 x 6 quad headlight that is both hi/lo beam" 13Bats- now you have given me an idea. I never thought about those dual hi/low beam square lights. I think they were used in GM mid-size cars in the early 1980s. With the space in that headlight recess I can put a decent turn signal and parking light. RA
"single 4 x 6 quad headlight that is both hi/lo beam" 13Bats- now you have given me an idea. I never thought about those dual hi/low beam square lights. I think they were used in GM mid-size cars in the early 1980s. With the space in that headlight recess I can put a decent turn signal and parking light. RA
I cant for the life of me recall what they were in, perhaps citation not the big more square headlights like in a c4 these are the same size as what you have 4 of and then yeah, you can add a good park/turn lamp in the center holes what I did and now with better LED lamps I would get all cool with it....
04-03-2016, 07:11 AM
Fender flare'd cars owners. How happy are you with the result?
DSCN4814 by Richard Hayes, on Flickr
