Jeep TJ Flares

    This is my Samurai with front and rear TJ flares.  The front TJ flares I had turned out to be too big, so I had to pick up an extra set of rear TJ flares that fit on with a little trimming in the front of the flare.  I like how it turned out.  It doesn't provide a perfect fit, but it doesn't look all too bad either.  Here's a write-up on the installation of the front and rear flares.

Install - rear

Stock fender flare lip.jpg (89776 bytes)

1.  Remove stock fender.  You should be able to just pull it off as they aren't very strong.  After that is done, it will reveal the metal lip that the stock flare attaches to.  This must be removed.

Grinding off flare lip 1.jpg (81368 bytes)    Grinding off flare lip 2.jpg (85195 bytes)

2.  Remove the fender flare lip by grinding through the spot welds that hold it to the body.  There is quite a few, but it goes pretty quickly once you get the hang of it.  As you grind through the spot welds, pull on the flare lip and it should help to break the welds.

Stock fender flare lip removed.jpg (77987 bytes)

3.  Use your grinder to smooth out the broken spot welds.  Expect to find some rust under the flare lip as it is quite common with Samurai's.  You can do what you want with the rust, but I just painted over it.

Modifying TJ flare.jpg (88811 bytes)

4.  Modify the rear TJ flare by cutting off the little lip that runs along the inside of the flare.  This needs to be removed in order to mount the flare.  You will also need to grind off the two "posts" that are near the top of the flare.  I used the grinder to do this, but I have also heard of using a razor.

Clamp flare on 1.jpg (89631 bytes)    Clamp flare on 2.jpg (80920 bytes)    Rivet close-up.jpg (72947 bytes)

5.  Attach the TJ flare to the body using two clamps.  This holds the flare in place so you can drill the rivet holes without it moving.  Using the drill bit size recommended for your rivets (I used 1/8", I believe), drill a hole through the flare and body.  Insert and attach one rivet.  Repeat this until you have rivets all along the underside of the flare.  After all the rivets are attached, you can now remove the clamps.

Flare gap and tire coverage, rear view.jpg (88562 bytes)

6.  Here is what the new rear flares look like from the back.  Notice the extra coverage it provides as compared to the stock flare on the front.  There is a small gap on the top, but I am happy with the way it turned out.  I may try to find something to fill the gap later, but for now it will be fine.  UPDATE:  I used black silicone to fill in the gap between the body and the flare and it looks a lot better.  Now it almost looks like it came from the factory with these flares on it.

   

Stock rear flares (before) vs. TJ rear flares (after)

Install - front

1.  Repeat steps 1-5 as discussed above for the rear flares.

Front corner view of flare.jpg (42140 bytes)    Front flare side view.jpg (41934 bytes)    Inside front flare.jpg (35433 bytes)

2.  There will be part of the rear flare protruding down below the body in the front of the vehicle.  This needs to be removed to make it look decent.  I used the grinder to cut it off, even with the body, and then I rounded off the edge a little.

Front flare coverage.jpg (33296 bytes)

Here's the tire coverage in front.  It covers more than the stock flare did, but some of the tire still sticks out.  Keep in mind that these are 12.5 inch wide tires on 2 inch back-spaced wheels, though.  On a side note, that dent is from a rock on a trail run up to Holy Cross.  It makes the gap a little bigger on that side, but should look better on straight sheet metal.