Trimmed front fenders

[Justshootme84]

I needed to trim the front fenders on my 78 Bronco to fit the 38" TSL's on a stock suspension (P.O. removed the 3" body lift). I drew a chalk line around the wheelwell 3 inches from the edge, and then a line straight from the front bumper. U sed a Sawz-All part of the way, but a cut-off wheel made it alot easier to follow my line and not vibrate the fender to heck. I cut the soft rubber part off of a piece of door moulding and glued that to the edge for a nice, clean look.

Here's a before pic, I couldn't turn without hitting the fenders;



And the finished cut version:



A side-by-side comparison with the 79 F-150, 35" tires 6" lift (3" susp + 3" body):

 

[MDDYATV]

I am about to do the same thing to my 84 it looks good. what did you do with the inner fender wells?

 

[Justshootme84]

I take the inner fender junk off on my rigs. The P.O. had already removed them on the 78 Bronco, and I ain't putting them back on. I've had the gumbo mud down here pack up so bad that the wheel & tire won't turn anymore; then, you gotta dig it out by hand. I plan to trim my 84 soon, too, but I might do an 88/89 front clip swap first. JSM84

 

[MDDYATV]

does it run cooler with them out? I was going to bend a ****** and try to re-attach them. I have the under hood toolbox that comes in handy is that attached to the fender well? I would hate to get rid of it but I guess I could install it in the back. what size are your rims?

 

[MDDYATV]

Sorry for all the questions. but how far did you cut under the front bumber? did you taper it off or did you cut it to the seam and then remove that pannel that is behind the bumper?

 

[Justshootme84]

No problem, ask anything you like. Let's see, it prolly runs a bit cooler without the inner fenders, but most of my driving is slow-speed or under 10 mph on the trail. The 78 has an electric fan, too. The 84 also had the underhood toolbox, which I may be selling to another Bronco owner. As for the front fender lip, I just cut across the lower-front portion, right below the reinforcement zone. Ther is no valence on the 78, just the chrome grille shell, but the line I cut is at or below that. I didn't see any point in having that part of the fender hanging down below the bumper, and that area was where I had some tire contact before trimming. JSM84

 

[MDDYATV]

Thanks for all the info I plan on doing mine next month. I will take pics and post them thanks for all your info.

 

[79greenmachine]

is the first top picture a pic of the stock 79 with 38s? i didnt even know 38s would fit at all on a stock suspension

 

[Justshootme84]

is the first top picture a pic of the stock 79 with 38s? i didnt even know 38s would fit at all on a stock suspension

No, the first pic is the 78 Bronco, with 38's on the stock suspension. And yes they will fit with no lift, you just cannot turn without the tires hitting the fenders.

I've wheeled the 78 Bronco a couple times in the rocks around Central Texas. No problems turning and no fender contact, even when dropping off a 3-ft ledge. JSM84

 

[fordsohc46]

so could you put 38's on stock suspension with 3" body lift? i would like bigger tires but was told 35's were as big as u could go stock.

 

[Justshootme84]

so could you put 38's on stock suspension with 3" body lift? i would like bigger tires but was told 35's were as big as u could go stock.

I do know that the previous owner was running the 38's with a 3" body lift, but took it off for me before I bought the 78 Bronco. I am not a fan of body lifts at all, and would rather fit tires with fedner trimming or a suspension lift. I don't thtink 38's would fit on the 79 F-150, though. I have plans to remove the 3" body lift on it, and go with a bigger 9" suspension lift kit from Skyjacker that I got with the truck. JSM84