Thanks, that's a good suggestion.

I'm curious - my observation is that most of the metal fenders on the market are narrower than factory fenders, are you saying you found a pair that were the same width as factory fenders and then asked to have them made 2" wider than that?

These definitely won't be anywhere near as heavy as metal ones, while they will be heavier than the factory plastic fenders they'll still be in the same ballpark as the factory parts, nowhere near the weight of metal ones.

I'll think about making these 2" wider than factory. Since I have factory wheels/tires, I don't need the extra width, but if a company picked these up to be a commercial product I can see how a wider option would be a good idea.

 

They made factory width ones as well as +2" and also +4" under request. Everyone else pretty much makes smaller ones which I can't stand. These are the +2" I have.



"Ex Umbris Venimus"

 

This morning the flatfender mounting flanges were fully cured, so I popped them off the fenders I molded them on.

This is what one looks like right after it came off the mold (fender). It hasn't been trimmed. The green tint is mold release; it's water soluble and will wash off.



In this next photo, I've trimmed the top and back to final dimensions; the inside wheel arch and a bit of the front haven't been trimmed yet. Those will be left long for now to provide extra length for making the mold; the final fenders will be trimmed exactly at the wheel arch line after they come out of the molds.



And here's a video showing how the flange fits into place on the fender. Since the top and back are trimmed to the final dimensions, this also shows the top and rear outlines of the flat fender. The wheel arch, front and rear bottom of the flange haven't been trimmed yet, those are needed for mold making.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5C85NoJX80 BTW the fender in the video above is the fender I molded this flange on, it wasn't harmed by the molding process.

The next step is to drill mounting holes so these can be bolted to the fenders, the factory clip holes in the fenders will be used for that. Then they'll be bolted to the JK, and the rest of the flatfender will be bonded to the flange to form complete master parts to make the molds from.

 

Will the inner fender shield be used from the stock fenders ? Do they have to be cut, or do they come apart ?
I'm asking so I know whether to start looking for used stock plastic flares/liners for these

 

I haven't made a final decision on that yet. The factory inner fenders are in two pieces - in the photo below the ribbed part is the liner for the plastic fender flare, and the bigger part is the inner fender that protects the engine compartment. The two parts come apart. The ribbed part certainly won't be used with the flat fenders. The inner part can be reused but will need to be trimmed a bit. Or I could make complete bolt-on inners so the factory parts don't have to be reused, I'll decide that after I get the main flat fenders built and fitted so I can decide which approach is best for the inners.



When I did TJ flat fenders I did complete inners, which made the entire unit bolt-on - most aftermarket TJ fenders like tube fenders require that you cut the factory inner and outer fenders apart and reuse the inner. I wanted to make the TJ flatties a complete bolt-on, which is why I did fiberglass inners.



I'll decide what to do on the JK flat fenders a little later in the project, it's not a critical path decision for the project.

 

Now that I've got the mounting flanges done, the next step is to do a more accurate cardboard mockup of the flat fender that can be installed on the Jeep to check shape and proportions. In these photos the flat fender is clamped in the vise and the factory fender is sitting on the table; when installed on the Jeep the top of the flat will be slightly higher than the factory fender.



The gray fender is a fiberglass TJ flat fender I made, it's derived from fiberglass CJ-2a fenders that Kentrol gave me when I was making the TJ fenders for them, so the curve is a perfect match to the originals and I've traced that curve onto the JK mockup. I've made the flat top of the fender long enough so it reaches the grille; the factory fender starts to curve down just ahead of the hood latch but since the original MB/CJ-2a fenders reach the grille I'll make the JK flat fender do the same.



The marker light I've mocked up is a CJ/YJ part. In this next photo on the TJ fender you can see a recess intended for mounting that marker light flush with the outside of the fender. Depending on what I decide about marker lights, I might do the same on the JK fender.



This photo shows how the flange is part of the flat fender. The final flat fenders will be one-piece and all fiberglass.

 

Having the side marker lights recessed will keep them from damage by "Close Encounters" with the Usual Objects.
Your Flat Fenders will give great Retro look, hope they go into production.

 

Thanks. My design goals for the flat fender project are:

- Be as faithful as possible to the design and looks of the original Willys MB/CJ-2a flat fenders

- 50-state legal with the same tire coverage as the factory fenders and provisions for 50-state legal side marker lights

- Installation should be an easy bolt-on and not require modifications to the Jeep

- Fenders to be molded in one piece out of fiberglass to make them as cost-effective as possible to manufacture

- Make it as easy as possible to create alternate versions of the fenders, for example wider fenders for full coverage of wider tires.

 

These look awesome! Can't wait to see it on

 

Have the hard top gone into production? Tried to pm you, but your box is full