fenders "too thick to roll"

[ugly]

so in the south western local forum, i got a reference to a place here in southern california to roll my fenders... to say they least , i ran into issues...

i know there are questions in this post that are clearly meant for the 'local' section of the forums, but some of the questions i asked may find answers better here in the wheel/tire forums,,, copy and pasted below

"so i went to shoreline on saturday, and they did 'the best they could'
but they said the fenders were too thick to roll completely.

so essentially they gave up, and only charged me half (which was cool of them i guess, but i would have rathered them finish the job), if you stick your fingers under the top of the inside of the fender, and bring them about 2inches toward the front of the car the roll completely stops, they said it was just too thick at that point. when they went to do the other side, they rolled the 'rollable' section of the fender about half as much as the drivers side... to say the least, not too happy with the job they did... they did end up cracking the paint, which is fine, i expected at least some, but they didnt even seal it up for me, they told me to go buy clear nail polish.... maybe i wouldnt mind it so much if they would have been able to complete the job in the first place...

considering average joes on the forums here can do it themselves renting that eastwood tool from snafu/top shelf, i still cant figure out why these guys (who work on luxury sports cars in beautiful orange county CA) were so stumped...

they said they had never done any GTOs before, x-zz4, do you remember the name of the person who did yours, maybe i can try to get ahold of just him to have them finish up the job...

if that doesnt work out, anyone else run into these issues? anyone else know of a shop that is able to roll these 'thick' fenders? My wheels are getting here in less than a week, and even if it is 'enough' to clear the wheels, id like to job finished,... although you cant see it, i know its there, unfinished, ya know? :/ "

[Chilly Palmer]

On one hand I'd want to tell them to at least go back and do the driver's side as good as they did the passenger side. On the other hand, I don't know if I'd want them going back and screwing it up since they don't seem to know what they're doing there.

[Havoc]

They stopped for fear of rippling your fenders. Be grateful they exercised some restraint because you would be REALLY pissed if they continued on and F'd up your car.

[nixapatfan]

Time to bring out the grinder.

[ugly]

They stopped for fear of rippling your fenders. Be grateful they exercised some restraint because you would be REALLY pissed if they continued on and F'd up your car.

I do appreciate them using restraint, but considering these guys are 'pros' and they have done other GTOs (according some other guys on the locals forums), and had me drive all the way down there because they could do the job 'no problem' ... i am still dissapointed.

still dont understand how this job is doable for the average poster here on the forums using top shelf's tool... but a professional body/wheel shop that works on ferarris and other insanely nice cars cant seem to pull it off

[JayC'sG]

That's kind of what happened to me. "Yeah, we can do it" Here's the thing. Make SURE they have done a GTO before. Ask them how it was, if they say no big deal, then they're probably not telling the truth. The guys that did mine freaked out how thick the fenders were too.

[Dbluegoat]

Time to bring out the grinder.

grind em baby!!!!!!!

works like a charm

[ugly]

grind em baby!!!!!!!

works like a charm

dont wanna mess with the welds

[Havoc]

still dont understand how this job is doable for the average poster here on the forums using top shelf's tool... but a professional body/wheel shop that works on ferarris and other insanely nice cars cant seem to pull it off

I gave it a shot with snafu's fender roller some time back but stopped midway through the job after noticing a slight deflection in the outer lip. It's nothing anyone would notice unless brought to their attention but anyway, the job isn't exactly a cakewalk. Actually, having a little knowledge of the process now I'm kind of surprised more "average joe's" haven't rippled their fenders doing this, even if only a tiny bit. Frankly, I have a sneaking suspicion quite a few have screwed up but either did not notice it, or simply don't mention it here in the forum.

I'm with the other guys on this.... whip out the 4" cut-off! ;)

[wild goat]

dont wanna mess with the welds

Cut, grind, sand them. I went about half way through the welds, but they are plenty stiff. There were 3 layers of metal we cut through, I'm not sure how people are rolling them without doing more damage than cutting. Just make sure you keep the paint cool. Good luck!

[jjcrow]

I had a hell of a time finding a shop that could roll fenders, I must have called at least 15. None would consider grinding because the fender lip helps support and strengthen the entire fender.

Eventually I found a shop with a roller who was willing to do the job. They got the job done, but not completely and the car still sometimes with three or more people in the car going over a big bump. According to the rep they ended up scrapping the fender roller in favor of the old fashioned base ball bat! Pretty half assed if you ask me.

[LS2-GTO]

cut em off.

[HORTENSE]

cut em off.

+1, grind them down:gears:

[TXRaider]

Yep, grinder is the way to go. And you'd be surprised how fast you grind through it. I'd wadger you can grind almost as fast as you can cut it (And easier too I bet). As for three layers, if you actually cut it I guess you'd know better than me as I just turned it all into dust (cough-cough..) but I swear its only two layers of sheet metal with a good amount of sealer/adhesive in between. You can kinda see them in the pic below. What ever it is, don't be afraid of the grinder :)
http://ls1gto.com/forums/attachment.php?attachment id=47931&stc=1&d=1165896015

[MVDCGTO]

Took mine to a shop with a fender roller and they also said that it was too thick to roll so they ended up using one of those hammers that body techs use and "tapped" it in on both sides. Its not perfectly smooth but who cares it inside the wheel well. Messed up the paint pretty bad underneath but they sanded it and "cut it in" for me so all is well. No rubbing now:gr_jest: All in all not bad for $75.

[JoesYum]

Rolling the fender is not easy with the roll kit. Paint started cracking about halfway done, so I stopped. I bought the roll kit, so I can do some more later. I'm starting to think about grinding the rest. Oh, I did take it to a body shop before I tried, but they gave up on the first side they worked on and did not charge me anything.

[Sleepy]

Mine have been cut for over a year, all the way through the welds. If you want 275s you must cut all but 1/8 to 3/16 of the lip from 10:30 to 1:30 on the rim. Seal with a good body shop glue/sealer and all worries are over. Just keep looking for the right shop.
Mike

[gasman]

Had mine rolled at a shop here in Hayward, Motorsport Techniques. They did a really good job with it, but I've got 265's so they didn't have to roll it too far. Looks like I can probably fit 275's, but don't know for sure until the next round of tires.