To cut or not to cut.

[Madness]

I can't make up my mind on weather or not I should cut the front wheel wells out of my truck. At this point I have no choice but to put it on air bags but clearance is not the issue, I'm running a front tire that's small enough to clear the wells and everything else. There are a few things that are on the side of cutting. There is a good amount of rust under the battery tray which I really don't want to repair. It will give me a lot more room to work on the front suspension since now I no longer have a lift to pull the cab off. And I kinda like the look. But my biggest fear is cutting it all out then realizing I had made a huge mistake. It will make it a little harder to wire tuck the engine bay and i'll have to find some new places for some components but there is always the inside of the frame rails. And it would be a lot easier to install that polished engine....

 

I'm just completely torn. :huh:

 

 

The pretty little engine going in.

[Dirk Diggler]

You can always buy plastic inner wells from a different car to put in. Then when you need to work on it, just POP the clips and it comes out

[Skib]

The pretty little engine going in.

 

 

gorgeous :cool:

[Madness]

well... I don't know if plastic is the answer. If I cut them out I don't think I would be replacing them with anything. I would finish the fire wall and core support nicely, try to find some paint that matches.

[Madness]

Still have a shit load of this to do... <_<

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've got to get some sleep. Work at 7pm tonight. I'll leave the tread to you guys. :unsure:

[Guest DatsuNoob]

I would not, but to each their own. You can get plenty low enough running a stock rim size for it to look good without having to hack it to pieces, hell it already looks primo if you ask me. Nice clean 521's are starting to get a little harder to find than say a 720 or even a 620 (even tho they're even starting to thin out). I wouldnt cut it up, but that's just me. I considered it even with my 620, but decided against it.

[NWOleman]

Cut em out i say! then have some SS or aluminum inner's made like they put in the old nova's. that would look sweet with that motor!

[DanielC]

I would say if you are trying to fit a V-6 or 8 in there, an inner fender cut would be justified. But you are putting a 4 cylinder L engine back in.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

What size tires are running & how low do you want it to go once it's bagged ? You "may" be able to simply trim the wheel wells then weld in trailer fenders. And you can probably re-do the battery tray & move it a bit closer to the engine or simply relocate the battery.

[Rob W.]

I think you should leave em in. I don't know how well the rest of the front body would be supported without them. Leave the poor old girl alone give her a new motor fine but leave the body alone. Its your truck though so whatever you want to do is up to you.

[Madness]

Im a little beyond leaving her alone.

[Rob W.]

Well in that case let her have it, cut away.

[merlin]

What tires are those! I was just looking at coker whitewalls for mine.. What size?

[Madness]

Haha they're port a walls on a 155 60 15 (i think)

 

EDIT: Take that back 165/65/14... way off

[HRH]

Cut it, it's already rusted anyway and you're not going to be mud-bogging it. Inner fenderwells are only for mud control and mounting crap that you're taking off anyway.

[Madness]

Very true. I've never really liked the design of them anyway. Pieces of bread rack for battery tray, littered with holes, odd angles.

[72dyme]

Cut those wheel wells out. YOU gotta do what you gotta do. I've seen plenty of trucks with out them, and still look bad ass under the hood. Im pretty sure you can cut them out in a way where if you choose to put them back on you can. Now its time to bust out the plasma and get cutting.

[yello620]

Cut away, its only a 521. :poke:

 

But really, cut if you need to, just make sure that you finish the project. :D

[Madness]

Plasma cutter :lol:

[INDY510]

.

can you cut them out and raise them a few inches??? ...... . and shave any holes or wierd body lines ........... that might take a few months though ....... :lol:

[Creepy Cruiser]

Just keep in mind one thing when deciding to cut them or not.

 

If you ever get caught in a sudden rain storm, (like on the way to a show or whatever), you will be throwing crap all over that beautiful motor of yours, and also tons water into the intake (you can destroy a motor very easy this way). I know this all too well from experience with customers and friends of mine. It also tends to chip the hell out of the firewall and under side of the hood. I'm not trying to say don't do it (because I love them cut out myself), I just want you to know the down side before you do. I also really like the long stretched trailer fenders in there (kind of a happy medium).

[Madness]

True insight, thanks man. Maybe i could come up with temp shielding for long drives. I think most of the tire is under the fender. May cause other problems.

[Pedro]

Cut them out and weld tubs in, mold them to the existing metal. Job done.