I wanted to get more tire clearance and I have heard of guys sticking a baseball bat between the tire and the quarter panel then rolling the car. Is this all there is too it? Is there a more precise method.

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Team Chevelle Gold
1965 406 6speed
1998 Tahoe LT 4x4

I have a 65 and in order to get more clearance I took mine to a body shop and had them do it. It only cost me thirty bucks ,it looks good, no distortion in the quarter panel and it works. It gives you about an additional 3/4 inch clearance. The only draw back is that you will not be able to use the wheelwell bright trim.

This is how I did mine:

Remove chrome trim. Put a wood bat at about a 45 degree angle between the tire & fender. Use a section of the bat towards the handle end. Have someone move the car slowly forward & backward while you let the bat "roll" between the tire & fender. Increase bat diameter as the lip bends up. I have read where others cut the lip in several places prior to rolling.

Mike Sibbitt
66 396 SS

How would I know if a body shop knows what they are doing?

I was also planning on removing the inner fender lining to get more clearance too.

I just cut mine every couple of inches and smacked each piece with a hammer until they were bent up. That method worked just fine and didn't distort the outer body lines at all (as far as I could tell).

Makes the ball bat method sound pretty precise, doesn't it? http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif

Old ass post but I thought this was relevant. The inner fender skirts on the 66 are metal and they are bolted onto the lipid he fender in a coupler more spots. Rolling would be a problem so I guess you want to cut a tab and leave that part on?

I know there is a company that sells a tool made specially for that. Here's the link for it: http://www.eastwood.com/autobody/fender-roller.html
OR
You can do like I did on my Chevelle: first remove the chrome moulding and second, trim off a little "slice" off the lip. You'll probably lose the upper middle screw hole, but when reinstalling the moulding, gently bend it inwards (by hand), squeezing it against the body and reinstall the other screws. The moulding should be tight enough and you'll gain a little more clearance...:yes:

Claude. ;)

Just spent the last 12 hours restoring a Chevelle that had this done to it.

Be sure you want it.

Do they make plastic inner fender skirts?

No plastic that I know of for rear inner.

Several decades ago I used a 1x4 about three feet long placed in the inside just above the fender lip. I used the bumper jack with base against the frame and jacked against the board. That spread the force out so it didn't kink the fender. Jacked at the front, then the back of the fender well. I stretched the fender an inch or so, front and back, no kink, no clearance problems with the big tires and wheels I was running then.

Did this to the rear of my hot rod to clear DR's. I used a five pound maul, a plain hammer and several blocks of wood. Go slow, get a feel for how much hit moves the metal, etc. Did not damage the paint or make any visible bends in the outer fender.

Go slow.

The issue I see is the gap it will leave between the fender and inner fender skirt. What a pain. Maybe trim my front rims in by about 1/2 may do the trick and go with a narrower tire.