72 TA : New Project

[njsteve]

I spent the day installing the flares. The rears are a bit easier than the fronts. Due to the thickness of the repro welting and the fact that it is of a harder material than the originals (more of a plastic or vinyl than a soft rubber) it tends not to compress when the flare is installed. I did quite a bit of trimming of the underside to get the welting as flat as possible. I then added a "donut" of black body caulking around each screw hole so the screw wouldn't bend and crack the mounting points. The real tricky parts are where the welting has to twist into a 90 degree angle to go under the top of the flare and into the wheel well. Lots of trimming and massaging with a heat gun there.



The front flares are more difficult as one of the mounting bolts is virtaully unreachable without removing the inner fenders and lower closure panel. I had to unbolt several of the inner fender-to-fender bolts and then remove the side marker lamp in order to even see the mounting location. You can then slip the bolt and 1/2 inch socket in to blindly find the mounting hole. The second mounting hole is a bit easier as you can reach it from the front of the car, but you need to use a ratcheting box end to turn it. More massaging was in order and several on-and-offs were required before I was satisfied with the flare-to-fender fit.