My cardboard mockups seemed to contribute to better tank to tank results (yeah, yeah, no ABA, I know...) but they weren't weathering well at all (sunbleached, waterlogged, moldy, etc). I decided I like them so I wanted to make them a little more permanent.
I started by screwing in a variety of aluminum brackets around the front and top of the wheelwell. I don't have any pics of this but I just bent some 3"x1" aluminum pieces into 90 degree brackets. I used self tapping screws to mount them to the inner edge of the fender surround.
Next I used the cardboard to make a template that fit the inner fender edge and allowed the tire to clear when turned back and forth (with enough margin to allow for some suspension movement and passenger weight). Honestly, the cardboard one helped me figure out where to add margin because it simply wore off where it needed to.
I used the template and a boxcotter to cut a piece of 1/8" abs to the right shape. Unfortunately my ABS snapped when I tried to save some time by bending it along a score mark instead of cutting all the way through. I decided to use it anyway and simply put a bracket across the crack and secure each side of it with a screw. Here it is fitted in place:
Next, I began wrapping it in
sign vinyl. I decide I wanted the screws outside the vinyl so I had to remove the screws, wrap the section, then put the screws back. You can see the process here:
To wrap around the back, I just notch the vinyl every 2 or 3 inches and wrap each tab back, this helps it go around all the curves. You can see one of the tabs sticking out here:
Next I used a 3/4" strip of vinyl to seal the gap between the new piece and the fender. While I was at it, I filled the bumper/headlight gap. Here is the side view:
And the front view:
I'm really happy with the result on this one, it really looks pretty sharp wrapped in vinyl. I can't wait to get all my mods adjusted and wrapped, I think the whole car is going to look really good
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