For those of you who may have thought I finally called it quits on my '68 F-100 Bumpside Build-Off truck and sold it for scrap, never fear, it's back! Hopefully all of you read Rob's editorial in the Nov. '08 issue, where he gave a clue as to what I've been (or not been!) up to, and will welcome the return of what will hopefully be the last bunch of Bumpside Build-Off installments-from our camp, at least.
This month we are going to look at more sheetmetal mods. As I've said before, I prefer custom sheetmetal changes to look like they are supposed to be like that-factory, if you will-and I was considering adding tubs to the front inner fender panels to make room for the tires since the truck sits so low. This is a common problem for practically everyone who wants to ride close to the pavement. Most sacrifice much of their hood hinges to tire clearance, and some just plain ditch their inner fender panels altogether, but I wasn't ready to do that-they are there for a reason.
After using new stock-style rear wheelwells to do the tubs in the bed, I figured I could also make them work up front. I called National Parts Depot (NPD) and ordered two more, along with an N.O.S. right-side inner fender, since mine was full of rust where the battery once resided-right where I was going to be welding. With that problem solved, I now needed to make everything somehow work!
While I was unsure of exactly how to go about it or how it was really going to turn out, after more than a few measurements it seemed the new wheelwells would indeed work if I trimmed and fit them perfectly. Now, like most sheetmetal chores, this is not a job for those with ADD, as it requires lots of trial and hopefully not much error. The good thing for those who want to give something like this a shot: I didn't need any special fabrication tools beyond the basic body hammer, dolly, body saw, angle grinder, cutoff wheel, measuring tape, a good Sharpie, and, of course, a welder. For the job I used a Miller Auto-Set 110-volt MIG welder, and though I prefer to TIG-weld whatever I can, I didn't see the need for it on this job.
Without further ado, read on to see how it turned out, and call NPD should you need any replacement parts for your '48-96 Ford truck. See you next month-I promise!
 Nothing is better than the...  Nothing is better than the feeling of cutting up brand-new tin! Not that these pieces from NPD aren't fit to be used in a stock application, but I knew I wasn't going to be dealing with rusty old sheetmetal (like the Swiss-cheesed inner fender panel that I'll be replacing) when it comes time to weld things back together. In addition to the new inner fender panel, I ordered two rear wheelwell panels-exactly like the ones I used in the bed (Feb. '08 CT). |  Back when I dialed in the...  Back when I dialed in the Fatman IFS, I had to cut holes in the stock inner fenders to let the tires peek through so I could roll the truck around at ride height... |  ...I knew I was in for a good...  ...I knew I was in for a good amount of work later "finishing" off this area. Well, later has arrived, and I'll be opening these holes much more to make room for suspension travel and the rear wheelwell tubs. |
 I set the coilovers on their...  I set the coilovers on their softest (lowest) settings so I knew I could bottom them out to check for tire-to-tin clearance, but first I had to make some room to move. This whole process will be an exercise in "sneaking up on it," as it were, and not cutting away more metal than needed. That would only make additional work on top of the tediousness I'm about to embark on. I used a piece of scrap steel to set my marker on to transfer the tire's profile, in a bigger circle, onto the inner fender. I had a good idea the suspension would be traveling at least this far. |  Between a cutoff wheel and...  Between a cutoff wheel and the body saw, I made short work of giving the tire some room to breathe. I hope your pants have good stitching in them, because we'll be flying by the seat of them for the remainder of the cutting-but hey, it's only metal! |  Attempts to turn the wheels...  Attempts to turn the wheels lock to lock will soon show many more areas that need clearance, but while doing this I'm staying within the measurements of the new rear wheelwells. Jacking up the truck helped me not to cut up my nice Toyo tires during all this. |
 With the wheels to the right,...  With the wheels to the right, the centerline of the tire's diameter moves forward, which I traced using the same method as before, plus there we see more points of interference (arrows). My goal in making sure the tires clear in any position is to, well, clear in any position should I be turning and hit a bump. I want this lowered truck to lose all the common bad characteristics of a slammed vehicle! |  More metal needs to come off...  More metal needs to come off on the three sides we're working with, but I want to start laying down some straight lines in the front and back to use for definite borders. This large framing square will give perpendicular lines to the inner fender. Careful trimming and fitting of the new wheelwells will give a nice tight gap to weld everything together without any filler pieces. |  Finding a line on the engine...  Finding a line on the engine side that was going to work just right was a tough one, but after a good amount of measuring the new wheelwell and the stock inner fender, I decided on severing it at the top, long straight section of this stock rib with a fresh cutoff wheel. A new cutoff wheel gives more stability on long cuts like this. |