HEMMED the SEAMS - RUBICAT Trimmed to Fit 40's

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
As most of you know, Cindy and I prefer to run our Jeeps with big tires and with as low of a stance as possible. Of course, in order to do this and with a minimal amount of rubbing, some trimming of the body is required... okay, a LOT of trimming! Even though we had already knocked off a considerable amount to accommodate 37's, it became clear that even more hemming of the seams would be needed, especially after taking Rubicat out on a test run with her new 40x13.50R17 Cooper Discoverer STT Pro tires.

Being that we get people asking us all the time just how much hacking is needed to run 40's and still keep a low stance, I thought it might be helpful to make the following post. :cool:

As you can see here, even though the pinch seam and a portion of the body have been trimmed, our new 40" Cooper was still making solid contact with the edge of the fender well and rubbing the paint clean.
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Contrary to what so many people seem to think, your rear axle travels in an arc and even though it may not "look" centered under your wheel well at ride height, your tire will travel backwards under full compression. As you can see in this pic, our new 40" Coopers were still making solid contact with the rear pinch seam as well and this in spite of the fact that a considerable amount of it had already been trimmed.
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Here's a shot of what the front half of the fender well looks like after being hemmed.
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And here's a shot of the rear pinch seam.
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A few shots from the driver side.
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That ought to do the trick. At least, that's about how much we've had to hack on Moby. Anyway, I hope these pics are helpful to those of you who are wanting to run 40" tires but without having to run a sky high Jeep. :cool:
 
Looks awesome as always! Can't thank you, Cindy and everyone enough for all the advice and posts. Your information is invaluable and it takes a lot of time to post but​it is always much appreciated and very informative! 🍻 Here's to the kick a$$ forum and awesome group of friends!

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Hey Eddie what kind of paint did you use for the fender wells? Looks great!

I pretty much use semi-gloss VHT frame paint on everything. So long as the surface in question is free of oil and grease, you can just spray it on without any primer and it'll dry to the touch in about 10 min. I use it on my rocker guards, axles, suspension, frame, skids, etc. One coat is all you really need but if you want a really durable finish, follow the instructions and apply 3 coat, the first 2 light and the 3 kind of medium to heavier without it being runny. :cool:
 
I pretty much use semi-gloss VHT frame paint on everything. So long as the surface in question is free of oil and grease, you can just spray it on without any primer and it'll dry to the touch in about 10 min. I use it on my rocker guards, axles, suspension, frame, skids, etc. One coat is all you really need but if you want a really durable finish, follow the instructions and apply 3 coat, the first 2 light and the 3 kind of medium to heavier without it being runny. :cool:

Cool thanks! I'll have to give it a shot. [emoji1360]


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I think WJCO said he used some Flexseal to seal off the foam. I've not had a problem with the foam being exposed but, I may give that a try too. :cool:

Yep. Works really well. It really closes it off and you can't even tell it was ever cut. I'd get pics but the trim work on the WJ, but it is now covered up by fender flares.

Thanks! I tried really hard to keep the lines like they were always there :cool:

Lines do look factory. :thumb:
 
I have an early year model 2013 that had the squared off pinch seam. I trimmed it the same day I put on my rails. It just looked like it was waiting for me to back up and slice my tire down the middle.
 
Hey Eddie, I filled my seams in with epoxy and/or jb weld to keep water from eating out the metal. Just a suggestion, looks great!

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Whoa - that's a TON of JB Weld! :shock:

No thanks. I've been running Moby with the foam exposed for well over 8 years now and I see no signs of water eating out the metal.
 
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