How to stop rear quarter panels flapping after "Greg Davis" style trimming.

[R_Lefebvre]

So, I've got my new rear bumper on, which involved a pretty generous cut to the bottom of the rear quarter panels. That removed a lot of stiffening from the rear quarter panels, which are now large flat unsupported slabs of sheet metal.

Driving on the highway, they actually "flap" a bit, and bang on the inner fender liners. I'd imagine anybody else who's trimmed the quarters for a Greg Davis bumper has had the same issue. How did you solve it?

 

[valkyrie]

In the past I have welded on 1/4" round stock on the inner lip with very good results.

 

[muskyman]

should have left enough material to make a single 90* bend at the bottom edge...thats all it takes to make it plenty stiff.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

It's an aluminum panel, so I'm not sure about welding on it. Sure would be hard in any case. But maybe bonding something on would work just as well. It's a bit too late to bend some material, as I've already cut it with a 1/4-1/2" gap that would just get bigger, but that might have worked too.

I might try just sticking some 1/2" thick foam tape to the inside of the panel, where it would contact the inner fender. That will space it away from the fender liner, preloading it a bit to make it less likely to flap, and dampen any sound if it does.

Any other ideas appreciated.

 

[ntsqd]

Some of the 3M VHB tapes have a thin foam in them. Perhaps some of that will not only damp the flapping, but also bond the gap closed?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Actually, I tried that already last night. I'm not sure it's really VHT tape. It's a good quality 3M trim mounting tape. I put some between the two panels, but it wouldn't hold. There's not enough surface area on the inner fender, as it has a corner where it meets the outer fender. The tape is pretty sticky, but just wouldn't hold. Just not enough surface area. Not sure if VHT would even be good enough, as there's only edge contact.

The other idea I had is to use some thick foam tape, mounted on the top edge of the slider, to the inside of the panel. This would give the bottom edge of the panel something to rest on.

 

[michaels]

pop rivets to the metal peices behind the wheel wells.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Can that be done while keeping the rivets buried behind the fender flares? Would hate to have a visible rivet.

 

[RonL]

on a Series 1, you can place it in two areas that hide it very well.
Use a black headed rivet.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

A rivet does sound like the most permanent solution. I'll look into it. I was mostly curious, what's the "official" thing that people do with a Greg Davis bumper?

The truck does look SO much better with the back end clipped like this, I love it. It looks a lot more like a serious off-road vehicle now, and less like a school bus.

 

[JSBriggs]

The key is to leave an extra inch (or the same as length as the factory lip) to fold a lip to give the panel its strength back. If you have cut with out allowing to reform the lip, you could rivet some aluminum channel to the back side to give it strength.

-Jeff

 

[Crookthumb]

Maybe RSW (resistance spot weld) with some touchup paint.

 

[jrose609]

How bout a pic, Rob? Might give us an idea by looking at what's left after the cut.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Have a decent pic handy. Here's what's left. You can't see the inside too well. I picked up a pop rivet gun, I'm hoping I can do it from the inside and hide it in the fender flare.

 

[Rovertrader]

did you add the square tube inside the wheel well? I have done several Davis bumpers, and it should have an inner fender that attaches to the bottom rear of the wheel well. I have added an angle to that piece, and then rivet under the rear horizontal molding.