okay, so the other day me and curtisz went parts yard hunting. i came out of there with some 72 celica gauges, so ill have extras/spares for the swap in my 78. thats another story. anyways, i also got ultra rare first gen celica "smiley" bumpers, need some work but i can repair them.

but best of all to me, i got some 83 celica GTS fender flares. they are fiberglass, and a rough test fit leads me to think i could adapt them to a hilux without too much work. mostly just shortening the overall length. they are the same as the celica supra flares.

anyways, i had the thought that instead of just making myself a set, i could also make molds and make a few sets. i haven't looked into fiberglass casting in a while, but for a fairly simple part like that, it shouldn't be too hard. that trekker build has seriously inspired me to play with fiberglass more. i dont have any idea how much a set would cost, but factoring in materials, probably $100 a set. thats just a ballpark estimate though. i would include a paper template of where to drill the holes too. i suppose for extra cost, i could possibly do carbon fiber. but ive never worked with the stuff.

anyways, im doing a poll here to see if anyone would be interested in a set. i also thought if it goes well of making fiberglass reproduction smiley bumpers too. since i know there are celica guys here too.

i will have a photo of my 78 with them roughed in place with a few clamps to get photos. im still playing with the idea. the way they will mount, it could be a cutout style so under the flare is actually removed to allow tire clearance.

anyways, the poll is of who would be interested in a set given that initial total ballpark figure for price.

 

i've been thinking about flares for my 73 for a while. i was gonna get some styrofoam (butchered that) and tape it to my fenders. then shape it how i want it and make molds. that way i could keep my stock fenders untouched. when i sketched out the front end profile, it looked like a 510

 

yeah i thought about those, but they are sort of short and sharp. one thing i really like is the rears make the wheel well not so long. brings in those big gaps at the ends. which stock looks fine, but is noticable when the tire is tucked way up into the bed. ill try to have photos today or tomorrow.

 

alright, initial test fitting looks good to me. first phots are the flares at the spots they should be. the second set is the fronts in the back, and the backs up front. and the last photo is the front in the rear, but up higher. if i did that, and cutout the metal behind it, i could get a nice stance to tuck right into the flare. i havent cut them at all, but it looks like they would work rather nicely. almost as if toyota engineers knew somebody would wanna adapt them to a hilux. haha.

fronts at front. rears at rear.




rears at front. fronts at rear.




front at rear, raised about 1-1/2"


and i know that the gas door will be an issue. and since it changes places from year to year, i would probably suggest to people to modify the door. and id like to make a short and tall rear, for if anybody extends their bedsides. i almost want to have a mild set, using all rears and an agressive set using all fronts. but really, i need to keep looking at the photos and get some opinions from everyone. and, ignore the clamps and high offset wheels. thats the main reason for these, is to run low/zero offset rims on these trucks. personally, i think ill make a long version of the rears for myself, using a front, and mount them high. and probably a rear for the front.

 

after looking at them a few times, a full set of rears seems to look the best. and still would provide alot more clearance.

 

yo.. i fu_ked up... lol.. i had put no in the poll response, but i meant yea.. lolz... poll showed up in the index, didnt kno wtf it was about, so i put a random response, but hellz yea, 4wd flares on 2wd mini;s, FTW...

 

they are from an 83 celica GTS. toyota didnt make a 4wd until 1980. which was into the next bodystyle. so unlike newer yota trucks, i dont have any 4wd panels that bolt on. and i wanna tuck something with a lip.

 

i want flares but i'm not feelin the celica flares. they are too big for a flat sided truck in my opinion.

i'm going to use the little flares on 64-66 mustang fenders on mine. they are almost the same size as the hilux, just gotta be extended like 2".

 

I'm with burnz on this one... Just a tad to bulky bro...

I bet you can tuck 12" wide wheels out back tho!

 

U kno i actually like how they look. i do agree that they doo look a bit bulky. Something like the 79-83 flare would look good if you werre to extend it and inch or so.

celica pieces look a bit wide body kit-ish

either way keep up the work. i like how they look with the fronts at rear- rears at front. Seems to flow a lot nicer.

 

they do look bulky. as in hang out too far. but they also havent been trimmed at all. but, the rears do look better at both ends. maybe ill see how mkI/II VW flares look. but they are rubber. hmm. i also think with a longbed, it might clash styles. and im not going to bob the bed. maybe this week ill trim down a set of rears to fit properly front and rear.

the funny part is how close the color matches from a totally different toyota. theyre red, but look close. lol.

 

I KNOW! i actually thought about using a 4 lug rear end and some celica supra rims. because i seriously looove those wheels. lol

if i was going to do something like that, id just roll the back out quite a bit like i did up front. i could probably get a 245 under there if i flared it. i had 225s under there with a little room to spare before.

i love those flares. i thought about taking 4wd fenders, and cutting them up, then actually bolting the flare with a nice finished flange onto my truck. but to me, unless flares are set to where at ride height the tire is sitting in them, or its needed to get full steering lock really low...they are silly. thats why guys with 4wd fenders and high offset rims dont seem to blend in my eyes.

 

Yea i get u. Thats why im still thinking of flaring out my whole bedside (when i get a better bed) to kinda have a widebody look. Cuz i really wana fit lower offset wheels. Some 9-10" wheels in the rear would be fkn sick!

 

im not trying to stuff crazy big tires in the back. a 225 or 235. i just like the wider looking stance.

 

lol. i kno but i kinda want to. ive always had a thing for muscle cars so that look has always been in my head. I miss how well my 19s on 245s looked

 

i actuall like the rouge look of overfenders.
the dimpled kind with rivets..

i plan on testing some s30 or s13 flares in the future. i need to fit a 7x9.5 +15 lol

 

like so

to fit

 

exactly! i love the exposed fastener style. id love a set that looks more rounded, but i think i could make these to work. its just hard to see the final image with my little steelies in the hole. lol.

 

i love the fact that shes going to be a flat bed..

i dont need to worry about much..