97+ rear flares, how to

[floundering]

I really like the look of the factory later flares.  I thought I'd snap some pictures as I went so you can see what's involved if you're after the same look.

 

First you'll want to cut off all the studs off the mounting brackets and cut off the ends of your flare so it will lay flat on your Comanche.  Now you can use a marker through the factory holes to mark where the studs need to go.  Next, tack weld some new bolts in the new location and bolt up the center piece.

 

 

 

 

 

It takes 3 flares to make one Comanche one due to the larger size (you could do it with less but it'd be a lot more welding).  The front flares would work for the ends so you only need to locate one extra full set of flares.  

 

The original flare mounted up a little different so you'll need to notch the sheet metal and bend up the tab so the bottom of the flare will fit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now cut your end piece a little long.  I used a die grinder but a air saw would probably work okay as well.  I then used an course sanding wheel on my die grinder and kept sanding until it fit nice.

 

 

 

[floundering]

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[COFFMAN]

Great work mate... thanks for sharing, as this is on my to do list. :thumbsup:

[xjrev10]

Nice job!

[yellaheep]

Or...........

 

You can just sand the ridge off the top edge of an MJ flare, finish sand with finer grit, prime and paint.  They're plenty thick and will take sanding material off very nicely.

 

A whole lot less work than all that piecing together, then plastic and metal welding.

 

 

 

[floundering]

That looks pretty good too but I don't think it matches the 97+ ones very well.   Perhaps if you did that on the front and back on the older flares, that would look good.

[yellaheep]

Yeah, there's some aesthetic differences, guess it comes down to personal preference.

 

 

 

[dancome433]

They look pretty good, I'm actually doing the same thing, but using fiberglass on the backside to hold them together, never thought about plastic weld, just couldn't figure out how to mount them, but I guess using the brackets and welding new studs to them would work,

[cjvaughn]

Looks good. I did the same thing only I used an apoxy that I got from the body shop instead of plastic welding.

[MuddFoot]

Yeah, there's some aesthetic differences, guess it comes down to personal preference.

 

 

 

i really like the look of these. I'm going to do this on my next mj or xj unless i buy napier flat flares

[Doc.]

Using body filler or fiberglass on plastic doesn't usually hold up. The body filler isn't designed to flex like plastic does in heat/ cool cycles, so it will crack and peel off. Using an epoxy meant for plastic would be a better way to go. When I do plastic repairs I do most of my work on the back side. I tend to tape the front so it's nice and level, v out and grind on the back, and use a plastic mesh to get some structure there. When that sets up (overnight to be safe) on the front a slight v and 80 grit the edges and very little epoxy work or primer is needed on the front. 

 

So only thing left to complete the 97 up look is the rear bumper and tail lamps. Rear bumper doesn't really need to match though since it's a truck, right. What about those tail lights? I was wondering if a guy took and sanded off the ribs and smoothed them out. Is there enough material there to even try it?

[dankicksass]

This is the inside of the MJ tail lamp lens. It is not very thick and you will end up with holes if you try and flatten it all the way by sanding.

 

[benjy_26]

I've toyed with the idea of using the back of a MJ taillight with the outside face off of a ZJ to come up with something more modern looking.

[dankicksass]

I've toyed with the idea of using the back of a MJ taillight with the outside face off of a ZJ to come up with something more modern looking.

I've got JK tail lights on mine, had considered WK tails but the JKs fit the truck better to my eye and my budget. Once I had trouble finding a decent set of MJ lights, I knew I didn't want to do it twice. I'll probably sell my MJ lamps eventually, but for now they're in a box.

[benjy_26]

 

I've toyed with the idea of using the back of a MJ taillight with the outside face off of a ZJ to come up with something more modern looking.

I've got JK tail lights on mine, had considered WK tails but the JKs fit the truck better to my eye and my budget. Once I had trouble finding a decent set of MJ lights, I knew I didn't want to do it twice. I'll probably sell my MJ lamps eventually, but for now they're in a box.

Did you build adapter plates to install them?

[dankicksass]

 

 

I've toyed with the idea of using the back of a MJ taillight with the outside face off of a ZJ to come up with something more modern looking.

I've got JK tail lights on mine, had considered WK tails but the JKs fit the truck better to my eye and my budget. Once I had trouble finding a decent set of MJ lights, I knew I didn't want to do it twice. I'll probably sell my MJ lamps eventually, but for now they're in a box.

Did you build adapter plates to install them?

Yes, similar to the guys who have installed LEDs. The width on the JK lamp is nearly identical to the MJ lamp, but it isn't as tall or deep. I did it mostly for the availability of the JK lamps, I wasn't disappointed with the visual style of the MJ lamp.

[benjy_26]

Cool. Yeah, I've been thinking of using ZJ lamps for the same reason. What I was thinking was to make a copy of the back of the MJ lamps out of fiberglass and then use the plastic outside skin off of a set of zj lamps (millions of them at the local pick and pull places) to finish them off. If I do everything correctly, they should still mount in the stock manner and give the rear end a little bit of an update to boot. They should also wrap around the side like the stockers. The ZJ lamps have a very similar curve angle to the stock tail lamps.

[jpnjim]

Good write up thanks

[pitbull4x4]

Thanks for the write up on the 97+ flares. I have a 99 XJ front end and was trying to figure out how to mount 97+ flares on bed. Although the picture of the older ones sanded do look nice

[jpnjim]

 

I've toyed with the idea of using the back of a MJ taillight with the outside face off of a ZJ to come up with something more modern looking.

I've got JK tail lights on mine, had considered WK tails but the JKs fit the truck better to my eye and my budget. Once I had trouble finding a decent set of MJ lights, I knew I didn't want to do it twice. I'll probably sell my MJ lamps eventually, but for now they're in a box.

 

 

 

It doesn't look like you've been on here since July or so...

 

 but I couldn't find a pic of this in your build thread.

I've been eyeing the JK taillights myself and wondered what they look like on yours,

 Thanks.