Before removal, draw lines...
Before removal, draw lines on the fenders to mark their position in relation to the hood. Find alternate positions for anything mounted on the inner fenderwells such as the coil or radiator overflow. Remove the fender and cut out the entire fenderwell. We used a jigsaw, but a Sawzall or even a cutoff wheel would work. Cut the outer fender into two pieces. It seemed natural to use the existing bodyline for this cut.
A piece of 1x1x1/8 angle iron...
A piece of 1x1x1/8 angle iron is used to hold the upper fenders to the hood. The angle iron is mounted to the hood with a few bolts. We used 3/8-inch Grade 8 zinc-plated ones since they look attractive protruding from the body. Bolt the lower half of the fender to its original position on the body tub. Mark and drill holes in the upper portion of the fender and the angle iron by first positioning the fender using the lines drawn earlier. Bolt the fenders to the angle iron.
The cut that separates the...
The cut that separates the two pieces of the fenders can be gasketed with body trim or a piece of fuel line that has been split down the middle if desired. A bonus to building your own tilt front end is that if you ever do damage one of the fenders, only part of it will need to be replaced. Finding a complete fender (in good shape) is much more difficult than finding one that has the portion you need.
Since the grille no longer...
Since the grille no longer had any support from the fenders, we fabricated bars to hold it in place. We used 1/2-inch tubing, which was bolted to the grill using one of the original holes. The other end was bolted to a shock tower that had been previously fabricated. The supports could be bolted to the firewall as well. Also visible is the new location for the radiator overflow on the firewall.
Hood pins such as those used...
Hood pins such as those used on race cars can then be installed to keep the assembly secured. In this application they were installed at the top of our headlight housings. The original hood latches can be left on for aesthetics and to fool your friends when they try to open your hood.
Maybe youve done an engine swap, or perhaps its difficult to get your hands at your factory mill, not to mention any tools between the engine and fenderwell. If you have considered a fiberglass one-piece tilt front end, then you know it costs almost as much as replacing the steel parts with new ones. It also requires custom mounts to be built for the radiator since the grille is attached to the hood and fenders.
Also, fiberglass tends to explode upon impact with trail obstacles. Its probably easier to repair broken fiberglass panels than to straighten sheetmetal, but bent and twisted metal looks cool and doesnt give you painful splinters. After considering all of this, we decided to get a little creative with the jigsaw and build our own tilt frontend.