Inner fenders on a DD - necessary?

[crazedyak]

After looking over the "let's see your de-fanged fenders" thread and I noticed a majority of the trucks had no inner fenders...

This led me to wonder the benefits of keeping the inner fenders. Losing them for an Off-Road vehicle makes sense, but what about a Daily Driver?

Pros: Access, Apprearance

Cons: Engine gets dirty easier, Need to use Dielectric Grease on plugs, Climate dependent (lots of snow/rain)

 

[ryoken]

not on a DD..

it's funny, mine have been out all week, and man it's awesome for access... just put a fresh coat of black on em 8 minutes ago, gonna reinstall em later today, and back to DD tomorrow...

rain/snow + street driving + no wells = bad juju imo but that would be climate dependent I suppose..

 

[454Sub]

I drove my Sub without them as a DD when both my car and truck broke down . I have never had the wheelwells in it, i personally think they are ugly as sin and i had to really trim the fenders out to clear the 40in boggers. So to the scrap pile they went. I had to remount some things, like the radiator reserve and i moved the battery to the bed area because the tire kept knocking it off the tray and the tray was basically wasted. Its nice for tightening header bolts and changing plugs, lol Alot of people worry about water and mud and blah blah, which is true, my BB does get dirty, but i just wash it occasionally, no big deal. Make sure you use diaelectric grease on the plug wires and coil to prevent water getting into the boots and causing a missfire.

 

[crazedyak]

I'd like to get rid of them for the increased access just to make working on the truck easier. I'm in Virginia Beach and we get snow about once a year and usually it is a small dusting at best. Rain is something we get our fair share of though... average about 4 inches a month or just below it. Not a huge amount but a decent amount.

I guess this is a personal call and completely a preference of the owner. I have not seen or heard of any structural requirement nor have I seen anything requiring it at all

 

[NorCal_Chris]

I managed to stuff 42s into a trimmed stock inner fender. I wouldnt run without em. Engine gets dirty enough with them on.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

I managed to stuff 42s into a trimmed stock inner fender. I wouldnt run without em. Engine gets dirty enough with them on.

 

[80' 427]

Despite the fact that I really don't like mudding anymore we always seem to do some anyway. I have seen what marty's blazer looks like with them. Without them I think it would have hydro locked. I will be keeping some kind of them even if it is just a semi mud flap mounted on angle.

 

[readymix]

I cut mine out years ago and never looked back.

 

[crazedyak]

I cut mine out years ago and never looked back.

Nice truck there Chief... Where you stationed at?

I'm really starting to lean towards at least trimming some for some increased access.

 

[Blue85]

I have full inner fenders and my engine gets completely messy in every water hole. I've been scheming ways to also add in something like the factory rubber skirts that used to be there. It just has to work around the Ford shock towers.

But if all you did was rock crawling, it would be sweet to change the plugs and stuff from the side.

 

[USSkoval]

I used to DD my '69 Impala with no inner fenders, it's the same setup as the trucks. It didn't hurt anything at all, but it sure got dirty in short order. Looking back, I wish I would have taken the time to put them back in.