If you've considered building a pair of tube fenders for your YJ, you've probably come to the realization that tubing alone isn't going to complete the project. A triangular shaped panel is necessary to mimic the factory, assuming you even care about aesthetics...
I was a Triple X Traction yesterday getting pictures for an up-coming story and noticed a customer's rig that recently received a new tube fender upgrade. After inspecting the shop's handy work, I thought I would share some pics to inspire those of you who may need a little encouragement to tackle such an upgrade.
For most of you reading this, the tubing portion of a fender is easy enough to build, but without a plasma cutter and a press brake, the panels can be tricky to build cleanly.
Toby Lavender, Triple X Traction's owner, designed these panels on SolidWorks and says he can duplicate them with or without the holes and the Triple X logo for the do-it-yourselfer.
The costs: $99.95 (pair) as shown. Extra charge for custom logos.
Given the fact that they don't weigh much and can easily be shipped, I think the panels make great time-savers for the guy who plans to build a set of tube fenders at home.
The panels are laser cut from 1/8-inch steel sheet, and CNC formed to acheive a finished look and make installation easy. All you need to do is bolt each panel to the existing mounting holes on the firewall and start ruining tube and weld. The holes can be flared to acheive that cool-guy look, or you can leave them alone. Lavender also can flare the holes for you prior to shipping.
I especially like the way the upper portion of the mounting flange has a provision for adding additional inner tube structure to further fortify the fender.