Trimmed and put on some TJ flares today. Very common for TJ owners to trim them but never seen them trimmed on an XJ before. For my front and rear cut fenders they fit perfect. $50 flat flares!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...b451d6143f.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...ec448eb4e0.jpg

I've been thinking about doing the same.
Did you Just beat it flat then welded it or slip in a new piece of metal to fill the gap?
MORE PICTURES PLEASE

This is the only other photo I took of the job. I used a lot of sealant to ensure the halves were watertight. I just bent the inner well flat to meet the outer half and held each tab corner up as I tacked them on each end. Cut and ground down the excess till it's smooth. I didn't do as clean of a job as some but it worked and it's not horrible looking.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...63322d07bf.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2f1b355475.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...ba6a7ba8f2.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...f0292587cf.jpg

Drove the Jeep 150 miles, that's the furthest I've driven it in one day since I graduated from college. Was really nice to see how it handles the roads now. Tach stuck at the "0" mark so thinking i'll check out the cooling as it was just in the 60s here. Took it up to northern DE for some mountain biking, haven't done that in a while too. Half doors down the highway always feels good.

Looks good. I like the TJ flares.

Thanks.

Dropped the Jeep off at the shop to get the 4.56 gears installed. Can't wait to pick it up. Aussie locker tossed up front, it's going to crawl like a goat now.

You mean a baby

Ya know... crawl and rolls over

Why not 4.88?

Because he is an asshole and thinks he's better than everybody else

You're a baby
Then it'll become another XJ Buggy
Because I live in a very flat state with -16-200' of elevation above sea level so it doesn't need to push as much. Bigger contact between the pinion and ring so stronger. Lastly (most important), I got the brand new gears and install kits for $400 from a local guy who never go around to installing them.
Coming from the guy trying to cop a ride at his own RC trip...

4.88 gear set is a lot weaker since the pinion is so small.

Have you every seen a 4.88 ring and pinion failure? Revolution even makes 5.13 gears for the d30. I’m pretty sure engineers would not design something that is weaker than oem parts.

Research shows that with the magic of engineering the 5.13s have the same weak pinion engagement as 4.88s but with a different angled cut to allow a lower gear to be achieved. You'll break u joints way before you break a ring and pinion for sure. I can pull fine from a dead stop up to 55mph with 3.55s where I live, it's maintaining 55+ with headwind or much elevation. 4.56s I believe will be the best setup for me, I would like to get the Jeep off a trailer for a wheeling trip and drive it all the way up so I keep in mind highway rpms too. Currently at 65mph i'm turning at just 1800rpms, 4.56s should be around 2500-2700rpm if I had to take a guess.