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Flattening a Mitsubishi Fender

August 1, 2019 • CATEGORIES: Builds, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Gary shared this Instagram post by catskill_mtn_customs that demonstrates how to alter a Mitsubishi fender into a CJ-3B style fender.

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Jeep Fender “Docking” – Part 1 It’s not all motorcycles around here. This is a great example of a job that seems easy, but is actually a lot of work. This customer wanted the heavy 16 gauge steel fenders on his cool ‘78 Mitsubishi Jeep “docked” to resemble the flat front fenders found on earlier models. To start I began trimming away excess material. Next I used a hammer and dolly to change the square outside corner into a round radius as found on earlier models (forgot a picture). Now A LOT of steel had to be shrunk to form the new rounded corner. I used my shop-built power hammer (@sosametalworks design) to shrink the 16ga material. The fender shape forced me to feed into the hammer at a poor angle so it made a bit of a mess, but it’s not a problem. After some work cleaning up the shrunk area with hammer and dolly, a flange was turned around the bottom edge as would come from the factory. A filer piece was made to fill the end gap and the panel got a bit of metal-finishing. A test fit shows the new fender profile compared to the original. Continued in Part 2…

A post shared by Nick Cologero (@catskill_mtn_customs) on

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4 Comments on “Flattening a Mitsubishi Fender”

  3. Gary Jacobson

    Good comment. I was ambivalent myself, and I think that this is the most vain thing I ever pursued. In fact though, those fender ears and skirt/gussets were getting bent in from hits. I really like the CJ3b, and had a fat fender truck and 2a in the past. (As well as an FC150, and a transition 304 CJ5.) I love flat fenders and early CJs, but the Mitsu fenders not so much. Since before I acquired this Mitsu Jeep I had considered making one into a flat fender, and that idea was concretized by a chance run in with Nick who appreciated the Jeep, and had a lot of experience as a “metalshaper”. Once I learned that he could do the job, I decided to “go wild” and do something just because I wanted to satisfy an irrational desire. The idea of preserving an unmolested Jeep is righteous, and I would have been just a little bit less happy doing that than pursuing this project. So far I haven’t regretted the decision, and I don’t think that I ever will. Yet I agree with your sentiment!

  4. Mike

    Gary, Thanks for the comprehensive answer to my question. You took the time to reply in detail, I appreciate it.

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