The Jeepster Commando was picked up on July 11th near Washington, DC.  It was a little rougher than what I wanted to start out with, but will be a good platform.  Hopefully the sale of the stock, running powertrain will offset some of the extra costs associated with working with a vehicle that needs TLC.

One of the first things I knew I would need to do is open up the rear fenders.  I had a set of stock TJ flares that I thought would be a good starting point.  If they aren't wide enough, there are plenty of ready made options available.  I made a template of the size of opening, marked it on the Jeepster, and cut it out.  At the same time, I trimmed the lower portion of the rear overhang.  I wanted the flares to be level with the bottom of the flares... yes, the rockers will be history.

When I cut off the lower portion of the rear overhang, I did things a little different that with the wheel openings.  I marked off the line I wanted at the bottom, and then trimmed it leaving about 1/4" below the line.  Then, I folded the lower area under the panel.  This gives a more finished look, as well as strengthening the panel.