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Why it's cool to be FLAT!

Basically there are three reasons that you might want to cut your fenders:

1. Looks Damn Cool
   
   Yep, I like the look and everyone has their own little twist too. I only cut the front lip off mine, leaving the side and marker lights. I've seen ones that have had the whole outer edge cut and I've seen others that have been squared to look more like the real thing found on CJ2s and 3s etc. Yet another variation of late is to cut the fenders off and weld a section to the hood. I'll be doing this later on to help fit larger tires with less lift.
   
   
2. Makes Room For Larger Tires
   
   By cutting the outer edge of the fender (I only cut the front lip this time), you gain more clearance for larger tires. This is helpful if you believe as I do that you should only lift as much as necessary to clear the tires you want and no more (the less lift you have, the lower your centre of gravity...the less likely you are to roll or side-flop...in theory anyway).
   
   
3. Improves Maneuverability
   
   Without the lip on the fender I believed that I would be able to maneuver easier in tight situations. After cutting the fenders and bumpers and running numerous trails without running into a situation that I could see the benefit of the modification. I started to wonder if it was needed. Then I ran Heart Attack Hill (a once very tight trail) and quickly found out the value of having cut fenders. Later I ran into some other very tight trails, and I'm now convinced that all my Jeeps will be flat fendered from now on (the CJ7 pictured is the second Jeep CJ I've owned to get this treatment).
   
   I've noticed that when someone hits their fender lips on rocks or other objects on the trail, it can often damage the rest of the fender. The force that buckles the lip can also be transferred along the side of the fender creating even more damage. I've seen this with the bumpers as well. In fact if you look closely you can see a mild version of this (bumper) on the CJ pictured here.
   
   The solution in my mind is simply to remove the offending appendages. Heck, why not eh...ILIKETO-CUTMETAL Inc.! By removing the fender lips and the bumper ends, you are left with nothing but tire to hit the rocks with. Makes sense to me...and it works quite well.
   

Where to start the cut and how much to cut off is totally up to the individual. I've seen some quite severe examples where people have taken the outer lip completely off, losing the side marker light, and eliminating the front lip all together. A milder version that I have seen is a slightly shortened front lip. In this case the tip of the lip was removed and then some more material from the front of the fender was removed and then the tip was welded back on to what was left. This makes for a real nice factory look, but just not my style I guess.

You might come up with a better way to mark yours, but I used tape. I had a good look at the fender and decided on the cut I wanted, and then I took the tape and shaped it to curve the cut into the "grill curve" and angled it back to create a nice flow to the cut on the outside edge of the fender.

Starting from the outside working in, I used an angle grinder with a cutoff disc to make the cut. At a certain point the blade gets too close to the headlight. From here I went inside the wheel well and started cutting from the bottom of the fender next to the grill. The cut here is straight up, but then starts to curve into the previous cut. I just eye it on the inside.

After making the cuts, I cleaned things up and then I painted the fresh edges. That's about it. Like I said, you might come up with a better way to mark it if your interested in trying to make it perfect. Be careful not to cut into the grilll.

The bumper was cut down to the frame rails with a bandsaw (bumper removed obviously). I've used a circular saw with a metal cutting blade in the past. You could also use a chop saw, angle grinder with cutting blade or a torch...or if you're a sadomasochist you may opt for using a hack-saw.

Be aware that these blades blow off a lot of sparks...and they hurt!