Who has done a DIY highline?

@Chris @Jerry Bransford needs moved please and thank you

Wildman said:

I moved it....

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He didn’t ask you to

Watching this also

I never could get a warm and fuzzy trying to make the front fender to grille connection look like it's not a total hack job.

I followed the higher ground hyperlink in the above post from @Apparition and took my time with it and believe it came out well.
I replaced the stock air intake with a cone filter, the stock windshield washer fluid reservoir replaced with a Ford windshield washer reservoir bag, eventually went to a smaller battery.
The instructions are correct that you will crease the front fenders when bending and bolting them into their new positions. Didn't bother me a bit. When done it follows the stock body lines.

Learned something new today. This has piqued my interest.

K_Dom said:

Just curious of who here has done the DIY highline mod where you move the front fender up and cut the hood. If you've done it, what are your thoughts on the project? Is it worth it? Would you do it again? Is there a real gain of doing it? Thanks,

Kevin

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if you have rust free fenders it might be worth the effort.

fender goes up to the bead line on the tub. you can choose to keep the factory inner or remove it and use an aftermarket kit. i didn't like the way you have to bend the front around the grill so i actually cut it and tucked it some.

cutting the hood i was a bit OCD and taped off both sides and slid a jig on the fender to make a nice straight line just below my guestimated finish line would be cut that then set the hood back on and slid the pencil down the edges and recut until i had it as perfect as i could get it, the pencil on it's side on the fender makes a nice 1/8 gap line.

there are other small details if you decide to tackle it. .you gotta bring the battery up some too.

2yrs later i couldn't stop the top deck cancer and had to give them up. so if your not sure about um............

K_Dom said:

.... Do you think the work involved is worth the outcome?

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That depends on the goal. Highlines are typically done to solve a problem with tire size and suspension travel.

Aesthetically, I have never seen a DIY highline that didn't look really off around the headlights. Not even AEV was really successful in making it look right.

K_Dom said:

My fenders are rust free. I imagine it’s nerve wracking cutting the hood. Do you think the work involved is worth the outcome?

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i had it lined out pretty good and it cuts like butter it's so thin. the front corners are the hardest part to plunge cut all the way through, there's a good bit of formed metal there.

i liked them, it's not something everybody else has done, most order up what they want and bolt it on but they don't all look like they belong there.
the front has to be bashed around the grill and it does deform some and i thought i looked funky, that's why i cut and tucked mine. it also pushes the front edge of the fenders in a tad when you take them higher up around the grill curve. and it leaves a piece that needs to be patched at the back end bottom corner.

i don't have many pics left but here you can see the line on the tub they followed and a shot of the front tucked around the grill. thats a 35" wheel 6.5" off the ground.

beside moving the battery up you loose the dimples for the hood straps. some relocate them others use hood pins
the factory air box will have to be moved or replaced. some zip tie it to the support rod some opt to punch it into the cowl while other opt for the dirt suckers (KnN).
the washer fluid bottle needs shrunk down too 15$ at summit, tad less on amazon.
i altered the fender support brackets on the firewall too. i just took a guess at it and probably took off a bit more than needed and had to rebuild some of this structure.

on the pic above you can see the patch needed on that bottom corner, that's whats left with the lip bashed flat.

and i almost forgot the fenders don't' lay tight at the top of the grill they will have a gap, to much formation in the corner to bash it and not ruin it so i make up some filler pieces. had i been paying attention i would have fab'd in a small patches when i welded the relief cuts.

i did it to try and challenge myself and because i'm cheap and always try to make my own 1st. but it's a trade of a good bit of work to make look ok or spending 800-1k$ to bolt on some nice HL fenders. i still haven't bought any, i made new 1's from scratch out of real steel.