Ever wished that the 17s on your Mk2 didn't scuff the arches? or that you could run your Golf really low on Euro rims without major rubbing problems? Well here's the simple solution - The Golf's cut out and keep DIY arch rolling tool. Simply take the technical drawings to a local engineering firm to make, weld them together as shown and before you know it, you'll be rollin' your own.

There are few things in life or doing in a car that doesn't drive right and one of the most common problems is tires rubbing on the arches. Now your dad might suggest a sensible way round this but, if you want to keep your slammed ride height and your fancy rims then the only choice is to roll the inside arch lips on your wings. For those that don’t know, “rolling” is just a fancy term for folding back the protruding metal return lip that sticks out on the inner edge of your wings (you can f by running your hand around the inside of your wheel arches with a thick glove on). It is this that catches on your tires-if you're catching on any other part of the wing your wheels are to big!

A skilled body man can tap the slip back with the hammer and dolly but this is also a quick way of making a right mess if you don't know what you’re doing. The better option is an adjustable rolling wheel that gently presses the lid back on itself. Doing it this way you can take your time and do it with minimal damage to the paintwork and any surrounding metal. Beware, unless you're very lucky, the arches will need repainting afterwards so make sure you take this into account and budget for a trip to the body shop straight afterwards, else you'll do little more than help rust along its way to one thing.

While you can buy expensive tools specially designed to do this job, you can also make your own, as Danny Allen proved. It is a bit fiddly and does require some welding but if you think it looks like a load of hassle, think about it this way - you make one do your own and a couple of mates arches with it and you got your car done and you’re owed a couple of favors. Always handy when it comes to building cars.

STEP 1

First you need to get hold of a spare VW-type sill jack and make a few modifications, as shown in picture 7 then removed the clip on the top part of the Jack and cut off the little hooks that hold it on step two.

STEP 2

An M10 bolt is needed here and has to be welded into the center of part 4 as shown in picture 5.

STEP 3

You then need to weld, part 1 to the base part of the jack and weld part 4 to the top of the jack as shown in picture 8.

STEP 4

Parts 2 (bent as shown) and 3 then need to be welded together as in picture 6 and drilled to suit the spindle you will be using. We used a long M8 nut and bolt and a skateboard wheel as this worked perfectly and is hard wearing.

STEP 5

Once parts 2 and 3 are welded together and the wheel fitted, they need to be bolted to part 4, which should now be welded to the rest of the tool. Leave them loose enough to provide a bit of adjustment to the length as this is needed as you move around the arch.
Congratulations, you have now made your very own arch rolling tool.

Go on, roll ‘em up!

This is the part that will bolt over your hub to give you a positive location for the tool when in use. Note how it is designed to fit both 4 and 5 bolt application.

Part one of the adjustable section. Note the fold lines marked - the folded up section supports one end of the wheel spindle, the down sections allow for adjustability during use.

This is the second part of the adjustable section that holds the actual rolling wheel and needs to be welded to part 2. The diameter of the hole is dependent on the spindle you choose.

An M10 bolt needs to be welded through the hole and this section welded to the cut down jack. The adjustable wheel section then sits over the upturned bolt and is loosely attached.

Here's part 4 from side view with the bolt attached. See picture 8 for where this is located on the modified jack.

Here’s what parts 2 and 3 will look like bent to shape and welded together. The dotted line represents the spindle that your chosen rolling wheel will run on.

Take a standard common or garden VW sill jack that everyone has lying around and cut off the sections as shown above.

Diagrammatic representation of how the finished jack will look when you welded parts 1 and 4 to the modified items shown alongside.

HANDY HINTS ON USING YOUR ARCH ROLLING TOOL
 

• Before any attempt is made to roll your arches, remove the plastic splash guards from inside the arches. Also remove any dirt on the inside of the lip as this will damage the outside of the wing as you start to bend the lip up and make a mess of what could otherwise be a neat job.

• If possible practice on an old car (or at least a car where the plastic arches are staying in place) as it takes a bit of practice to use the tool.

• Take your time and don't roll too much at a time as you'll end up with wobbly arches, or even having to replace one of your arches.

• As with as with the proper tools that our bodyshop friend has, if you’re going to do the whole lip you will need to remove the brake calipers as these get in the way, but I'm experience, we’ve found you'll only need to do a few sections around the arch, where the wheels catch.

Note also the paint on your arches will split the slightly as you fold the lip up. This can be reduced by carefully heating up the paint with a hairdryer. He said carefully - too much heat and you’ll blister the paint.

Remember: Buy your tires and wheels first do you can check the fit before you get your car finished.