Brace.Bailey

I've looked through the forum for ideas on mounting the new clip, and I have the original frame to mock up the core support and inner panels. I have mounted the upper and lower inner fender firewall brackets to the firewall, and secured the other ends of the inner fenders to the core support.

My question: the inner fenders (new) have a lip at the front that curves around where the hood hinges will go. The new clip (one piece) also has the same lip which matches the inner fender --but when the front end is in place - should you be able to see the lip on the inner fender - or is it tucked under the one piece front end?

It is quite difficult to get the front end over the inner fender lip, and removing it to glue will be a real pain.

Since I bought this vette as a project, I didn't take it apart, and the factory assembly manual is no help.

If anyone has a picture, I'm sure it will show which way to go...

mike coletta

It is a glue point. The inner fender is behind the fender. Look at it this way......the hood opening on the front end is smooth all the way around. All of the inner fender stuff is behind, or under the surround. The one piece assemblies require TONS of work before they will fit. Keep grinding, pushing, pulling, cutting, etc., until you can drop the front end on. Pay particular attention to the thickness of the new nose at the cowl area in front of the doors, and around the windshield, or nothing will fit when your done. You might post a picture or two, to better explain where you're talking about, but if it is the front corners, then the inner fender is behind. Good luck.

Mike Coletta

rich5962

On the hand-laid one piece that I did, I fabricated bonding strips from cutoff pieces to back up the joints of the nose and inner skirt corners. Nothing fits as good as original.

Whose clip are you using? If it's Eckler's HL, some pictures here may help....

http://richmz.home.comcast.net/site/...ject_-_Part_2/

Somewhere near the bottom there are pictures of the corners in question. I also backed up the areas with matt & resin as there were gaps everywhere.

I also recommend you bolt in the hood hinges and mount the hood to check for correct fit. You need to do this so the hood is not raised up in the front. You may need to raise the skirts where they bolt to the rad support to get it aligned properly.

As Mike said, and he's absolutely right, keep fitting and adjusting to get it right. It's a tremendous amount of work using a one-piece HL nose.

Rich

wmf62

don't make the mistake of matching the one-piece to the inner fender panels, mount the hood and fit it to the hood, otherwise you could be in BIG trouble.
Bill

Brace.Bailey

thanks Rich, Bill and Mike. The pictures were great.
My front end came from Corvette Central, and includes the dash section.

I purchased the new front end because I mounted the hood on the old fiberglass and found the nose drooped, and the upper fenders were pretty weak from previous repairs.

I've already spent a ton of hours removing the old front end and dash, and I'll spend countless more making the front end fit.

I'm not having much luck posting pictures, but I'll work at it.

thanks again.