LBI 73

I just dropped the body on my 73 convertible and I am curious about the sequence in which you tighten the bolts. Do you shim and tighten all 8 mounts equally or do you tighten the 2's and 3's first, then shim and tighten the 1's and 4's to obtain the desired door gaps?

Alan 71

Hi lbi,
I guess it depends somewhat on whether or not you know the original shim count for each mount. If you do I'd start with those in place and tighten all gradually to see what the gaps look like.
If you don't know the original shim count I believe it's a good idea to start with 3 shims on each mount and gradually tighten while watching the gaps. You should then be able to see if you need to loosen certain mount bolts to add or remove shims to attain the gaps you're comfortable with.
Good Luck.
Regards,
Alan

72LS1Vette

with Alan that if you know the original shim placement that is the best place to start. If you don't know, or if like me you are dropping the body onto a different frame, you are on the right track. I read an article by Noland Adams a few years ago on body shimming. He recommended starting with 2 or 3 shims on the #2 & #3 mounts to get the body level, and then adding shims as necessary on the #1 & #4 mounts to get the door gaps even.

You may also want to remove the plugs in the rocker channels and stick a 1/2" rod down into the frame to help align the body to frame. I wish I had known about that when I did the body drop because I think the body on my car is slightly skewed. Not enough to notice or bother loosening everything to adjust but I like to be accurate.



Rick B.