watson

I have my new Corvette Image front clip installed on my 65 coupe and I am trying to bond the tops of the inner fender wells. Is there a procedure for doing that such as which end to start with? It looks like the folks at CI might have glued the inner wells in a little off line. My hood seems to be in good original shape, but it looks like it will take a lot of hinge shims to make it look right at the front. If I do that, the middle section will need to be spaced up quite a bit. I just want to make sure that I am not missing something obvious.

Thanks,

Doc

DUB

Doc,

So I am understanding what you wrote. The clips is now ON the car and bonded at the cowl/firewall area...bolted in a the radiator support and shimmed, etc Correct???

AND...when you bolt up the hood to the GOOD or NEW hood hinges. When you set the hood down...the hood is low in the front and shims are needed to bring the hood up to level/flush...correct???? Roughly...how low is it ...if it is low.

How much if the inner skirts are bonded in place???? Front section by the marker light area...above the control arms....and the rear where it bonds to the inside of the fenders.

You car has the wheels/tires on it and proper tire pressure and ON THE GROUND...or is it jacked up on support stands????

I need to know.

DUB

watson

Thanks for the reply. At this point, my front clip is bonded at the firewall and it is bolted to the core support. After bonding it, I removed the body from the frame and it is now on a very solid body dolly. It sounds like I may have screwed up by not bonding the inner fender wells while the body was on the frame. My plan was to complete the body work, including bonding the top edge of the inner fenders, on the dolly. My original question was based on what looks like about a 1/4 inch gap between the fender and the top of the inner fender. The lower portions of the inner fenders were bonded in the front and rear when the clip was shipped to me. I believe that I can bond the front section of the inner fenders in the area near the new hood hinges. If I do that, it looks like I will need a couple of 1/16 shims under each hinge. Doing that still leaves me with a gap between the fender and the inner fender at about the midpoint of the hood. Can I bond that area now that the body is on the dolly or will that cause a problem when I put the car back together?

Thanks,

Doc

DUB

Doc,


It all boils down to what you can live with. Knowing that these bodies were never PERFECT....thus shims were used to get things to fit. It is hard for me to tell you to bond this section of the inner skirt to your top hood surround.

Because ...it all depends on how the hood fits and how the hood is flush with the top hood surround in the area that is going to be bonded.

I hate to write it but it should have been all bonded when it was on the frame. ONCE AGAIN...it depends on what you can live with. Because with it being on the body dolly...depending on how much the dolly is off from how the front clip actually sits...can effect the bond. If slightly picking up on the front end and watching the gap you have concerns with..hopefully it does not increase in width. SO....I do not know what to tell you.

I for the life on me can not grasp that when these parts are bonded in that they all can be PERFECT. Needing shims under the hood hinges is fine..and with it being a small amount...that much better. But for me...when I am installing front clips. I try to make sure the hood is flush along the upper fender (top hood surround) area on each side...which can often times cause me to raise or apply pressure on the panel before it is bonded to this area you have concerns about....then can also require the rear portion of the inner skirt to be separated and re-bonded. BUT...I usually bond these in myself...and can move and adjust parts where needed to make sure the hood fits correctly, etc.

I either install the front clips in piece by piece myself....because I know how...so I can get it where I want it...or if I install one-piece front clips....I also install the inner skirts to get them set correctly.

I know that this area that you have concerns about can possibly be due to the angles of the bonding flanges. They can be wider on the engine compartment side...making it look wide.

DUB

watson

Thanks again for the help. I actually think that I am not in really bad shape. It took me way too long, but I managed to get the new front clip to fit really well and I did not have to use any screws when I installed it. At least I was smart enough to fit the hood before I pulled the body off the frame. I did not bond the inner fenders as I should have, but I did check the fit of the hood and I set all of my door gaps to be nice. My theory was that I could then put everything back to that point after I put the body on the dolly and work from there. Oh well, I did learn something. You mentioned breaking the fender well loose at the back and adjusting it. That was what I came up with but I was worried that it might mean twisting the inner well and causing a problem. I did break one side out of my old front end and that was not a big deal. The thing is pretty flexible and I may be able get it to fit by just re-bonding the part closer to the firewall. I am new at this so I usually work very slowly and try to avoid major screw ups. This is my car and there is no deadline to meet. Thanks again for the advice.

Doc

DUB

To aid in releasing the bond of the adhesive that was used...IF CORRECT ADHESIVE was used...is apply heat to it and you can poke at it and see that it softens.

DUB

watson

Thanks, I believe that Corvette Image used their own adhesive and I also used it to bond the front clip. It did respond to a little heat, so I will do that again.

Doc

DUB

It is much like the factory adhesive...heat it up and it will release with the aid of tools.

DUB