Gentlemen,

I am contemplating adding shims to the #4 body mount ( behind the rear wheel) on my 66 convertible. I want to reduce the gap at the top of the door on the passenger side.

Couldn't f1nd anything in the archives about the procedure

1. After removing the #4 bolt what else has to be loosened or removed.

2. How and where do I jack up the rear to get about 1/4" gap to add a shim.

3. Assume I leave the #3 body mount tight

4. Will the gap change on the driver's side door change while jacking? Danger of chipping paint?

Randy

 

DON'T Jack up on the car! There are 3 bumper brackets in the rear of the car that will crack the fiberglass if you do. You will need to loosen or remove those bumper brackets to add a shim. You will most likely also need to loosen the #3 mounts, but if you want to try, you can loosen the bumper brackets and the number 4 mount bolts, then leg press the tub into the air while a helper adds a shim. you will need the spare tire carrier removed to be able to pull off this maneuver.

 

Randy,
I just did mine this am.....and heres what I found.....I used a 6x6 "X30" piece of wood and posisionted it under the fiberglass body under the car in front of the rear crossmember ...looseded the BIG BODY mounts in front of that ...THE 4" ones.......then jacked up the body ( and it moved up aprox 1/4 "and after removing all the old rubber mounts and washers etc.....and then by myself used a 36" pry bar to pry the body up (where the body mounts are secured)just a little more to change the >>>WASHER,RUBBER MOUNT.another flat spacer/grommt controll washer and still barely got the assy installed correctly...w/ two guys ...a little easier...any way getting back to your question....as I jacked up the body the only place that I could see that was different was...BODY... to DOOR was now tight...soooojacking up the body may result in much tighter dooor to rear body than you may expect or want...it will effect that dimention
and I too have a more than desirible gap at BODY 2 DECK LID...weather stripping could possible keep that from being as close as you might want.....

and the BODY MOUNT (has a tube steel that puts everything into alingment)has a raised lip that makes the overall LIFT HEIGHT aprox 3/16th more raise than you think to let the protruding center mounting INDEX itself onto the hole through the body hole...I
really needed more lift to make it easier...and with out loosing the rear body mounts ahead of the 4" mounts (@ front of rear wheelwell)make it xtra hard if you were adding more washers ...I wounld say to get the extes shimms in loosen a total of 6 mounts...2 rear one mid)but whach out for door clearences....( OPEN DOORS while jacking) finally a suggestion you can use

Bluzrocker

 

Tx for chiming in ...bumper bkt are in the way...My car is stripped for painting so I did not consider that...another great chime in to add some facts..

Bluzrocker

 

65Silververt

Time for lesson #2. I have the spare tire carrier removed and the bumper is loose on the pass side only. With undercar exhaust it is a PIA to get a wrench in the nuts near the muffler to get the bumpers loose. I don't want to remove the bumpers as it looks to be a chore to get them installed.

Do you think I need to loosen the bumper on the driver side too? No shims req'd on driver side.

The fiberglass floor in the cargo area is readily accessible with the tub out. Like bluzrocker said I think I will carefully jack this up with a wood spreader to lift the #4 mount enough for shimming. I don't think I can do a leg lift

Any other tips

Randy

 

65Silververt and Bluzrocker,

Thanks for the input. I added 2 shims to #4 body mount to reduce the gap on the passenger side. Not perfect but better. I was going to add more but was afraid of cracking the fiberglass, total of 8 shims now.
Removing the spare tire tub revealed some stripped threads holding the tub up so those were repaired too

Randy