I'm starting the whole process of messing with the panel gaps on my '68... Just about every gap on the car is going to be starting from scratch since:

• The body mount shims made no sense (see separate thread)
• The car had ridiculous "lambo" hinges, so there are no hinge markings
• The new clip had no header bar or bonding strip, so the headlight gaps start from scratch
• The car had a long hood, so wiper door gaps start from scratch

Anyway, the place I'm starting is with the rear door gaps. Once I get them set, I can start fitting the front clip with a solid starting point (front door edges). Then I can worry about wiper door and headlights.
I have the car resting on 4 properly aired-up tires. Here's what I'm running into: The gap at the top of the door is wider than the middle. I've tried adding shims to the #4 body mount to tilt the rear up, but it seems to affect the whole gap, not just the top.

 

Are you going to paint the car? If so that would make things easier.

 

Yes, I'll be painting it. I'm trying to avoid building up and grinding down more than I have to. If I can get things lined up pretty well, I can tweak the final result with body work.

 

Do you now have stock door hinges and a supply of hinge shims?

 

Yes, I went back to the stock hinges. I shimmed them to get the "twist" right top-to-bottom and get the front edge to look close (referenced to the bonding strip for the front clip). I can add or subtract hinge shims as needed.

 

I tried adjusting the door again last night by sitting in the car and loosening all the mounting bolts, then prying/pushing it forward and tightening them. I got the door moved forward and rotated slightly, but it seems to me that the edges just don't match up so no amount of movement to the door is going to fix it. I dug up pictures of when I bought the car (with the lambo hinges) and the fit isn't perfect, but is better than this. So I know it's possible. What am I missing?

 

NOTHING.

Are you using lambo hinges or facotry hinges???

Not that my opinion in this matters at all...BUT....I do this type of work and you are wasting your time trying to get the panels perfect by adjusting them.

If you are going to paint your car...get them correct when it is stripped.

The reason is this....this car is OLD..and gosh knows how many times it has been jacked up and supported incorrectly or any of its previous battle history.

And if body shims and other things were done and replaced exactly as taken out....and NOT knowing if the frame is 'tweaked'...then you can be fighting a loosing battle...

Which is why when I do Corvettes like yours...I get the doors correct and do not hesitate in correcting the body so the doors are correct.

What some people may not know is that the hinge posts can actually move in and out....due to weakened firewall, floor board area.

So...if the hinge posts were loosened and they moved and when they were bolted back in place after any body mounts and shims were replaced....the CHANCE that the hinge post being 'kicked out' at the bottom..can throw off how the door fits at the quarter panel....2+ feet way.

This is why when I know I have to remove body to frame bolts..I am taking SERIOUS measurements to just make sure I KNOW where I started at...so when I get done and 'thins' are all 'wacky'...I know what to do.

And this is because I have loosened body bolts and actually have seen the body MOVE because the frame was tweaked and under stress and holding the body in that position. SO...all I can 'say' for anyone doing this stuff...TAKE MEASUREMENTS and do not ASSUME anything.

DUB

 

DUB,
You say "get the doors correct and do not hesitate in correcting the body so the doors are correct," but I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean just mount the doors as close as I can, then add material or grind down the body panels to set the gaps?

 

YES. You read what I wrote correctly.

But that is also making sure the body shims and anything that can effect the door alignment has been taken care of. So I have NO surprises.

DUB

 

I wanna be sure I understand this too,
Mike really would hack job stuff, slapping bondo or resin over scuffed paint insisting no need to go down to glass,

He told me that when they had a c3 they couldn't get the door gaps correct they would just fill in the door gaps all the way around with bondo then right before the bondo got too hard take a razor blade and cut the door gap then allow it to cure and sand it smooth getting the perfect gap they desired,

I admit that sounded pretty darn hack job to me until now so you consider this an acceptable fix for poor door gaps?

If so what filler do you like for it?

 

When I did my 77 I aligned everything the best they could be. Then I ground down the areas that weren't what I wanted and laid fiberglass across the opening. Then After it was dry I took a hacksaw and cut the line and sanded it to the space I wanted. But I did that when I had no more adjustment. Worked great and I didn't consider it a hack job. Similar to welding a 1/8 rod on the edge of a steel door then grinding it down to the gap you want.

 

mike and his bondo answer to almost everything was what I called hack job, still do....

 

A friend of mine worked at the factory when your corvette was built AND said this is how they did it in those days
If door wouldn't close the took a long 2x4 and pryed up on bottom of door to close then ran a grinder down each seam and off to paint.I am only saying this to point out the seams weren't very good to start with .keep at it you will get there
Wes

 

does the ncrs specify what type wood that 2x4 must be...do they subtract points for uneven or wrong gaps?.....

 

I knew what you were talking about Gats. Just sticking bondo on there is a bandage that will crack off.

 

Any luck sorting your door gaps. I'll be dealing with the same stuff soon, well hopefully soon. Post any tips or progress.

 

Without starting a whole NEW debate...I also AGREE that slapping Bondo on a car to correct the gaps without proper prep can cause for a potential failure and the Bondo falling off. This is for some of us in the autobody repair industry...considered common knowledge.

As many may know.... I have replied to door gap issues or at least talked with forum members directly on the phone to walk them through my process.

If you want to see the process ...go to Corvette Forum member 'rvzio' and see the project. It shows it.

So..depending on the extent of the gap needing to be filled in...99 times out of 100 I use Vette Panel Adhesive (VPA) to fix the gaps with great results. Those people who have used VPA and tested it...can confirm that this adhesive/filler is in a world all its own.

And if the instructions are followed...the results can be quite remarkable.

DUB

 

My issues and calling it hack job were from how mike in my case would do it,
Poor prep and using "bondo" I believe most in the business and many outside agree VPA is far better than "bondo"
Mike would skip adjusting the door at all.

I wanted the large gaping holes he made in my car filled with glass mat and resin he insisted "dura-glass" was good enough, but with his crappy preppying and my desire for a better repair...reason 101 I had to pull my car out of there.

but my big OCD issue now would be thinking and believing my door was adjusted as good as could be before doing the gap filling

 

I truly HATE IT that you had someone working on your car that was not 'in your corner' and looking out for your best interests in regards to the repairs done on your Corvette. So calling it a 'hack job'...is fine by me.

I.... by no stretch of the imagination feel that MY WAY is the only way of doing any repair on a Corvette. I never have and never will.

BUT...in the same breath...I do know a by trial and error over the years and I have found processes and procedures that I know work.

SO I can COMPLETELY understand why the method of repair that you wanted him to do due to the gap width he made...needed to be done with mat and resin.

One thing that I can say....if an owner wants something done a specific way....and are willing to pay me to do it their way.. AND as long as what they want does not effect structural integrity of body panels,frame, etc or the safety of the car and its occupants and innocent people driving down the road with them. I will do as they wish. IF their requests are going to compromise any of those items I listed above...then they are on their own and find someone else to do it. I am no ones circus monkey jumping through a hoop waiting on a peanut when I do so. That just does not happen.

Hopefully your project is going well.

DUB

 

There is a vast difference in the way you do work and the way mike did work,
here is another example, you told Priya best to grind the gel coat to bare glass and I believe all savvy "good" fiberglass people agree with that, however, I was dealing with a fellow who would fight a person tooth and nail that grinding through gel coat wasn't necessary in fact like I said he would lay resin or fillers right over scuffed paint,
The other real kick is mike knows the difference and choses to hack job,
A good example why a person like him has never been more than a back yard wanna be and a cat like you has years of a successful shop under your belt.

LOL, mike loved to jump for peanuts, it was easy....the way you do it isn't the easy out it's the right way.