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I'm in need of some help with the body on my 72. Two big areas are the driver's door jamb and the hood.
The door jamb:
The top of the door is very good but the bottom doesn't line up. As you can see, the jamb extends out about 3/8" How can I fix this?
The hood:
The hood seems fairly flat/even but the fender/front seems to dip about a 1/4". How can I fix this?
If anyone who is in the Pittsburgh/ north Pittsburgh area can stop by and give me advice or a hand I would greatly appreciate it as this is my first attempt at corvettes! I have a lot of time and money invested and I want to do it right.
Thank you for any help you can give me!!
Mike
My 72 was exactly like your drivers door I had perfect gaps all around except for there. I ended up cutting and glassing that area to fit the door. On your hood check to see if the triangle support is there it bolts onto the header bar and inner fender.
There's 3 areas of adjustment in the front of the hood surround , two of them are where the hood surround meets the inner fender(s) , if you open the hood and look under the rain gutter ,you can see where the flat surfaces lay parallel, you can also see it looking above the front tyres at the back of the wheel area. These are glued , or should be , but they should have been adjusted when on the car ,before gluing . they are also glued across the back of the inner guard and down the sides .
The third is the bar that runs off the bottom of the radiator surround , right in the middle at the bottom , you can (should ) see it if you open the hood and look between the vacuum cans , the end that bolts to the front re-enforcement is slotted and you could adjust the height of the surround (a little bit ) .
If your one piece clip came with the inner guards already glued , you MIGHT have to break the glue away and re-set it . It is a huge job and would more than likely ruin any paint work. But wait and see what others say .
Some more pics showing the whole hood on and the door gaps all around might help.
The car is a complete frame-off rebuild. The body is in primer so I'm trying to align everything now before paint. The front center of the hood is a little lower than the header panel so it needs to go up. Is there a way I can "soften" the hood surround and move it up with the triangular supports? Here is how the car looks now:
The doors need aligned better, I just hung them to get started. I replaced all the body mounts. There is one shim on each mount, would adding shims make much difference?
The doors need aligned better, I just hung them to get started. I replaced all the body mounts. There is one shim on each mount, would adding shims make much difference?
To the door gaps ? Yes indeed they make a HUGE difference .
But might I suggest we slow down a bit , first thing (but not in any specific order ) is the motor and gearbox in ? I am just going to repeat what I was instructed , by some guru,s on here, that you have to get the car as close as finished weight as possible/practical , so the chassis /suspension is loaded close to how its going to be for its lifetime . Make sure the car is on level ground with the correct amount of air in the tyres . Then check to see if the body is actually resting on each shim . If it is then torque the bolts down and then have a look at what the gaps are .
Body work - need help or advice
