Ever since I replaced the original aluminum body bushings and didn't pay attention to how many shims there were the rear driver door gaps have been off. I wanted to wait till I had the car back together and the full weight on the body/frame. Well I'm at that point now so I need to adjust that body bushing, add/subtract shims. Put the hooker sidepipes on tonight and I can't open the drive door now. So I need to raise the rear door via more shims.
Can anyone direct me by looking at this door gap??
Do I need to add shims to the #3 body mount and add to the #4 body mount or add to #3 and subtract from #4??
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks





Also, how in gods green earth do you get the rockers back on the car after bolting up the sidepipes????? I can barely fit my fingers behind the sidepipes let alone those rockers.

 

It's different on both sides of my car, but I have to slide them in from the front or back like a knife blade.

 

It is difficult to tell, as pictures can be deceiving. From your picture it appears you need to remove shims from #3 and add to #4. If you have the bolts tightened-up, loosen them and see what happens. Sometimes the body will spring back to where it was originally, and all you need to do is fill the void created under the rocker channel. In any event, it can be difficult adding shims to the #3 mount because of the tight space. You can buy U-shaped shims at a body shop store that will slip around the #3 bolt, if that is what you will need. Getting the door gap correct is sometimes like solving a Rubix Cube. Be very careful, or you can easily do harm to your fresh paint in the process.

BTW....the rockers need to be custom cut to fit your side pipes. The original rockers on 68-69 models were of a two piece design and costly. Sometimes you can find a cut pair on fleabay or even in our forum classified. I'd save your original rockers and look for a pair already cut. The 68-69 rockers were made of fiberglass, so you can fill in a mistake, but not add to the upper aluminum section. Measure twice and cut once, as they say. My car had side pipes at one time and the rockers had been butchered by the PO. They all fit a little differently, so you're not done yet. The car will sit on the frame a little higher with the rubber mounts, so you may not need to cut the rocker. I'd put tape over the close body area to protect your paint while trial fitting the rockers. Also, tape the back door edge and jam while experimenting with the shims.

 

Thanks all for your advice.
It was a biatch getting undoing all the work i've done and redoing it to get these door gaps right.
Had to lift the drive side of the body so I could get at the #2 body bushing. That requires a good amount of clearance to get your hand and additional shims up there.
To do this I had to remove all the body bushing bolts on the driver side and loosen all the body bushing bolts on the passenger side. Then use my little "T" bracket (pictured below) to slide along side the frame and up into the birdcage channel. Using a floor jack I was able to lift only the driver side body and add shims (whole lota shims) to #1 & #2, then #4.
After 8 hours of unbolting, lifting, adding shims, lowering, checking gaps, lifting, adding shims, lowering....ect. It is done and turned out very nice if I may say so myself. And the sidepipes clear!!!

Have to add rockers tomorrow, torque down side tubes, finish wire connectors on wires in battery compartment, prime fuel lines & race pump, add power steering fluid, add oil and prime oil, add antifreeze and distilled water and start'er up!

My nifty "T" to lift body.









Driver side fixed....







Passenger side...

 

Good work.

 

Chalk off another PITA job as well done! It appears you are getting close to turning on the fun light.

 

Hi

I got a 1969 427 Corvette with Th400 automatic Transmission
Can I replace the TH400 automatic transmission with 6x Six-Speed
GM 4L80E Automatic Transmission Package (850hp From TCI

http://www.compperformancegroupstore...Category_Code=

Regards

Kim

From Denmark