Does anyone know of a book or spec sheets available with dimensions for the grill and bumper areas of the front clip on a 1972 Corvette.
Mine is going in for a repaint and I want to correct the front that has had a bad reconstruction, not horrible but it shows. The left grill is 1/2" below the lower bumper edge and the right grill is 1" below the lower bumper edge. Also if it would show the correct dimensions of the grill cavity as I think some of the fiberglass is missing in one cavity.

 

The best advice I could give you is use Google Image and search what you're looking for. That will give you better idea if something is missing or altered. The bumpers do have some adjustment and a bent bumper bracket is common if someone has gotten bumped.

 

front clip alignment is controled by the wiper door assembly, hood, splash shields and the bumper. the bumper is positioned by the horse collar, bumper supports and the nose bar. there is a dimension used measuring from the wiper grill to the most rearward hood hinge(it's been a long time, but 43" rings a bell). i think that trying to use exact measurements to set a clip is going about it incorrectly (for the weekend warrior). set the wiper door and hood, and start from there, keeping the nose aligned with the bumper.

 

Outside of obtaining an Assembly Manual. It all begins with the center "box" of the car and working/measuring out form there. if this can had been hit...starting at making sure that the body is on the frame correctly is most important. Because if it is off...it creates problems the further out from the center of the car as you go. The same goes for the frame being correct. trying to move "things" too much can often times be impossible without major modification.

Check the wheel base and such and just work on it to get it to look at photo's of front ends that look even, level and good.

I also use modeling clay on top of the air cleaner, upper radiator support and such to make sure I know that the clearance is between these parts and the outside panels that can get damaged due to not getting the number 1 crossmember adjusted correctly....along with height of the panels so the gap around the front tire look correct and will not have a problem....which is why you need to check the wheel base from side to side.

I DO NOT assume anything when working on a Corvette. I check and measure quite often...and often times find problems right off the bat.

DUB

 

I respectively disagree. All of the parts that you listed can be shimmed and adjusted to fit.

For me the clip goes where it goes once all door gaps, clearances and other measurements have been taken and applied. I never set a front clip or top hood surround off a part that I have seen shimmed (wiper door frame assembly) and hood hinges...and the setting of the inner skirts. Not all Corvettes have wiper doors. And setting the inner skirts for hood fitment is required...but the hinges also have adjustment in them.

It is a balancing act and does take time. I know that there are specific measurements...but they can be adjusted for a correct fit.

The cowl/plenum areas is where the clip and or top hood surround are basically set to. Most good clips and top hood surrounds have a wide section if fiberglass or SMC that would cover over the wiper door frame....so that is why the wiper door is not installed. this wide section of unneeded fiberglass is for installation integrity of the panel...and then is cut out after the bonding.

I have seen front clips and top hood surrounds that people who have called me over to look at their problems in getting the front clip or top hood surround on their car.... and 90+% of them have cut away the wide section and then the narrow section had broke and has caused them to have issues on getting thing to align and fit with more screws and pop rivets that it is destroying the new part that they are trying to install.

DUB

 

Dub
I agree with you that these parts can be shimmed and adjusted. The difference is that you do this for a living and are an expert. Most of us weekend warriors do this once or twice in a lifetime. My point was that the clip must be set to many different points simultaneously, some of which, such as the wiper door, hood, splash shields and bumper have only a limited amount of 'play'. I certainly couldn't argue with you concerning your profession, any more that you could argue about mine.
Jeff

 

Suggested at the other place that you check bumper alignment.

 

Jeff,
I did not mean to come across disrespectful/degrading to you or anything possibly conceived along those lines of thought.

All I was trying to do is that if the people who read the information that is/was written...and if I feel that it is incorrect (with all due respect)...I HAVE to comment on it...because if I don't...I feel that "silence is acceptance" and thus if I do not reply...I am accepting what was written which is not how I know that it has to be done.

NOW...
What you initially wrote in the previous post is not the same as how you replied in the above quoted post...which I made bold letters. I 100% agree with the bold section of the above quoted post....along with that.... I would NEVER, EVER, EVER question anything you would have to comment on dealing with anything in your profession. Trust me...I am not an idiot who thinks that I can read things on the internet and then tell you how to fix my symptom.

I am no way writing that what you do and what I do for careers are the exact same....but they are quite similar in regards...to the symptoms. Have just ONE THING different...and the diagnosis can go from bad to good or good to bad.

So when a crack is being repaired...it has an everything to due with where it is located on how it gets repaired.



DUB