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Looks like I have a few options to try to get rid of the significant extra height on the rear of my deck lid (see attached picture and description): 1) Adjusting the front side, 2) adding or deleting spacers under the attachment of the lever arm in the very back or 3) force bending the arm down. I tried option one to adjust the front side with spacers but did not bring down the back much. Option two looks to be a bit complicated but might be the last resort if option three does not look feasible. Option three is to bend the rear arm...has anyone done this and if so how? I am just a bit worried about the possibility of damaging something with this option.
Thanks,
Redvette2 About 1/2 inch too high in the back and 1/8 inch too low in the front. No weather strip installed.
I need to adjust mine to get the proper height in the rear also, but I'm presuming that the rear hinge has slotted holes for that adjustment. T
I took a look at the lid spring mechanism but did not see any slotted holes. There are some shims, item 8, shown in the AIM (page H109 - UPC 1/F5) that could be removed if present to make it lower. I am going to take a closer look later today.
Here is a closer look...no shims just the large box the hinge assembly sits on. Beginning to think bending the arm might be the only choice. However have to be careful in doing so that the lid does not move too far forward as well.
Bending anything to get it to fit just doesn't sound right. Are you sure the shims are not under the bracket?
Take a look to see if the outer skin (top of the deck lid) is de-laminated from the bottom of the deck lid assembly. Mine is de-laminated on the passenger side and sticks up a bit
Thinking you should get new hinges and maybe springs while you are at it . There’s no adjustment for that .
expand the spring shove it full of wooden shims close the lid the spring will fall off.
Bending anything to get it to fit just doesn't sound right. Are you sure the shims are not under the bracket?
Take a look to see if the outer skin (top of the deck lid) is de-laminated from the bottom of the deck lid assembly. Mine is de-laminated on the passenger side and sticks up a bit
Took a look at the lid hinge bracket again and do not see any shims...for sure nothing that would cause a 1/2" rise. Do not see any evidence of de-lamination either. I did find a small gap at the back of the lid bracket (see picture) on the drivers side which I eliminated by tightening the lower bolt. Another idea was that the main fiberglass body is sitting lower in the back and it somehow makes the lid look too high.
The first year of this new model corvette were known for their poor fit so maybe this is just the way it came. Also this car is a Frankenvette with parts from various years so who knows what has been done to it. Thanks for the ideas to check out!
Yes...that is what I ended up doing. I put three washers on each bolt between the front brackets and the lid. With the new weatherstripping in place it does not look too bad. Tape is just to hold the weatherstripping in place for evaluation before gluing. Too worried about bending parts on a 50 year old car.
Edit update:...the spacer under the rear hinge front bolt worked much better (post 15). Took out the washers on the front latch bolts and everything looks perfect.
Redvette2
Last edited by Redvette2; 01-25-2019 at 10:40 AM.
Reason: Updated information
It almost appears that your hinges may have been bent back over the years. That is a huge difference between your deck lid and the rear deck. Something is not right. I know '68's fit and finish was bad but I really doubt Chevy would let that out of the factory.
My '71 deck lid is perfect (except for my de-lamination on the passenger side as I mentioned) and it's got a few shims where the deck lid bolts to the hinges.
It almost appears that your hinges may have been bent back over the years. That is a huge difference between your deck lid and the rear deck. Something is not right. I know '68's fit and finish was bad but I really doubt Chevy would let that out of the factory.
My '71 deck lid is perfect (except for my de-lamination on the passenger side as I mentioned) and it's got a few shims where the deck lid bolts to the hinges.
Count your blessings...I have several extra gaps and offsets all over the car (deck lid was the worst) but I am going to live with it as this car is to be a safe and reliable weekend driver only. If I make it perfect I won't want to drive it!
Took another look at the misalignment as it was still bugging me. I noticed that the hinge bracket where it connects to the deck at the rear was not totally flat and had a curved edge on the rear back edge (See post 7 picture above). Placed 3/16 inch spacer under the deck on the front bolt only as suggested and now the deck sits perfect! Yahoo...thanks for the idea!
Edit Update: Took a look at the AIM, page H110, Lid Control and Lock ASM and it shows a shim (item 17) placed in the exact same location. This was missing on my car.
Redvette2
Last edited by Redvette2; 01-10-2019 at 06:53 PM.
Reason: AIM Info Update
10-07-2018, 09:29 PM
1968 Conv. Rear Deck Lid Adjustment
