We discussed this a while back... about the radiator support holding the front end up and in place under a stack of shims, which are tack welded to each side at the very front of the frame. Because of differences in height between the left and right side, the factory installed the correct amount of shims on each side in order to achieve the correct riding height, and then tack welded them in place to keep them from squeezing out.

I'm sure these shims had to be installed after the body was finished and hanging loose over the front of the frame, how else would they know how many shims to install?

In my case, I have 6 shims on one side and 7 shims on the other. I assumed this amount would still be OK, when I bonded on my new one piece front end, but I was wrong, not even close, there are waaay too many existing shims for the front end to seat properly. Getting the radiator support and the radiator support reinforcements (mounted inside the wheel well) in there and drilling the holes in the fender skirts ONE TIME "correctly" is a bitch. I found the 2 big bolts which hold the frame and radiator support together, would not meet up correctly, except under a lot of stress, which is not good.

I think I'm going to bang out all the shims and start over, adding them as necessary (if any) till I get the correct ride height and both sides are even. If you have done a body off and have installed new body mounts, this may apply to you also. There are so many variables when the car was put together at the factory, it is unreliable to assume the existing shim stack will be OK, when you do a body off or replace the front end. If the amount of shims just happens to work out, you're just lucky.

Any thoughts or comments? Thanks, Patrick :cheers:

 

I've been thinking about this the other day, and wondering what I would do if the number was incorrect after I dropped the body back on. I think busting them loose now will be a lot easier than when the body's back on.

I'm trying to visualize how difficult it may be to pop them back in to that location after the body drop. Any comments Patrick?

 

'67, I think I'm going to pop them off, one at a time, to break the weld, (it's only a small spot weld) and maybe grind off the excess, and them slide them back in, until I have the correct body height. Once I have the large bolts tightened down and everything is OK, I will have them tack welded at the rear, just like before.

To get to these shims though, I'm going to have to remove the hood and radiator support. I wish I had thought of that before the support went in! :cheers:

 

Sorry that I've learned at your expense, FXT, but I think your experience will be a good one for me. I'm going to remove them now.......AND.....deal with them after the body drop, but before the hood and rad.

 

These type of 'adjustments' should come as no surprise as the mass production model being used in producing these cars deliberately left a margin for error as their manufactoring tolerences required it. No two bodies were exactly alike; no two frames were either.

When I helped my buddy reassemble a 57 two door hardtop, we discovered just how far off things can be and still look right. The owner bought it partly restored and took it to a body shop for completion. They started on it but realized it was beyond their capability and stopped. The guy brought it to my buddy in boxes. It wasn't pretty.

He ordered a new floorpan and installed it exactly right- cross measured, braced. When it came time to plop the body on the restored frame, we found out how essential shims are. The body was straight and exact. The frame wasn't but was close enough to shim.

When it came time to reinstall the brightwork, we discovered something else...... the original stuff fit and the repro pieces the owner bought (big $$$) didn't come close. My buddy had the original stuff polished and/or restored whatever he could and returned as much of the repro stuff as possible. The owner was pretty shocked to learn the expensive repro stuff didn't fit.

67, theoretically, if your body and frame haven't been modified by the restoration process, your support shims shouldn't need to be changed but are you willing to take the chance?

 

I don't envy you the task ahead, but good for you for making sure it's right. At Shows, Cruises and just about anywhere theres a gathering of Middies, more often than not you're going to see some that , even though they shine like a new penny, they sit "sqwankered" because of incorrect body repairs/shimming, etc.

My guess is that the average body shop doing the same thing you're doing would've just forced the issue, but maybe given a little extra buff to the spray job.

 

The body was assembled as a unit on a jig and was rather uniform at least where the body mounts are. The frame was welded together and then checked against a standard. Shims and shim locations were marked with how many shims were necessary to fill the gaps and they were then installed. The front pack was welded to the frame. The other locations were taped with wide tape resembling masking tape. The body and the frame had not even seen each other before then. The problem that we have as restorers is that we are dealing with cars that have sustained frame damage and bodys that are put together. All bets are off as to how many shims are needed at any one location. Just install the body and slide in the necessary amount of shims to fit your application. Dont make this harder than it needs to be. They dont need to be welded together and there is no magic number. The only reason that they were welded on is for convenience on the assembly line. You can easily slide individual shims under there as needed.