C-3 front clip sag
 

Are these old bodies prone to sag and create bigger gap at top of the door(requiring some shimming somewhere)...or is this mfg. defect and some material add is going to be needed to clean this line up? Back of door is nice...whole rest of the car is actually.

'77 L-82, loaded.
Thanks!

How do you rotate these pics on here....machine keeps orientating my stuff wrong?!!

Go into the 'test' section on the forum...and test it or go back in and edit it. I always make sure I have the photo in my computer as I want it to be seen and I have no problems.

Is the car on the ground when this photo was taken???

I would bet...that if you jacked up your front end and jack it up from under the center cradle area..and see if this area closes up.

Is the other side the same way???

I would also bet that this car was supported using a jack stands in the GM recommended location and it allowed the front end to put a lot of pressure on the gusset at your windshield/cowl area....which is held in by pop rivets...and these rivets are more than likely fatigued and can not allow the front clip to settle back when it is on the ground. Once this area gets messed with...all it takes is some of the crappy seam sealer GM used falls off and slides down under the gusset and there you ahve it...it is now shimmed up-...and then that is when rust can build up and so on.

I would also bet that if you raised your front end as I earlier stated and put a jack stand right under the door to front clip gap..and let it down..the gap you have now would open up even more...and if you moved the jack stand a bit more further to the front of the car...the same thing would happen.

And so anyone who reads this wants to come back and state that their car is perfect and the gap does not widen. I would tell you that you should count your blessings...because I have seen this problem more times than I care to remember.

DUB

Oh I believe you DUB. In fact, I've already seen it sag more when I once inadvertently started lifting the car by my lifts' arm(single post lift with big arm that goes under vehicle)instead of using the lift pads. And yes, to answer your question, the sag/gap between top of door and front fender are out on both sides.

Soooo, could I lift it slightly that same way again(right behind cowl area)and then clean out the gusset you mention that gets seam sealer in it and ends up acting like a shim. Can this gusset area even be accessed?

Is it easier to just go ahead with VPA and touch up this little area?

Thanks for your detailed explanation about the gusset/sag DUB...you're great! :thumbs:

The ONLY way you are going to get to that gusset is to take the front clip off the car. It is covered by the end of the top hood surround. NOW... Some people choose to cut the top corner off the top hood surround to gain access to this gusset....I choose NOT to do it like that. Your choice ...obviously.

Look at POST#7...the first photo...and when the front clip is off...you can see that triangular gusset at the end of where the top hood surround meets the windshield and top of the door.

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...ip-1969-a.html

YES...the easiest way to close the gap is to use VPA to extend out fender/top hood surround to meet with the door.

Look at Page 151...POST 3020 on the thread below.

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...store-151.html

Keep in mind...depending on the structural integrity of the gussets and their possible movement. There is NO guarantee that filling the gaps in is going to stay like that forever. If the gusset keeps gettign worse and rust builds up and applies upward pressure on the gusset..the gaps can grow wider. SO...think about it ( not saying you aren't)....if you are using your lift that you know it can cause this area to widen by where it is lifting the car..and you use your lift and something gets under that area again...the gap that you got to look good can look just like what you have now.

Obviously this is my opinion on this and no empirical data to prove any of it...these comments are from what I have seen and experienced over the years.

DUB

Thank you DUB...now I can get my ducks in a row. :thumbs:

Dub, would worn out body bushings contribute to the gaps?

If you stop and think about it...if the bushings were worn out...it should not raise up...it should close the gap. So.,..in my opinion...a worn #1 body mount bushing should not be able to do this.

With the #2 body mount that is in the hinge post area is so close..I doubt that it could cause this issue either.

And if the bushing is rusting and swelling...I do not think that the amount of force that the rust is creating can actually cause a bolt to stretch.

DUB

Thanks Dub for the rely, I was just curious...

:thumbs::thumbs:

Good to be curious and ask questions as I always say.

Hopefully what I previously wrote made sense...because I can not see how the rocker channel that is bolted to the frame can independently move drastically in another direction from the frame. That rocker channel is rather stout.

DUB