1971 dodge dart body panel gaps

[BigStrok3]

I've got this dodge dart I'm wanting to start working on. It was hit in its side awhile back. It has some dents on the a pillar by the windshield and the door and fender have been replaced and quarter has been patched. There is a 1/4 inch plus gap in between the door and front fender that i cant seem to get to come together closer. Was wondering what a guy could do to fix the gap. The door to quarter panel looks like it's where it belongs and the hood and fender lines up on the front. The passenger side gaps look great. Any help appreciated. Thanks

 

[72bluNblu]

I really don't see anything to be concerned about there. The gap is a little bit on the wide side, but, it's nothing at all out of the ordinary. The body panel gaps on these cars weren't great right from the factory.

You could try loosening up all the fender mounting bolts and sliding it back a smidge, but that would obviously change how it fits to the front edge of the hood. It looks like the rear of the fender could come out a little too, but again, not much, and that would change the hood gaps. Just looking at how the fender fits to the cowl and door that's all I would do, it looks like it could come back and out just a tiny bit.

People need to forget the idea that the gaps on these cars should all be perfect. They never were to start off with. Maybe a few cars were good, but a lot weren't, and there's no guarantee any particular car can be adjusted to be "perfect".

This is what my '71 Dart GT looks like, and it didn't have any front end damage that would change these gaps.

 

[David W]

Mopar did not supply gap gauges to the assembly people in the factory and to pass QC the fender had to have 98% of it bolts.

 

[intergalactica]

I agree with 72bluNblu... older cars don’t have the tolerances that a newer car has because the panels were installed by actual human beings rather than robotic arms like what we see in modern manufacturing plants.

 

[Dartswinger70]

I suggest if you haven't already, do a search on this forum about fitting fenders, doors, hood etc. there's a guy or gal on here, and I forget exactly their forum name. He or she has a process of lining the panels up using a carpenters pencil to measure the gap, but you have to start with the hood I believe. You line the hood gap up with the cowl, and then line everything else up off of that. (I think) Either way, I found it to work. It gets tricky with the doors etc, because it seems like the doors have alot of different angles that they can be adjusted at, but patience gets you there. Oh and like said, a carpenters pencil from Home Depot, its a pretty wide gap.