BODY GAP ADVICE

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CFD244

CFD244

"I LOST MY ID IN A FLOOD"
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Hi Folks

Have a look at these door gaps and tell me what you think. This appears to be the best adjustment I could get based on MY attempt. The body lines are lined up, and I think any further manipulation will throw them off. Please chime in. Car has OEM replacement quarters, non original doors, and non original OEM fenders. It appears as that the passenger side will present in a similar manner.

Thanks

IMG_4695.JPG


IMG_4696.JPG
 
They look good they were never perfect when new and you did a nice job lining them up.
Will be a sweet ride when your done I'm sure.
 
Good Lord I wish my **** looked that good!!! The body gaps on this stuff was horrible right off the assembly line back in the day. The amount of A body cars that Chrysler pumped out of Hamtramck MI. and Los Angeles CA. yearly was insane. Quality suffered as a result. Plus the "its good enough" mentality that the assembly line workers and buying public had at the time. Toyota and Volkswagen both changed that perception with the buying public. Good high quality built cars that got great gas mileage.

As a result we are all now used to perfect panel gaps, and better fit and finish on new cars no matter who makes it. As a consumer we realized that it could be done better, and demanded it by buying foreign cars that were built better. This old stuff wasnt perfect. Far from it. Get em close, and fuggetaboutit.

If you want it better, I have seen where people will weld wire onto the open gaps at the edges and grind it down to fill a door or fender gap to get it closer.
 
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CFD244 said:
Hi Folks

Have a look at these door gaps and tell me what you think. This appears to be the best adjustment I could get based on MY attempt. The body lines are lined up, and I think any further manipulation will throw them off. Please chime in. Car has OEM replacement quarters, non original doors, and non original OEM fenders. It appears as that the passenger side will present in a similar manner.

Thanks

View attachment 1715689046


View attachment 1715689047
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They look good. The trick is to line the door to the quarter panel and door sill, then line the fenders and hood to the front of the doors. I spent about 40 hours fine tuning my black cars panels in, but it paid off in the long run.

Cuda 2 (Medium).jpg
 
Keep in mind that you need to set the gaps with the weight on the wheels (or at least at the axle points) and the doors with the weight of everything that mounts in and on them.
 
I can't think of a customer that I haven't had this conversation with....
Almost every one of my customers suffer from this delusion of perfect body lines...
If we could turn back the timetable to 1965 and walk down a line of GTOs not one of them would have a good Gap line in any of the panels let alone the same bad Gap line here or there...
It's simply was not a subject back then...
 
cudamark said:
Keep in mind that you need to set the gaps with the weight on the wheels (or at least at the axle points) and the doors with the weight of everything that mounts in and on them.
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The car is a shell right now sitting on all 4 wheels. So, in order to do this right, I need to assemble the car, set the gaps and disassemble to send it out for paint? I didn't want to mess with the gaps too much with fresh paint in case I need to cut and weld to get them right.
 
Part of the key is something the OP got damned near perfect - consistent gaps from top to bottom. What really looks bad IMHO is gaps that narrow to the bottom or top. As I recall there is one point that can't be adjusted, maybe the top hinge on the door (two bolts)? Set that point and then make adjustments out from there.
 
You can do the doors by weighing all it's pieces and then put a sand bag the same weight inside the door shell. Hard to figure the weight for the rest of the car, but, you can make a guess on where to to add weight where it will effect the body flex. With the car on it's feet, that shouldn't be too hard. Off the ground, I'd have stands under the rear axle shock plates and front lower control arms out by the ball joint. If it has no interior at all, no engine, trans, bumpers, trunk lid, etc, I'd get some buddies to add weight to see how things change. Maybe a couple sitting in the engine compartment, 2 more inside the car, and one in the trunk would be a good start. That should give you an idea of how the gaps will change once the car is assembled. Naturally, it would have been better to have replaced the parts before disassembly and set all the gaps then, but, sometimes that just isn't feasible.
 
cudamark said:
You can do the doors by weighing all it's pieces and then put a sand bag the same weight inside the door shell. Hard to figure the weight for the rest of the car, but, you can make a guess on where to to add weight where it will effect the body flex. With the car on it's feet, that shouldn't be too hard. Off the ground, I'd have stands under the rear axle shock plates and front lower control arms out by the ball joint. If it has no interior at all, no engine, trans, bumpers, trunk lid, etc, I'd get some buddies to add weight to see how things change. Maybe a couple sitting in the engine compartment, 2 more inside the car, and one in the trunk would be a good start. That should give you an idea of how the gaps will change once the car is assembled. Naturally, it would have been better to have replaced the parts before disassembly and set all the gaps then, but, sometimes that just isn't feasible.
Click to expand...
I got this car in a pile....been working on it for 3 years. It seems like any hinge adjustment I do will cause the body lines to mismatch, and that I can't stand. I'll try weighting it down and see what happens. I have a block and transmission installed for shifter bracket mock-up as a start. BTW, I'll have to find weights because I haven't got 3 friends!
 
CFD244 said:
Thanks for the reply. Interesting...And that is original? In your opinion, how does it compare to the pics I originally posted?
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your gaps are very nice and crisp. Don’t sweat a little variation here and there, you’re right on with the body line, and the best possible with all the other points. Sometimes that’s the best you can do.

yep on the gaps, the car is all original and never been repainted, never in an accident.
 
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