Topic: Frustrated test fitting body panels... Help!

[jtfx6552]

Before I paint everything I think I should make sure everything fits.

I think I have the doors in the correct spot.



Fenders are NOS Ford, circa 1999. On both sides the lower corner where it meets the rocker and lower front corner of the door wants to sit back against the rocker with no gap.





The lower bolt, if I'm assembling correctly, has a few spacers between the fender and rocker. The spacers allow the fender to twist or rotate around the mounting bolt. If I could hold the fender in at the wheel opening, all lines up nice.

Here is a view from the bottom, If I could hold it like this, the door gap is perfect, lol.

[ajd350]

Is there a shim under the front bolt at the apron on top? Many had a shim there from the factory and it can affect the way the fender sits at the area you're struggling with. Too high in the front and the fender wants to rotate in down there, too low and it will push out.

[CharlesTurner]

You can get the doors pretty close, but until you have most of the weight back on the car, all the parts back in the doors and it sitting on all 4 wheels on the ground, there is going to be some variance.  I almost always have to do some adjusting after one is back on the ground.

The gap I see on the top of the door tells me there is some flex in the body the way it's sitting.

[jwc66k]

The doors were put on at the factory and adjusted prior to paint. The car sat on the fixture without any other component. The door strikers and weather seals will make a difference so start without them. However, after 50 years, your best alignment is with wheels on the ground and all running gear installed (interior components like seats probable won't make a difference). With the front fenders off, the rear and lower edges are adjusted. Then the fenders were installed and adjusted. A consistent 3/16 to 1/4 inch gap was what desired.
Jim   

[CharlesTurner]

The doors were put on at the factory and adjusted prior to paint. The car sat on the fixture without any other component.

I've noticed on many occasions where I've removed all the components from an original door and the back top corner of the door will be about 1/8" or so higher than the quarter.  Most certainly, the factory adjustment took the weight of the door components into consideration with the original alignment.

[jtfx6552]

Thanks guys, all good suggestions. My issue is more related to locating the bottom of the fender. It seems the factory attachment points aren't working for me to keep the bottom of the fender away from the front if the door. The fender twists or rotates around the bolt that goes onto the rocker such that however far forward I pull the fender, it ends up against the back lip of the rocker and too tight with the door.

[CharlesTurner]

Thanks guys, all good suggestions. My issue is more related to locating the bottom of the fender. It seems the factory attachment points aren't working for me to keep the bottom of the fender away from the front if the door. The fender twists or rotates around the bolt that goes onto the rocker such that however far forward I pull the fender, it ends up against the back lip of the rocker and too tight with the door.

Well, consider that it's a Ford replacement fender and not an assembly line piece.  If you have an original assembly line fender, you might try bolting it on to compare the fit.  There can be variance in the service replacement parts depending on when they were made.  The stuff that was being put out in the 80's/90's was done on worn tooling.