I put the rad support in on a 68 442, with replacement mounts, then I went to install the fenders and where they mount to the rad support one was over an inch above the rad support and one was not as bad but still too high. I can push the fenders down enought to attach them but then it rolls the inside edge over too much and closes up the hood opening, something tells me these mounts are not right, they are the square ones too, but it seems the rad support is just too low. If anyone can possibly give me a measurement between the frame and rad support in the area of the mounts that would tell me if I am right or not.
Thanks in advance!

 

Is this the way your mounts are installed?

Brian

 

Yes it is, except for the shims. I loosened the rad support bolts and now it sits 3/8" above the mount

 

I'll get you the height of the mounts I have tomorrow and will post it for you.

 

I bet it's the driver's side is worse, right?

68's have a problem with it. Either the cowl was off or the fender stamping was but just about every 68 has the "driver's side droop". You'll notice the eyebrow moulding tilting in toward the hood. When you push the fender down it pops out at the rear bottom. You can force the front corner of the fender down perfectly if the back of the fender is bolted tight. When you let go it pops right back. There's no easy fix to get it right. I've tried everything and only gotten it close.

Also look at the assembly manual to show you how many shims are required on top of the core support bushing. I'm pretty sure it was two. That won't fix why one side was higher than the other though. BTW 3/8" is nothing. You can pull that down and I doubt you'll have a problem with it staying

 

Thanks Brian that will help a lot. Mike, it will pull down easily but it also rolls the fender/hood edge in pretty hard, but I'll sort it out.

 

The bushing is 3/4" tall and with the 2 extra shims it brings the total height to 1". Did you remove the fenders too or just the radiator support?

Brian

 

not to insult but is the car sitting on the suspension and not on jack stands placed by the cowl this makes a big difference on these cars, just trying to help

 

Good thought and it never hurts to ask.

 

Actually it was on stands at the cowl on the weekend when I loosened the support bolts and had the 3/8 gap, it's now on its feet though. I will measure and see but I don't think these mounts were 3/4 thick, nice to have a guidline now.When I first started bolting the front end on I did the rad support first then when I put the fenders on and had them held at the rear, the front bolt holes in the fender were a good inch above the rad support holes and that was while it was on the ground, I could push it down but thought it was weird that I had to go that far, but I did and then while it was up on stands I nbolted the support just to see how much it would come up, now with your numbers Brian I will check where I'm at, thank you.

 

Just as an FYI, you need to have the car's weight sitting on the suspension before you begin to do any sheetmetal alignment, especially on the front end assembly. The front frame section will droop when you place stands under the cowl due to the weight of the engine and therefore nothing will look or fit correctly.

Brian

 

Brian, I have been working on getting the body ready for primer and I keep forgetting to measure the mounts but I finally did and these are 3/4" as well. So once its sitting properly and shimed acordingly we should be ok. Thanks for the measurement!