My bodyman hung the fenders and doors in order to mask for the side stripes and I find the gaps between the door and fender to be excessive. This is a hard area to align correctly, as my SX isn't all that great either. The assembly manual indicates the gaps are to be blended as the gaps rise to the top of the fender and door, but I don't like this initial alignment at all. Have others run into this issue and are there any procedures that I could pass along before I give the go ahead to mask the stripes? It seems its all a compromise but any adeas would be appreciated.

 

Any bodyman worth the name can adjust the fender and door to get a better fit than that. The cars weren't computer built, so the gaps won't be perfect, but the factory line men did pretty well, much better than what you show above.

 

Be careful that the body man is not imparting his idea of how your car should look vs. what you want. He may be trying to keep one measurement exact not understanding it has to be a compromise of all the different surfaces that have to align. For example, if he is trying to keep the fender peak area on a perfect plane with the door (factory allows a +.040 panel "height" difference) it will cause something else to be way out. Good luck!!

 

I do this for a living first of all. I rebuilt mine according to factory specs that were provided to me 3/16 to a quarter, door to fender gap. I shoot for as even as possible every where else and very few people notice the bottom gap. I did not go with perfecting this area the FACTORY HAD TOLERANCES TO DEAL WITH! I am not a fan of customizing certain areas of old car bodys but engine work etc was good back then and good for us now it was the way back then. I received my info from y=== --e. just ask for it I did this about 11 years ago and was very happy with the info they will supply all gaps to you. by the way fender gaps are adjusted by certain thicknesses of the shims and it takes time and work forward from the rear.

 

My front right fender had that wide gap at top, ended up being a frame issue from accident. Had to have frame straightened to fix. These old cars have a lot of history, hope your fix is an easy one.

 

Thanks for the responses.

 

Those gaps can be made near perfect.It takes a very talented body man to do it as it takes some stretching, bending,shimming and time and patience,it should have been made close before it was primed or painted but still can be done after.

Greg

 

2 cents from here. Looking @ pics gap seems to be closing a tad as you move down the gap. One part of the solution may be raising radiator support 1/16 or 1/8 which will change the fender's "angle of attack" relative to the door.

Not sure if it's the answer but something to examine or try & see if it helps.

 

X2...I'm not a body guy, but I've tinkered with them. I think you need to shim your core support. Not sure what kind of body guy you have, that would make me nervous if he didn't suggest that.

 

X2 and easy to do!

 

I think this thread might go on so here is another little tid bit. The door to fender gap if to close can create a problem with the edges and the gap needs to be at the tolerance point for proper useage.

 

I simply can't look at one picture of a gap and make a recommendation. There are just too many ways to look at a gap and adjust the parts to fit. The very first 70 442 that I aligned the doors on took me over two weeks to get them to where I thought they were good. That was in 1978. Since then I've worked the gaps on thousands of this body style. Here's some of my observations. First, “Perfect is a place you can only get closer to but never arrive”. Generally the original fenders and doors fit better then the service part replacements. Although no two will fit exactly alike. So some are better than others. If the top of the fender to door gap is too small, Opening the door will cause rubbing between the fender and door. Also if the gap is too small and you park the car with one tire up on a curb and open the door, it may rub. Many times I've had customers question the size of the gaps on these cars and each time I will carefully show them how close the clearance is when the doors open. On the most extreme show cars I've had to weld and grind, adding and subtracting material to the edges of the panels to get them to “better then factory fit”. Sorry if I don't have an easy fix or answer, but hopefully you'll have a better understanding how almost impossible a perfect gap can be. ~BOB

 

Thanks again for the replies and informative comments. I was at the shop on Friday, and had a look in person. Part of the problem is when you concentrate on one particular area, things can look bad, however when looking at the car in total, and from most angles, it is OK. Could it possibly be better is hard to know. I wish it was better for sure. My bodyman is a metal magician and an excellent painter, however he was ready to give the car back to me he was that frustrated with the fit of the fender to door gaps. However, we measured the gaps with a digital caliper and they are within GM specs, of .22 at three quarters up the door and .32 at the peak. My SX actually is .34 at the peak. He showed me, as you stated Bob, even at these gaps the door and fender almost touch when opening. We kind of closed the book on the subject on Friday and someday this week he will be masking the 442 tripple stripes down the sides, so fit has to be finalized. I read with great interest the comments about raising the rad support slightly to tip in the fender towards the door. That step seems plausible, but after your comments Bob, I don't think I can raise this issue with him again. I've lived with worse on my SX, done by a different shop twenty odd years ago, so as disappointed I am, I think I will live with it. I may try the rad support adjustment on the SX and see how it affects the other gaps. You can spend tons of time on this stuff and end up right back where you were or end up chipping paint. Compromise is part of life, I'm telling myself. Anyway, I appreciate all the comments and hopefully the rest of the project will move along with less stress.

 

amen bob I hear you on that it really is hard to explain,,we have to sometimes explain further to them. I get a lot of aftermarket parts at work also and a compromise is what is needed at all times and almost all of the time,I am a believer in quality work and I am not a bondo bandit metal craftsmanship is what I shoot for and no more then 3/32 of bondo plus glaze. Europe has high standards for people doing this work and it is a good lead to follow. but on gaps there can be a lot of unforeseen issues like metal structure on aftermarket parts etc. I built my olds according to factory tolerances and common sense. I also pulled my frame first for squareness. I am also not hi jacking this thread just covering all bases here,knowledge is power for all of us not 1 man upmanship.