I had the entire cowl and floor & trunk pans replaced in my 68 Cutlass Convertible. Inner rear wheel housings and inner quarters rebuilt as well. The body was taken off the frame and supports were welded in place. New body mounts were installed when putting the body back on the frame. All the work is great and I'm very happy but shortly after getting the car back I noticed the gap between the doors and quarters on both sides are very wide at the top (a steady widening as you move up the door). The front and bottom gaps are straight. Also, the seam between the quarters and rockers appears to have collapsed at the back where it meets the fender well. I'm thinking the rear body mounts need to be shimmed. Am I on the right track or do I maybe have bigger issues? Thanks in advance!!

 

Did they hand the quarters with the doors on to check alignment. ? If not then how could they know the quarter panel was square. Just curious because if all your other gaps are square and that one is not then you will find it very hard to get close that top gap since you cant unsquare something that is square to make up the difference if that makes sense. Shimming the rear body mounts wont do anything. since the doors are mounted to the body. You could shim the front core support but then your gap on the rocker panel wont be straight if you are trying to make up for it.

 

Pics?

 

Sorry for the loooonnnnnggggg delay in getting back to this thread. Anyhow, I have attached pictures. These are of the passenger side but both are virtually identical. As previously stated the bottom and front gaps are good while to door to quarter gap widens from bottom to top. I also noticed that the inside gaps are ALL good. This leads me to believe, as Coppercutlass stated earlier, that the issue is with the quarter skins which were done prior to my obtaining the car.

Any input on how to correct this would be greatly appreciated.

I promise to be more diligent in responding this time.

Thanks!!

 

I saw a video on the Eastwood site not too long ago dealing with your exact problem. Their expert actually built up a bead of weld along the trailing edge of the door itself, a single spot at a time, moving around on the edge so no warping would occur. He then ground the welds and used a thin coat of filler to smooth it all out. Of course, his job turned out perfect........ Hope that helps!

 

Tacking welding rod to the door edge, and then finishing will narrow the gap.

 

I've seen that welding rod trick done in a local body shop and it works out very well. As long as the doors are closing well ( latch and striker lining up) it will not be detected. Larry

 

Thanks guys for the responses. Actually found a couple videos as referenced by RandyS. Looks like the rod along with a slight shaving at the bottom should do the trick.

 

Frame machine, then a large C hook around the rocker at the closest to the quarter jamb. Remove the rear body mounts and push up at the rear. That will close the gap at the top and not change the alignment on the rest. However that will not widen the lower gap. Must use good protection on the rocker as not to crush, I don't think it will take much pressure to do this.