thirstybob

I can't wait to get started.
One question..so far.. both front doors get stuck on the front fenders and won't open all the way. Any suggestions on what to repair?

oldcutlass

Looks like it was involved in a frontal impact that pushed everything back. It needs to be loosened up, straightened and realigned.

thirstybob

Thanks for the quick reply. I was thinking the same. I've removed the front bumper and trim, Would I just loosen the fenders and try and shift them to the front? I can't see that the fenders are bent to dented.

oldcutlass

Loosen the core support at the frame, loosen top and bottom fender bolts, and loosen the bolts in both door frames. Shift everything forward to clear while watching your door to fender gaps.

You may have some stressed and/or bent parts.

thirstybob

Thanks for the advise! I'll try that today.

joe_padavano

Hang on a second. The real problem is that the curvature of the front fenders just in front of the doors does not match that of the doors.



There are two bolts at the bottom of the fender, behind the wheel opening, that bolt upwards into clip nuts at the bottom of the cowl. These bolts force the bottom of the fender upwards and cause it to "spring" outward to match the door contour when properly aligned. Frequently rust on the bottom of the fender prevents these bolts from being properly installed, thus the problem you see in this photo. These bolts also have the ability to allow you to pull the bottom of the fender outward to similarly provide clearance. There is also one bolt at the top of the fender that attaches to the door post (you need to open the door to see it). Shims under that tab for this bolt will move the fender outboard at the top, which it also appears to require in this photo.

thirstybob

Thank you! That makes perfect sense. The bolts and mounting are pretty rusted out at the bottom, to what extent, I'm not sure yet.

oldcutlass

I was thinking some of that was caused by the doors hitting and being forced open.

thirstybob

After removing the fenders, I've discovered that someone has attempted a rust repair welding in an old sign in the lower rear part of the fender. I'll fix that and get it mounted back up after the disc brake conversion and the suspension bushings replacement.
Thanks for the help and insight to both of you.

thirstybob

Do you have any suggestions as to who to purchase a patch pane from?

stix

Congrats on your new toy!. I just bought my first 69 cutlass convertible a couple months ago too. Im working out all the bugs that have plagued the car over the years. Let know if you need me to help on anything, sometime old cars can have missing parts and I can check on my car for ya.

thirstybob

Thanks man. Same here if you need any reference.

oldcutlass

http://www.autobodyspecialt.com/cgi-...&category=0085

junior supercar

I have an unused pair for sale. I can't recall the asking price, but much cheaper than the repro houses as I don't need them and they are in the way. Email if interested grp442 at yahoo dot com

Chris