My car front clip was repaired and repainted when the last owner had it. Since Ive owned the car I have never been happy with the gaps between the front clip and the doors. The hood is also not flush on one side. It just isn't right. Is adjusting the gaps something that I can do or should I take it to a shop? Im not a body guy but I do everything else. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Aligning the front clip/door gap?
- Thread starter DaveyX87
- Start date
machinegun
Active Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2001
Take it a reputable body shop. If you have never done it before you can pull your hair out
mikestertwo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2006
I just went through this on my GN. I wasn't happy with the gap on the right side between the front clip and the door and the gap between the door and the rear quarter. It was time consuming and required a lot of patience. I also had to adjust the hood after getting the gaps to my satisfaction. I would take your car to a good body shop and be done with it. JMHO
What's wrong with the gaps, I need more info, example gap between the lower part of the fender to door is larger than top of the fender to door. There are tricks I have learned , being a body guy for 30 years, that you can do to get proper gaps on G Body's , all you need is hand tools and a jack. If you can post pics it would be helpful since G Body's had crappy gaps to begin with and once you remove the front clip they even get worse. It's easy to do, I can walk you through it.
If you want to tighten up the gap up top loosen the two 15mm upper fender bolts, one is under the hood and the other is inside the door jam. Loosen them enough to allow the fender to move but not so loose you lose the shims, maybe one complete turn or so. Then use a jack and a couple pieces of wood, towards the front of the frame rail, there's a nice flat spot at the very front before the bumper absorber. Slowly jack up the car and watch the gap until the desired gap is achieved . Then tighten bolts and remove jack. It shouldn't take much, be careful not to over do it. For the hood there is a 7 or 8mm screw on the back side of the hood between the hood and the fender, loosen it, then put upward pressure on the front of the hood allowing the hood to pivot forcing the back coner down then tighten screw. Your going to need two people for this, it's possiable the plastic nut incert on the hinge that the screw goes into is stripped from overtightening . Remember the gaps on the G Bodys, from the factory, where pretty big and uneven from today's standards. Let me know how you made out? I hope this helps.
mikestertwo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2006
For the hood you may have to loosen the two 13mm bolts that hold the hinge to the fender. Loosen the back bolt. SLIGHTLY loosen the front bolt. Lift up on the hood...the hinge will pivot on the front bolt forcing the back of the hinge down. Tighten the back bolt. Tighten the front bolt. I mark around the bolts with a Sharpie marker before I loosen anything so I know where I started and how much I moved it.
mikestertwo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2006
What does the gap look like between the door and the rear quarter? What does it look like between the bottom of the door and the rocker?Here's my issue.
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Dave all you have to do is loosen the two 15mm bolts on the bottom of fender, one is in the lower part of door jam the other straight up on bottom of fender and one 13mm in the back part of wheel well and jack up as described above. What I have learned is if you want to close up gap on top of fender or widen lower part of fender gap loosen bolts in the desired area and jack up font until the desired gap is achieved. If you want to widen top or narrow bottom gap you again loosen bolts in the desired area and jack up on the frame behind the front wheel, about where the door and fender meet, near the body mount. I hope this helps.Here's my issue.
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- May 28, 2001
My $.02.....
1. If the body mounts are not "fresh", {either rubber or poly}, adjusting can become a biatch.
2. I also check the condition of the hinges. {Including the hood}.
3. I always check the body for sitting as square as possible on the frame.
4. A look at the chassis, body section of the shop manual helps.
Prior to ANY panel adjustments, we ALWAYS cover the panel edges w/ masking tape.
This includes the edges of the bumper. One misstep, and the bumper can peel the filler paint.
Putting $200K street rods together, is NOT a place one wants to find chipped paint!
Just sayin..
1. If the body mounts are not "fresh", {either rubber or poly}, adjusting can become a biatch.
2. I also check the condition of the hinges. {Including the hood}.
3. I always check the body for sitting as square as possible on the frame.
4. A look at the chassis, body section of the shop manual helps.
Prior to ANY panel adjustments, we ALWAYS cover the panel edges w/ masking tape.
This includes the edges of the bumper. One misstep, and the bumper can peel the filler paint.
Putting $200K street rods together, is NOT a place one wants to find chipped paint!
Just sayin..
Appreciate all the help/advice.
1. ALL my mounts body/suspension/engine are poly
2. hinges seem to by perfect, doors hang and open/close like new.
3. took care of that way back when the body bushings were changed.
4. good advice, any particular page(s) you can recommend?
1. ALL my mounts body/suspension/engine are poly
2. hinges seem to by perfect, doors hang and open/close like new.
3. took care of that way back when the body bushings were changed.
4. good advice, any particular page(s) you can recommend?
mikestertwo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2006
There is a 13mm bolt that holds the plastic wheel well to the body directly behind the front tire.
I got around to adjusting my fender gap today. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it any closer. I loosened the two 15 mm bolts (one by the hood hinge and the other inside the door jam). I slowly jacked up the front frame rail behind the bumper mounts. I just couldn't get it to move. I did, however, get the hood aligned with the advice of you guys on here. I might try the fender again at some point. I will try loosening some of the other bolts to see if that helps.
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