These last few weeks have been a little challenging for me. Work on the car has continued, but I took a break and decided to build a semi-permanent garage with a fully-enclosed canopy (12'x17') from Harbor freight, on a wooden floor built with free scrap wood from the base's scrap yard (so lucky!...). The garage came out nice, but it's been a little difficult to make it weather-proof. I'm still keeping the car in the garage, but the time might come when I need to setup a paint booth for myself if I can't find a painter who can do the job within my budget.
I've have also spent a few days of the weekend at the firing range, enjoying the local wildlife (and saving it with the help of my multitalented wife) and at the hockey arena (Go Penguins!), now that my beloved Yankees have been eliminated (in a most decidedly sweeping manner) by the Detroit Tigers.
The hood, which is a repro piece, never fit well before and its shut line was practically non existent. Still is. I will have to learn how to grind down the sides of the hood (if it can be done, and to what extent?) so as to have an acceptable shutline between the hood and the fenders.
Also I need to level the cowl surface to the hood. Right now I have a 1/4-inch drop between the newly-installed cowl and the passenger side of the hood! So I know that the hood needs further adjustment, since the cowl is right on the money. But this is the time when a little advice from my friends can really help a lot.
I've have also spent a few days of the weekend at the firing range, enjoying the local wildlife (and saving it with the help of my multitalented wife) and at the hockey arena (Go Penguins!), now that my beloved Yankees have been eliminated (in a most decidedly sweeping manner) by the Detroit Tigers.
Sanding and grinding has continued at a slower pace, since I don't like working in cold weather. And believe me, it gets pretty cold here in the Poconos of NE Pennsylvania. This weekend I decided to put the fenders and hood back together to assess fitting of panels, prior to applying body filler on the fenders and doors. And man, do I have my work cut out for me! I made a mistake of not measuring how much old filler I removed here and there (in some areas over 1/8th inch thick!) to assure myself that the panels have been bolted down properly. But regardless, I have a lot of fitting work to do. The sharp side crease doesn't match well from the door to the fender.
The hood, which is a repro piece, never fit well before and its shut line was practically non existent. Still is. I will have to learn how to grind down the sides of the hood (if it can be done, and to what extent?) so as to have an acceptable shutline between the hood and the fenders.
Also I need to level the cowl surface to the hood. Right now I have a 1/4-inch drop between the newly-installed cowl and the passenger side of the hood! So I know that the hood needs further adjustment, since the cowl is right on the money. But this is the time when a little advice from my friends can really help a lot.
There's a LOT of adjustment that can be made to the various panels. The top fender bolts leave a bit of movement forward, back, in, and out as do all of the door hinge bolts. There's a bolt inside the fenders, accessible through the door opening, that can be used to raise or lower the fender ridge line to align with the door. The hood can be adjusted down a bit via the hood hinge fender apron bolts.
ReplyDeleteYeah Ivan. You're running into one of the more time-consuming aspects of a restoration--panel alignment. Alex has some good suggestions on fender alignment. On the hood (metal I presume?) you can lightly grind down the edges for some clearance, but you can't take too much off. Raising the hood hinges to align it with the cowl could be a step to try and then play with the fender alignment. There's a fair amount of twisting and bending you can do with the fenders. For example, once you get the cowl/hood alignment done, do the fender alignment and bold just the top down. Then you can push/pull the fender vertically to get the body lines to match. It's a balancing act, unfortunately as one adjustment one place can throw it off somewhere else. Play with it and let us know how you come out.
ReplyDeleteOk guys. I wasn't sure about the fender bending, I thought about it. Now I'm glad it can be done. my biggest concern was the hood-cowl alignment, but last night I looked (really looked) at the hood hinge assy. and yes, you can adjust it up or down from the firewall some. This is too "major league" for me but I'll figure it out. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDon't underestimate your abilities Ivan. I have no doubt based on what you've tackled so far that you can get it done. BTW...You may need some "shims" under the fender bolts for vertical adjustment. you can get those through many of the Mustang parts distributors. One caution on fender "tweaking"...be sure the front of the fender where the headlight bucket stays in position. Otherwise the headlight trim will not line up with the hood and have a "droop", if that makes sense. Keep diggin' man. You'll get there.
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