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Re: fender and hood gap?
These trucks were far from perfect.
Here's a story. When I bought my truck it was well used. There was a 20" long dent in the passenger door that I wanted to fix. After a bunch of attempts to pull it I finally gave up and removed the skin. During this time the guy who promised to help me skipped town so I ended up seeking help and advice from folks who had done this work for years. They all told me I wouldn't have good luck trying to re-use the old door skin. Well I worked my butt off and got it as straight and fixed as I could then I carefully reinstalled it. I thought it came out ok until I bolted it on the cab and realized the lower rear corner of the door stuck out over 1/4." Disappointed in all the wasted work I found an unmolested door. Imagine how it felt to see that door sticking out the same amount. Turns out the cab was built incorrectly. The door could never have fit properly.
You'll find a ton of issues on a stock vehicle. Hood gaps are usually off by a bunch. The centerline of my hood was over 1/8" off center. The hinge nuts were welded in so the hood didn't install straight. Maybe because they put the hood centerline in the center of the hood opening. And the fenders were offset slightly to make the hood gap look right. When you get back to the doors the square corners on the front of the doors was below flush when the rest of the door was flush. The body lines that surround the door glass didn't match the lines on the cab. One of the rear fenders was angled slightly in the bed as well.
Most of these issues were fixed although at 24ish years old I ran out of patience with the hood. I wish I'd worked to get the hood gaps better. Cutting, welding, filling were all part of the process. And it took a bunch of help from really good body guys to fix what GM never bothered to make right.
These pictures are from a truck that sold at auction a few years ago. It's a very nice restoration that looks very original. I can't see the actual sale price but they expected upwards of $75k. Look at the panel mismatches and decide for yourself what you'll accept in your own truck.
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