Fender alignment

[schendel]

I have a '72 GMC 4x4 I have been putting a lot of work into the last couple of years. The truck was my wife's grandfathers and needed help. I am finally getting down to body work and I would like to make this my daily driver. My question is, how do you align the hood, fender and doors? Also I am having an issue with the doors being so far out of adjustment you have to slam the doors for them to shut and you have to lock them from the outside.

I am new to this forum and I have been enjoying reading past posts and I knew I had found a vast resource of info for my hobby.

Thanks in advance.

[409biscayne]

Originally Posted by schendel

I have a '72 GMC 4x4 I have been putting a lot of work into the last couple of years. The truck was my wife's grandfathers and needed help. I am finally getting down to body work and I would like to make this my daily driver. My question is, how do you align the hood, fender and doors? Also I am having an issue with the doors being so far out of adjustment you have to slam the doors for them to shut and you have to lock them from the outside.

I am new to this forum and I have been enjoying reading past posts and I knew I had found a vast resource of info for my hobby.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry im no help , but i wanted to say hi from Spokane . Welcome to the madness .

[kingsolver72]

Welcome to the board.All my trucks have to be lock from the outside with the key.As far as aligning your doors,fenders and hood,I start with the doors.The key is to do the adjusting little bit at a time.Get your door real close to where you want it to be and loosen up 2 bolts from the top hinge and 2 from the bottom,keeping 1 bolt on the top hinge and botton hinge tight until you are ready to adjust them.(I work on the hinges that are attached to the a pillar).Then slowly loosen the other 2 bolts moving the hinges forward or back and up or down,what ever is needed.Next the fenders,again small increments are what is best.The hood is the same principal,Loosen 1 bolt on the hood side of the hinge leaving the other tight.I will try to work 1 side at a time.There is better explanation on how to do these adjustments in the faq section I think.Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going.I am sure there will be others who will speak up.

[MDC]

schendel
Sorry I can't help, but wanted to say welcome from Texas. And yes there is a large amount of knowledge to be had here, all you have to do is ask.

[kingsolver72]

schendel,go to the "faq submissions" page 5,under the heading "Martinsrs basics of body panel alignment" is a very exhaustive write up on just what you are asking.

[stllookn]

Welcome from Seattle, WA! Bring it over...I will adjust them for you...it is hard to explain. The hinges adust up and down and in and out. The latch at the rear of the door will adjust in three planes! I start at the top rear of the door and make sure the gaps at the top, rear of the door and bottom are correct first. The gap between the front fender and door can be handled later when you adjust the front clip.

If you only need to adjust the door in and out you can do this with the door latch plate and the bolts that hold the door to the hinge. If you have to align the door in the opening (adjust the gaps) you will need to remove the front front fenders to gain access to the hinge bolts for doing this adjustment.

Before you loosen any bolts, if this is your first try at this, mark around all the hinges and the door latch plate with a pencil or scribe so that you know exactly where the door was when you started. This will help you if you only need to make a couple of minor adjustments. After you have done a couple of these you can forget about marking it...since it will become second nature.

Good Luck...keep asking questions...it is the only way to learn.

[Palf70Step]

Amongst the other references, alignment of body panels is much more patience than anything else. Don't try to fix them all at once. I start with the doors, then work the fenders and hood into place. But you'll be back to the doors again in the process. Remember little baby tweaks. You feel yourself getting aggravated, walk away, take a breather.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the greatest old trucks.

[schendel]

Thank you all for your advice. I will give it a shot over the Christmas break. The alignment became worse when I replaced the original cab mount bushings and I suppose it's sitting a little different now.

[Palf70Step]

If you haven't also replace your core support bushings. Old copre/new cab bushings make alignment even more fun.

[Green Machine]

If your doors are bare, they will sag down at the back once you put in all the glass, regulators, and other parts. Don't know how to resolve that one, I might have to weigh everything and come up with some kind of weight to put in there during adjustment.

[krue]

Here is the best way to get around the FAQ Submissions page.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=157669

It has links to everything we have. You want to check out Martinsr's basics thread on panel alignment. Then just for the heck of it check out the rest of his articles, they're great reading.

[krue]

BTW Welcome to the board from South Mississippi.