Are these gaps normal?

[Fastfun]

Could it be the repop doors? I think it could be, I have read from others that they had to do a lot of adjusting and that the body lines do not line up very good

[Rack Man]

I spent probably 20 hours trying to get my panels lined up (post paint).....and I finally had to say enough and realized that they were never gonna be perfect.....then I looked back at my original pics I had of the truck and realized that they weren't perfect before I dismantled the truck.....

Btw, my DS hood both front and back look nearly identical to your pics above....



RM

[heymoe]

Anyone else have any suggestions on how I can fix the misalignment?
I am not sure if I should loosen the cab and shift it around or add shims to radiator support or what. Kinda at a loss so any experienced help would be greatly appreciated.

[Rat Bastid]

im guessin that the place to start would be making very sure the cab is on the frame SQUARE. Any misalignment at this point will throw off the rest of the panels as you install them, also maybe elonggate your mounting holes on fenders to allow more movement at the cab to tighten the gap.....just a thought or idea,good luck

[heymoe]

Originally Posted by Rat Bastid

im guessin that the place to start would be making very sure the cab is on the frame SQUARE. Any misalignment at this point will throw off the rest of the panels as you install them, also maybe elonggate your mounting holes on fenders to allow more movement at the cab to tighten the gap.....just a thought or idea,good luck

Thanks I am thinking about that also. I am going to loosen the cab mounts and let the front of the cab rock forward some and I believe that will help and also may create some more room for the fenders then I can use a ratchet strap to pull everything in. I will report back tomorrow how things worked.
If this is a completely stupid idea someone please chime in and tell me.
Thanks again

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by heymoe

Anyone else have any suggestions on how I can fix the misalignment?
I am not sure if I should loosen the cab and shift it around or add shims to radiator support or what. Kinda at a loss so any experienced help would be greatly appreciated.

did you buy new panels an doors?

[AirSpeed]

I dont see any pics of the vertical gap between the cowl and the front edge of your door, could the cowl be moved forward a little so you can move the hood forward a little to narrow up the gap at the front of your hood and the grill? Does the rear vertical line on the cowl line up with the fender? Am I making any sense at all?

[Rack Man]

When I put my cab on the frame with all new body bushings I had no "play" whatsover in any direction once I put the bolts in.....Actually I had to hammer in the last bolt, so in my case I could not adjust the squareness of the cab at all.....though, I did check the squareness and it was pretty close.....Maybe you will have some "play" in yours..



RM

[truckpoorpackrat]

Heymoe, just a thought try loosening the lower rear fender bolt, take the core support bolts out, place a jack under the core support and lift it. The fender/door gap should even up, now tighten the lower rear fender bolt & slowly release the jack that is under the core support. If the gap stays correct then see how much shim you need between the core support & core support mount, add an 1/8 to 3/16 inch to the shim then replace the core support mounting bolts & tighten them down. This problem could be the doors but I would think over the years the front cab mounts collapsed more than the rear cab mounts & stressed (bent)the fenders, or maybe the cab supports rusted out and put even more stress on the fenders. Just guessing. James.

[Fitz]

[QUOTE=Sport/Truck;3192689]I got my front clip on & everything is real close to perfection. Until I got to the hood! Seems if I pull it forward it closes the gap in the front, but the gap at the cowl is huge! I have the difference split now, does this look normal?
Any suggestions on adjustment that I may have overlooked?
s/t
QUOTE]

Those gaps can be worked down and made uniform. Your core support is too far forward and the fenders look like they need to be shimmed. It took three days but all of the gaps on my truck are 1/4 inch, all the way around. Fit, shim and do it over and over and over till you want to scream. Go slowly and carefully and, if you can, get a friend with more patience than you have to help. That assumes your frame is straight. If it isn't....head for the frame shop!

[1971 GMC SHORTY]

yep me too would like to see how in depth this one gets.. seeing i will be out of town till December

[treveiger]

yesterday i went to a car show and saw to 1972 chevy trucks one was completely redone top to bottom and one was never touched, the one that was never touched looked perfect but the one that was redone had huge gaps and what the guy did was fix the gaps on the diver side(so it wasnt a eye swore to him)an left close to a 1inch gap on the passanger side hood so its just how it is when you take these trucks apart, sometimes they turn out great, sometimes you have some gaps.

[72BBB]

have you tried shimming the radiator support up

[heymoe]

Originally Posted by 72BBB

have you tried shimming the radiator support up

I was able to get the gaps worked out. I loosened up the cab mounts and re-tightened all of the mounting bolts together. All of the gaps closed up pretty even.

[71blazervt]

I think you just got lucky

Originally Posted by heymoe

I was able to get the gaps worked out. I loosened up the cab mounts and re-tightened all of the mounting bolts together. All of the gaps closed up pretty even.

[gregg72340]

Just a guess but is it because you are using the 67/68 hood and the 69-72 grill moulding that might be throwing the hood off?

[gkesseru]

There is only so much you can do with mismatched sheetmetal. These were work and farm trucks after all!
If you are trying to get perfect body line alignment Then you will have to make up for the sheet-metal with bodywork. I got this method from a body-man:
1. Once you get body, doors and fenders mounted close as possible put a piece of masking tape in the cracks set back just a hair.
2. Use short fiberglass putty and putty right over the door gap so the door and body are perfectly even. Use a very wide putty knife to get the putty line totally flat. I use an 8" plaster knife. In some cases I used a 36" painting mask bar (plastic with a metal edge).
3. Once you get fiberglass real close to perfect, cut the door gap open with a cut-off tool, open door and remove the masking tape.
4. Finish up with fine putty work. Use a long sanding block to get it all mirror flat, sanding by holding long block horizontally and pulling up/down in opposing 45 degree strokes.

[LONGHAIR]

Matching the gaps by reshaping the panels is the prefered way.....but plastic filler is not the best method. It is not very strong and will likely break off at some point.
I prefer to cut the panel itself and push it closer to close the gap. Then weld it back. Of course this has to be done before body work and paint...but then so does the bondo route.
With painted parts you are pretty much stuck with shimming/adjusting.

[72BBB]

did you end up shimming your radiator support at all if so how much

[Sport/Truck]

The only gap I see is the date this was originally posted.

[67chevy1series]

am i just retarted or are the 67 68 chevy and GMC trucks eaier to line up the hood to the cowl and end of fenders? it seems to me that all 69 72 chevy and GMC trucks all have theses gaps... it seems that since the grille comes up to the hood its another area to gap and it makes it harder....

[special-K]

Not only these trucks,but cars too were never built to the standards people expect now. Yes,you can do whatever it takes to get better gaps and alignment and have a vehicle that looks better than new. It's hard to do without body work to get perfect and I choose no body work and just don't look as hard at my trucks. I don't show them anyway. But,when I did,I won some trophies without worrying about all that.