1968 Charger bent headlight door

[Tristans68]

Hey guys, I am reinstalling my grille after an engine swap and I have noticed that the driver-side headlight door has become bent somehow.

At first I thought maybe the actuator rod was causing the issue, but after pulling the rod out and leaving the headlight door hanging on the studs, the bend is still there...

I didn't  remove the grille from the surround during the swap, so I have no idea what is causing this...

Any ideas?

Thanks

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Maybe the stop tab on the headlight door broke off? That would cause it to sit at a funny angle.

[Tristans68]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

The stop tab is still intact, but it almost seems like the mounting tabs/studs are warped, have you ever heard of that happening?

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Its always possible that something could warp but there should be some mounting tricks that will pull it into position.

It looks like the far right of the drivers side of the vacuum pod bracket is just a bit higher causing the door to angle down towards the center. If you move the door into its proper position can you feel anything shift? Or something is caught underneath it lifting it higher than normal?

If the valance is still off I would see loosen some of the vacuum pod mounting bolts and see if the drivers side can be pulled down a tad. 

[Tristans68]

Problem solved!!

Turns out one the screws that hold the plastic surround to the metal frame had come off!! The weight of the actuator was causing everything to sag; probably could have caused the grille to crack had I driven it...

Thanks so much for the help man!