door gaps

[westcoastdodge]

hey guys,need some idea of the size of the gap between the door and rear quater,also fender to door and fender to front cowl?? been trying to do mine and it sounds easy but 

[tan top]

 door to quarter looks good , top of the front door should be level/flush  with the cowl , looking at the picture , the door could do with coming out at the top just a tiny bit  (front) then again whats the gap like the other side ??  as that gap dictates the fender to cowl , back of the hood gap   

what i can see from the fender picture is
it needs to be pulled forward ,& up just a little , so its flush with the top of the door & cowl , make sure  you have all the nuts bolts that hold the fender on loose ,   

[69hemi]

I like to use a paint stick's thickness as a measuring tool for gaps.  Eastwood also sells a set of plastic feeler gages for the same purpose for way too much money.  Remember, when these cars left the factory the gaps sucked.  To bring you car up to more modern fit & finish standards is great but sometimes harder than it first looks.

The biggest thing to look for is to make sure you rebuild the door hinges first.  If you can grab the back edge of the door and have any up and down movement then they need rebuilt.  This is an easy job and should only take a half hour or so.  Next thing is to hang the door and get the rear door edge to line up with all the character lines on the quarter and work for an even gap.

Next fit the hood & fenders and start with aligning the fenders to the cowl and doors then move up to the front and align the front to the hood.  Once everything is snugged up then you can start looking at shimming and tweaking until the gaps get where you want them.  Sometime this is not enough and you may need to cut and re weld a lip to get an edge to fit correctly but try to do as much with alignment and metalwork as opposed to just evening it out with fillers.

Good luck and email me with any questions.

[westcoastdodge]

cheers guys,a goldmine of information as always 

[hemi-hampton]

I like top use the paint stick method. Most times I need to cut & weld though. LEON.

[69hemi]

I like top use the paint stick method. Most times I need to cut & weld though. LEON.

Nice Gaps!

[Silver R/T]

Looking way better than when they came out of factory

[hemi-hampton]

Yeah, All the gaps are about perfect. Except while looking at about 6 or 7 of these at the last fews shows I noticed they all had really tight gaps at top fender where it meets the cowl & really wide where top of front of door meets cowl.  This pic dont really show it. LEON.

[tan top]

  nice work  Leon

[Corellian Corvette]

Just iterating what others have said - it's more about getting the gaps unfiorm all the way around. Get a couple of paint sticks and a friend! 

One thing to note is that you have to start with the hood first. Get the hood alligned to the cowl then adjust fenders, doors, etc. from there. Since there is no adjustment at the cowl area, you'd have to re-do everything if you don't start there first. Good luck!

[runningman]

Yeah, All the gaps are about perfect. Except while looking at about 6 or 7 of these at the last fews shows I noticed they all had really tight gaps at top fender where it meets the cowl & really wide where top of front of door meets cowl.  This pic dont really show it. LEON.

Leon, looking good...are you ready for a another paint job soon?? 

[Silver R/T]

Wish I had a shop

[westcoastdodge]

me too

[hemi-hampton]

Runningman, SURE.   LEON.

[runningman]

Runningman, SURE.   LEON.

I'll be in touch soon.........