65 SS convertible...
Doors line up good , fenders line up good. All of the gaps look good. The passanger side fender rubs the door slightly at the body line. If I move the fender out so it clears, I lose the lines at the A pilar, and/or the rocker. The drivers side has the same factory gap as to side that rubs , and it clears fine. I thought I was pretty good at sheetmetal alignment, but this ones got me a little stumped. Help?
Unfortuanately the car is painted, so I really have to be careful.


My resto pages(s) www.geocities.com/eosupersport65 (http://www.geocities.com/eosupersport65)

Can you pull the door in a little ?

Is the door to fender gap parallel from top to bottom or does it close up down low by the body line? I assume the fender is hitting near the lower line. Your core support may have settled some causing the front of the fender to drop a bit, this would close the gap some on the bottom. Also make sure that your door isn't dropping when opened, slightly worn hinges can close the gap as well. Nice looking car! Bob

You say you are pretty good at sheet metal alignment so you may have already tried this...

You probably have shims on the bottom of the fender at the rocker area. By removing one or more of those shims or using a thinner shim, it will make the fender "bulge" out giving you the necessary gap for clearance and still retain the alignments.

If there are no shims to remove, you may be faced with the stark realization that these cars aren't perfect. You may have to live with a less than exact alignment or gap to get the clearance you need.

Thanks for all of the replies. I think vettefella may have it. The more I think about it, that may be it. This project was a "car in a box" :D . The front sheetmetal had to be replaced. I absolutely agree about the cars of that era not lining up as exact as we would like. Thanks again.


My resto page(s) www.geocities.com/eosupersport65 (http://www.geocities.com/eosupersport65)