I know this is a difficult question to ask, but I need some help determining if these door gaps look ok. I have looked and measured them so long I'm just not sure any more. The gap seems to be around 3/16" give or take of course. Body work is definately not my strong point. Thanks in advance.

Steve



http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k47/tuckcwo/Picture181.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k47/tuckcwo/Picture180.jpg

They really look good, but a fat 3/16'' before paint and primer, otherwise you might be a little tight, I just hope mine come out that nice.

Get something like a paint stick and make sure its 3/16'' and see if that will slide through there.

Also make sure your hinge bushings don't have any slop, open and grab the bottom of the door and pull up and down see if wiggles any.

Rob

Much much better then what GM did and still does...Eric

The gaps look great, however, be careful. All that is subject to change once you drop the motor and all the other things that add weight to the car. It will flex a bit. I learned the hard way about 12 yrs ago. Went through all that hard work. Jambed the doors, painted and buffed the body, and bam The minute I had the car up to drop the motor back in I opened my door for some reason and chipped the paint on the door right were it bulges out. Thank god the chip was small so the fix was easy.

RandyB.
paint and resto work for quit a long time now.

Good catch Randy, that went right over my head:clonk:

Rob

Those a very nice gaps, maybe a little tight. Like someone said when you get it together things may change, especially hitting hard bumps and corners things may flex!

Look good to me! True things will change once weight is in the car, but not by much if you have good body bushings. They should be OK. I'd be more concerned about matching up the fenders. That is what will kill you. After getting the fenders on, you may need to move the doors in/out or up/down. It's a puzzle game I tell ya! Im 3 weeks into aligning my front end, and still can't get it right.

Makes me very sad after 27k$ worth of parts/repairs...

Look good to me! True things will change once weight is in the car, but not by much if you have good body bushings. They should be OK. I'd be more concerned about matching up the fenders. That is what will kill you. After getting the fenders on, you may need to move the doors in/out or up/down. It's a puzzle game I tell ya! Im 3 weeks into aligning my front end, and still can't get it right.

Makes me very sad after 27k$ worth of parts/repairs...

You Got That Right!! I think your gaps look great. Mine looked pretty good too, then I put the fenders on, then the hood. The hood needed a little more gap at the windshield end, so I shimmed the fenders out. Now the gap with the door isnt so good, and the fenders stick out farther than the doors. So it definately is a Rubic's Cube and very frustrating! I'm in my 4th week!

you really cant do a final adjustment till all the weights on the car, and its weighted as it will roll, most hardcore resto guys (maybe not so hardcore or even resto guys, actually its a pretty normal course of action, or ..inaction) wont touch it if even with all parts on, panels installed, motor and tranny in, if its on blocks or stands and not full weight on tires and rims.
those gaps look great for the stage you're at, give yourself a back pat and move on, i like 3/16 w/o paint for a really tight look after all those mils of paint, i've never seen a properly installed panel chip paint in the course of normal use, its my guess you're far more likely to chip or scratch it during final reassembly than hitting a bump or putting the hammer down later on (provided, of course, its not a 10 second car that leaves like a shark out of water and the bump isn't an open manhole)....good luck

Thanks guys! I never thought about the weight of the engine and everything. Good point. I did put in the new body bushings and torqued them down hoping to limit the tweaking of the body on me later. Man its amazing how much time you can spend on this one thing. I started putting on the radiator support and the fenders last night. Well see how that battle turns out.

its time well spent though, to me, panel alignment, fit and finish is what sets the quality restification apart from the also-rans and it seems you can tell a car thats straight, level and fitted from a great distance (i suppose, much like you can see a mis-aligned bumper from literally, a mile away) a car can catch your eye as something special long before you can see it's still in the "five different colors, three of them primer" stage of completion