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OK, this winter im aligning all the body panels on my 88. I ordered the cowl induction hood from ACI a few weeks ago (that hurt!) but wont have till January. Once i have everything aligned ill drill alignment holes for cleko pins so that when it comes apart (again) ill be able to quickly put everything back where it goes. This car also has fiberglass ACI front and rear bumpers.
So im looking for pics of the doors, bumpers, and hood gaps from all you out there with perfect bodies. This way I have something to go by to set the gaps. I know every car is different, but at least it'll give me some reference.
Dont be shy! Show that perfect body off!!!
Thanks everyone, i appreciate it, and have a great Thanksgiving!
Mine aren't perfect by any means. And the cropped pictures aren't the best either. You can see where my hood needs to come down a pinch where it meets the door, for instance.
But since nobody seems to be sharing anything, I'll post a few...
Ok, doing the body align is fun when you have super attention to detail as I do lol...
So im trying to align the doors. The doors need to be aligned to QP as that is a fixed point. The striker also is a fixed point as you can only shim it for fore to aft. Also note the hinges, pins and bushings are all new with no slop.
Here is where im at right now. The FSM dosent mention a "target" gap number. So it seems to me 4mm sounds about correct? Again I know all these cars are different, but im just looking for a "target" number to work with. Not too tight and not too much of a gap.
Also, when I slowly close door, you can feel it touch the striker. As I slowly push the door shut, it seems to "ramp up" slightly into position and lock shut. Then the door is aligned great....So the question is, is this normal? The "ramp up" the door does? Or shoud it shut completely flat? Hard to describe, hope that I did.
Keep in mind, the hinges are new like I said, and there is no weather strip installed on the door. The locator pin above the striker is removed both sides as well.
Once I get the doors set, I can finish the hood and front bumper align. But the doors need to be first.
Got the door to QP better both sides. .205 and .195 gap just above beltline. Think im ok with that. Also cured the "ramp up" i was describing on 1 side. Little victories. You can see the hole in body is just enough for the striker bolt. You would have to drill it out bigger if you needed to adjust striker.
FYI...so the FSM does say the striker is adjustable up down and in and out besides shimming. So I pulled striker. Yes, the cage nut moves in every direction, but the hole in the body is just big enough for the bolt. So if you wanted to adjust striker you would drill a bigger hole in body and thatll give you adjustment..
As a generalization it's more important to get the gaps and body lines even than it is to meet a specific number. The eye will pick up a taper or larger gap on one end vs the other. Unless gaps are significant "large" gaps are less noticable.
Aligning the door is done primarily with the hinges. The striker has to be in the correct position when the door is closed, but it's not supposed to pull the door into position, except for keeping it flush with the QP when it's latched. The door should close and latch with a gentle push. If you have to slam it, either there is an issue with the alignment, or the weatherstripping.
OK, this winter im aligning all the body panels on my 88. I ordered the cowl induction hood from ACI a few weeks ago (that hurt!) but wont have till January. Once i have everything aligned ill drill alignment holes for cleko pins so that when it comes apart (again) ill be able to quickly put everything back where it goes. This car also has fiberglass ACI front and rear bumpers.
So im looking for pics of the doors, bumpers, and hood gaps from all you out there with perfect bodies. This way I have something to go by to set the gaps. I know every car is different, but at least it'll give me some reference.
Dont be shy! Show that perfect body off!!!
Thanks everyone, i appreciate it, and have a great Thanksgiving!
The ones I have never got right are the corners of the front bumper.
You can see how they're off here...
There's a small bracket inside that corner that's kind of a pain in the rear end to get to and I've adjusted them before but they always end up back the same way.
I think maybe if I put some washers that dig into the material that they might stay, put, but haven't done so yet.
Really need a helper to hold the corner in place while you tighten it down inside there.
Need a long extention and a good flashlight to see what you're doing.
11-23-2023, 08:37 AM
Who has the best body lines?
