jerryjfunk

We're finally ready to put the body back on. We have replaced a frame rail and also reinforced a couple of the body mount locations. Therefore they have slightly different heights than stock. My questions is... how do we determine where to put shims, and how many? I'm not sure exactly what to measure or level. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Jerry :seeya

NHvette

Jerry,

I think that the most important reason to shim the body mounts - is to make
the door opening correct. I've been thinking of the same issues on my end.
I'm putting the 70 body back on with poly mounts - not the stock Aluminum
ones. Also, I am using different doors. So, I have come to the realization that
I will need to do some trial and error here.

I plan to try it first with no shims and test fit the doors. Too much shim on the
#1 and #4 mounts will tend to close the top of the door opening. Too much shim
on the center two mounts will make the top of the door opening too big.
Obviously, this is more of an issue with a vert - but still applies to the coupes.
It's nice if you have a couple vettes that you can visit and measure the
opening dimensions for reference.

I hope more people chime in and either confirm/deny my ideas.

Good Luck - :seeya


[Modified by NHvette, 2:36 PM 3/6/2003]

jerryjfunk

You're probably right. Maybe we'll do the same thing, put the body on with nothing and see how it all lines up. So are you pretty close to being done? I've got my engine together, minus heads, sitting in my back room. And I have my new interior minus carpet scattered all over my house. :lol:

Thanks,
Jerry

NHvette

NO. Just thinking right now.
Actually, I think I should try to have it all bolted down right - before I glue the
firewall and front clip into place. As long as it's pretty close, I think I should be OK.

My motor/tranny are not coming apart for a while. Body first - suspension
next - then slap it all back together for some driving this summer.

:seeya

70BBvert

You might want to try searching the archives. I remember someone posting a detailed explanation of how to set up the shims properly when changes were made to the frame. As Dave said it has the shims on rear mounts adjusted the door gap - don't remember the front

dukvet76

If anyone finds this link, it would be greatly appreciated.

79yellowlt1

Here is the thread you are looking for. I posted this one a while back and did all the research. When I put my body on it sat perfect at all points and doors lined up nice. I still had to shim the rear of the car up and work forward to get my front end to line up with the cowl. All trial and error, and LOTS of time. Good luck, keep us posted.

Mark
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=467012




[Modified by 79yellowlt1, 12:29 PM 3/7/2003]

jerryjfunk

Thanks for the input. We have the body back on, and now I'm going to put the tops and doors on (with new bushings and pins) and see how everything lines up. I'm hoping that no shims will be neccessary, but we all know how that goes. :cry

Jerry

R1234

Jerry,
I had a similar situation as you, the previous owner had taken the body off and didn't have the shim requirements. When I got ready to lower my body back on to the frame, I used two shims along with the aluminum spacers at each location as a starting point. I used the holes in both sides of the body sill rails to line up with the some holes on the side rails of my frame to insure squareness and proper front to back positioning. I then measured at points around the body to the frame to check for squareness. I snugged all mounting points down and then installed the doors. I adjusted the back of the doors to what I thought was the best fit because I did not have my front end installed yet. I then fit the front end to this door location. It was all trial and error. I remember adding some more shims to the back mounts to close the gap at the top of the door. Good luck, take your time and it should come out well.