putting back together t/a front end...need alignment tips...
putting back together t/a front end...need alignment tips... The car was apart from the front fenders forward. Is there an order of what needs to be lined up first? Any tips or tricks to make this as painless as possible? I know gaps are a bitch for our cars as it is....
Brandon
Brandon
Well the fenders only really adjust front to back and one bolt in the middle from the wheel well to match the door. So set your fenders to match your door and get your door gap in check. Then mount your hood. Adjust it forward and back to match the cowl edge of the fenders and the front edge of th fenders. If you have big hood/fender gaps the only thing you can do is space the fender bolts out to match the sides of the hood. Then mount your bumper and it pretty much falls in place not much adjustment at all on the bumper cover.
Sorry to bring back a somewhat old thread but this was the closest one I could find on fixing the hood to fender gaps. If I'm reading it correct I can "pull in" the fenders towards the hood to lessen the gap? My aftermarket hood is slightly narrow and the gaps on the sides of the hood is enough to put my fingertip through. I'm trying to find pictures to see how to do this since I'm not at home to look first hand. Any steps on how to do this would be greatly appreciated
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 609
Likes: 6
From: jacksonville,fl
Everything needs to work together. In & out on the fender to hood gaps also affect the nose, which needs to flush with fenders. Fenders need to flush to door area. You may have some wiggle room to adjust, but if the outer surfaces are anywhere near close & you have a gap from a new fiberglass hood, then the hood needs filler. A thin amount of decent polyester body filler is ok on a thick edge with a flange, but will chip easier than fiberglass. A fiberglass based filler may be better on edge.
No fiberglass product is ever super perfect. Most every fiberglass product ever made will need gap adjustment, a good block sanding & checking for high & low spots, & also height between fender & hood from 1 end to the other. Any good fitment of any hood on a showcar level requires skimming across both surfaces & blocksanding.
Get all surfaces as close as you can between sliding brackets with slots in the boltholes and or shimming. Also there is hood hinge up & down & sideways, front hood bumper heights & hood latch adjustments. This process varies among vehicles.
No fiberglass product is ever super perfect. Most every fiberglass product ever made will need gap adjustment, a good block sanding & checking for high & low spots, & also height between fender & hood from 1 end to the other. Any good fitment of any hood on a showcar level requires skimming across both surfaces & blocksanding.
Get all surfaces as close as you can between sliding brackets with slots in the boltholes and or shimming. Also there is hood hinge up & down & sideways, front hood bumper heights & hood latch adjustments. This process varies among vehicles.
