Help! body/fender/hood/running board alignment

[Upchuck]

can somebody with a 48-50 ford f1 have a look at how the hood sits next to the cowl? I have been beating my brains out trying to get my fenders lined up and even redrilled a mounting hole to get them to line up right and now that it looks alright I go to put the running boards on and the drivers side which I set down about 3/4" now the running board holes aren't even close and the fender sticks out the bottom, if the hood looks the same in relation to the cowl as mine then I'll raise the one side up again to the original mounting holes then the running board will line up but drivers fender will sit higher on the firewall than the other

big tip to self, always take many pictures up close of every conceivable situation and body part relation to everything before taking apart unfamiliar vehicles http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

the pictures are of my parts truck with the hood still originally bolted in place but minus the front fenders

Passenger side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/bustedford/hood002.jpg
drivers side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/bustedford/hood001.jpg

thanks

[DrJ]

Dang, you sure that ain't a Chevy?
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Start measuring everything diagonally to see where it's twisted,,, cowl and hood.

[Upchuck]

I've measured it all up a number of times and the fenders are square on the truck, then when I went to put on the running boards the drivers fender is to low for it to bolt on, so then I went to look at the way the hood sits on the parts truck and I see with the big gap in there that if I bolted thefender on using the original hole to the firewall that it would line up right.

It just don't seem logical that they would deliberately make that indentation in the cowl then leave that big of gap there, you wouldn't see it with the hood closed but the drivers fender would sit higher next to the cowl than the passengers, so I was wondering if thats the way they were all made or if I got some canadian abortion http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

when I get home from work I'll set the hood on and see if I got a big gap between itand the driver fender

[Upchuck]

I put the hood on and it looks good, can somebody have a look and see if if the front fenders hang below the running board and if so how far?

thanks

[sawzall]

is this truck on the stock frame? if so you might try checking the driver, and passanger side front cab mounts.. also the rear cab mounts, because they were the goofy "isolators" may have broken thereby twisting the cowl and cab all up..

you didnt mention if the doors are hung and if they close correctly or not.. but they (the doors) could shed some light on what is happening as well..

my exp with my 48 was that nothing fit really great at first till I started playing alittle here then a little there and all the sudden everything was pretty good.. Hope that makes sense good luck sawzall

[sawzall]

oh shit one more thought... are you using those stupid stock hood support springs? IF so take them off and do the alignment and see what happens...

sawzall

[Dirk35]

I agree with Sawzall, if using the stock frame, check the front cab mounts. If yours are rusted away on the cab, youll have to repair them, or they will settle more when you start driving it and make the cab even more twisted. If the rubber isolator thingys are trash, you will need to replace them, with something of cushion, dont weld the damn cab to the frame.

[Upchuck]

I am using the stock frame, the cab mounts look as good as the day they came off the line in 49 and the the doors close real good. I had to raise the drivers fender about 3/4 of an inch where it bolts to the firewall bracket, I got everything pretty square and even just that when I set the running boards on the fenders hang out the bottom about an inch or so on both sides, I measured the running board brackets on the both sides from the bottom of the doors to their tips + did the same on the parts truck and they are all practically the same.

I haven't mounted the hood yet its just set on in the closed position so I could measure the gaps all around it as well

is it normal for the bottom of the fenders to hang below the running boards about an inch or are they supposed to be flush?

the running boards are off a 48 m47(m1) mercury going on my 49 f47(f1)