my 32 full fender sedan has high boy headlight stands instead of a headlight bar, i purchased a dropped headlight bar to replace the stands, only to discover the bar is not wide enough. the bar measures 37 1/2 bottom and 42 at the top the car measures 38 1/4 bottom and 43 at the top. how do fix this? the car was built over 25 years ago been updating over the last few months.
Does the car have the original front fender braces or have they been modified or shortened? I would think the fender are sagging a little, if the fender braces are in place, loosen them and bolt the headlight bar in place, make sure you use the correct headlight bar bolts. I haven't experienced any problems with original or aftermarket headlight bars. HRP
Get a stock headlight bar and have Pete Eastwood drop it. He's dropped several for me and they were a perfect fit.
X2 on krylon32 recommendation. Pete's jig insures a perfect fit when he drops an original '32 headlight bar.
So maybe the car was aligned a little differently when it was built. Maybe the fenders sag a little, so you need a slightly wider bar. How about bending the ends of a dropped bar to stretch the distance you need? Otherwise I predict there’s some body and paint work in your future to refit the fenders and braces.
I measured three, a ‘32 bar, a Vintique and a Drake, they all measure the same, 42 1/2 at the top and 37 5/8 bottom. The Drake bar is at the top of the photo, it’s contour is less angular than the Vintique and looks a lot like a dropped stock bar.
As suggested the fenders and braces will sag away from each other without the headlight bar to hold them in place. Follow above suggestion to loosen braces, install bar and snug everything up. Phil