Does anyone have any tricks on getting the front panels to line up easier? I had horrible gaps took the whole thing apart lose it now lines up way better than I have been fighting for the last few months. Finally today I re-took everything back off and when I put them together loose they fit better then when I tighten things back up back to the same crappy fit. So I re took everything back a part got the hood to some what line up better put everything thing back together read the green bible again for the millionth time and reput back together. still can't get it to line up with nice gaps. So guys any Tips? Thank you
Unfortunately, the '49-'51 Ford front sheetmetal fit poorly from the factory (they're no Rolls Royce by any means), but what I like to do is open up the holes, then run 1/4"-20 grade 8 hardware and put all of the bolts in loose. Install brand-new rubber bumper kits...and new cowl lacing. If it sits too high or too low with the '49-'51 Ford cowl lacing, try Merc. Then I shift and shove and tighten here and there, starting with the rear edge of the hood along the cowl, then each front fender to each door, then the front valance pan. Leave out the grill for now, obviously. Depending on how involved you want to get or whether you are molding your fenders to the body or not, I then slice and dice and weld the edges to get a perfect gap and fit n finish. I have seen Dearborn-restored '49-'51 Fords with horrendous gaps, but that's just the way they were. If you are as picky as I am and strive for perfect gaps, plan on cranking out your welder and metal rod for the edges. I have never had a shoebox go back together with perfect (or even "very good") gaps without doing metalwork. In fact, my shoebox now is a '50 with a '51 hood and '49 fenders...I had a ball making that all work Hope this helps and I didn't get too critical...feel free to PM me if I can help in detail with pics or whatever... Shoebox hoods can also have a mind of their own- I tried like crazy to get mine to simply move over to the driver side evenly about 1/2" and it wouldn't budge...I tried to do it by messing with the hinges, rear inner brace, etc...no luck. I simply had to slice n dice the edges on the hood and body. Also, my friend who did the bodywork (Octavio) was able to perfect the gap spacing with bodyfiller in certain spots- but not very much. You don't want to do this unless it's well under 1/8" and definitely not on a door edge (those have to be all done in metal so it won't break or chip). My cowl edge was built up a little bit to perfect the rear hood/body gap. Also, besides the gap spacing, you might have to slice n dice to make each panel flush with one another...I ran into some problems with my fenders rising up above the hood sides toward the middle. Good luck
I have the same issue with mine. Only I get to throw in the fact that it has a nova front clip on it so I am in a world of hurt.
Hey, What shoebox1950 said X2! To get schewbaux sheetmetal to align correctly you really need to start at the B Posts. Align your doors to their openings, and move on to the hood panel @ the cowl panel. You'll have to count on splices @ the hood to fender shut lines for really good fit ups. Too, the fender to door shut lines can be trouble, again this is for a dead nuts fit up of the sheetmetal, ans require additional splices. I wouldn't suggest the use of filler for closing any of these gaps if you have to warranty your work! " Humpty Dumpty was pushed "
Thanks for the tip shoebox1950 I have looked at your myspace pictures a ton of times. Thanks guys I'll keep you updated.
I found to get the fender gaps to door after door alignment, i loosend every bolt i could find including the inner apron to firewall. Took out the front center rad cradle mount and let it float. With everything loose you can muscle the door fender gap and tighten the upper bolts by the hood hinge first then the bolts inside the fender. do both sides. Shim the front cradle mount as required and centre to the hood. If gap is to wide at the hood to fender i grabbed the wheel opening pulling up and tightened the inner fender bolts. It's nice to have a buddy tighten the bolts while you position them. Just keep on going back and forth till you get it as good as you can. They are not swiss watches. Perfect gaps will require welding edges and filing. Lots of work. I got mine not to bad at this point and will try to dial them in in final fitment.
Does anyone have a picture of the door tops mine seem to be about 3/4 of an inch? both sides are the same one door is a funky shape I know that it has a weird bump in the front that touches so it will have to be cut and fixed. I swear the Henry J lines up so much eaiser. Thanks Tedley and shoebox1950 they are better still not and good as yours but it's getting better with the new baby car time has been limited.
im in the same boat, ill post pictures tomorrow,the bottom of the pass door has a huge gap, and so does the front fender on that same side! i think im going to have to cut and weld to get them to fit better?
hi there ...FIRST...make sure your car is sittin level and on its wheels VERY IMPORTANT as cars flex when not supported properly ...check tyre pressures and make sure its level across the door tops with the windows wound down. I use a 6' long straight edge with a spirit level for this. Then as pimpin has said align the doors nice to the rear quarters (if its a 4door you gota start at the back...this is cos you can't move the quarter(well not without cuttin!! lol)) then bolt on the front end panels loose...nip the fenders up so they are flush to the leading edge of the doors with a good gap you should then set the rear edge of the hood so the gap is even to the cowl and even at each rear corner to the fenders. with the mount finger tight under the radiator you may be able to shift the front of the fenders sideways to get even gaps down the sides of the hood/fenders. step well back and look at the front end ...do the headlights look level ? if so start nipping up bolts... at this point you may need to use shims to maintain gaps...or yup start cuttin n welding... its a lot of work gettin bodywork lookin good and theres no substitute for hands on experience...so take deep breaths and sneak up on it bit by bit.. thats my .02 for now... PB
Wow , Shoebox1950 ... those gaps are fantastic ! You must have a zillion hours in them to look that good . I'm just hoping to see mine open & close without chipping paint , lol !
on my 50 the passenger side fender lines up fairly well but my drivers fender is off a 49 i believe and it lines up terrible in the area where the door and the hood and fender come together and i have about an inch gap along the hood ive been woking with it and am slowly getting the cowl gap better but its still not good i have my inner fender out and all the inner splash pans loose i also have the core support out any other tips besides cutting and splicing to get better gaps ?
I'd just like to say their a pain in my ass everything I get to the point of putting the front clip back on. The bigger hammer always does the job. Lol
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