DAVE
Well-Known Member
I need sizes for all sides as the front of my car is stripped down, Especially the nose as the hood needs correct clearance to open.
Regards Dave.
Regards Dave.
Personally I wouldn't worry about exact gap sizes. I would be more worried about your gaps being parallel, consistant and that the hood flows into the header panel as well as the fender tops, in another words the edge of the hood shouldn't be above or below the surrounding panels. Some reworking by an experienced body man with rubber hammers, dead blow hammers and soft wood may be necessary to correct panel flow. If the side gaps of your hood taper the nose may been knocked off center in a previous accident. Obviously, because the fenders are welded on they cannot be easily moved so it's very hard to get perfect gaps. If you are replacing the front fenders I would suggest attaching them temporarily with sheet metal screws until you are happy with the alignment and then weld them on. ~ John Buchtenkirch
P.S. I see body man building up edges with plastic to close up gaps, that is shoddy and likely problematic repair work that I would not recommend.
+1, great experienced advise
me, a former head of matching area in OPEL - GM, would also consider the torsion based bar and arms mechanism that in my opinion plays an important role on the hood matching
so i would assembly that mechanism prior to making all your settings
okay, so what you are saying is the torsion mechanism that holds the hood up and open tensions the hood in one direction or another so it should be installed when aligning the hood. Good point, I agree with you 100%.
Another point that people who aren't body men miss is that the hood locks should be removed when aligning a hood. The hood should be aligned so it fits into the opening perfectly and then the locks should be reinstalled so that the hood still maintains that perfect fit. Temporary shims will have to be installed near the back of the hood to maintain the correct height during the fitting without the locks. I know this doesn't sound right but believe me it is the way to go. If you leave the locks attached you will end up fighting misalignments caused by the locks. ~ John Buchtenkirch