I have been slowly jambing out my 2dr wagon and have come across 2 problems--maybe the answer is obvious but I thought I would throw it out there/ When mounting my tailgate it closes up nice with even jambs along the sides and the top and bottom--however the lower left corner sticks out/not flush. It is a good amount and no real adjustment to "push" it in more--do I need to slot the mounting holes in the body to get it aligned??-same hinges as came off--no metal work was done that could have thrown it out of wack. now my second problem is the pass, side door-the top back corner sticks out from the body--the other jamb lines seem good and the bottom rear side lines up ok--almost seems like the window frame portion of door needs to be tweaked--is this possible--this is a frame off--could the body shims to frame be off and "tweak" or "twist" the body to cause this???
On my 57, which I did a frame off, I'm having to tweak alot of areas. The passenger side door also sticks out from the body, I'm thinking we can slip a couple bars into the window opening, and roll it back in. My lower left corner on the tailgate looks as though it was dropped or something. Sticks out a bit. This car was a rust bucket that we saved from the crusher, welded in alot of new metal. The doors and fenders are west coast parts, So body fit is a challenge. The body mount biscuits seem to be one way to sneak up on fit, door lines and seams.Good luck, Mark
I think I would use the proper tork specs in body mounts and then slot or whatever is needed to
get best fit. I went thru a lot of that too.
some body parts can be tweeked, if you have the 57 manual it shows pic of this being done to the doors
I am wondering if the body mounts may be the direction I need to go---When putting body back on frame I just put original shims back in place--last nite got up under car and 2 body bushings that were shimmed were against body but most of the others were not--all on the driver side--I lossened all the body bolts including front---removed the shims and none of the body mounts seem to touch the body --again all on the driver side!!Do I need to shim them all or do I need to shim UP the passenger side??Not sure where to go from here. any help appreciated
I'm by no means an expert on bodywork, but I can tell you that I gained in some body lines by shimming the mounts. I think my car is a bit more flexible than a rust free car. Mark
Make sure all the threads are clean on the body bolts so when you pull them down you get a "true feel", they don't get tourqued down tight, they get pulled dowm snug. The cowl mounts and the body mount under the hinge will be what you set you rear of the front door gap and top of the door simotaniously along with the body bolt under the center post. Then use the rear bolts to shift the rear portion around to fit the rear of the rear door. In and out may require the ol 2 X 4 tweek and that lower corner may just need a little help moving in to fit. It is a real P. I. T. A. to get it all lined up and the more doors you have the more fun it is!
regarding bottom of tailgate , just finished frame on and had same problem. i did away with the tapered bolts and used reg bolts with flat washers , you can gain enough to pull it in or even out , i only needed to do this on left mount on the body side. With the window on rear side top i did tweak it by just pulling out o top corner while someone holds door secure against block between door and body do it gently maybe several times to get it right.