The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Body alignment-Sport Coupe

jb-ob · 01-12-2021, 06:23 PM

Bob,

I'd wish Happy New Year but I'm not convinced yet.

You lost me talking about changing rear bumper bars. I'll assume you have all the correct body blocks & rubbers in the correct places.

In the case of my'28 Fordor, I'd spent a lot of time studying it's doors to figure out their issues. Not a lot of shimming can be done to a full length wood sill that is 90 years old. I shimmed the sill as possible, shimmed a lower door hinge, and finally spread a lower hinge into place. With all four doors to my satisfaction, I installed the hood, radiator & grill shell.

My job was a lot easier without front fenders to crawl over. With just the weight of the hood & radiator, I'd lift one side of the radiator & slide a shim under. I'd then inspect where the rear of the hood moved to in relation to the cowl. I made several different thickness shims to experiment with until I had a nice fit. Repeat driver's side.

Lastly I adjusted the hood upper 'stay' rods, pulling the top of the radiator into place. (No radiator hoses attached.)

The hood now 'hangs' correctly in place. (MUCH easier without fenders in the way !!)

Hope this helps, jb

01-12-2021, 06:23 PM	#5
jb-ob Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 640	Re: Body alignment-Sport Coupe Bob, I'd wish Happy New Year but I'm not convinced yet. You lost me talking about changing rear bumper bars. I'll assume you have all the correct body blocks & rubbers in the correct places. In the case of my'28 Fordor, I'd spent a lot of time studying it's doors to figure out their issues. Not a lot of shimming can be done to a full length wood sill that is 90 years old. I shimmed the sill as possible, shimmed a lower door hinge, and finally spread a lower hinge into place. With all four doors to my satisfaction, I installed the hood, radiator & grill shell. My job was a lot easier without front fenders to crawl over. With just the weight of the hood & radiator, I'd lift one side of the radiator & slide a shim under. I'd then inspect where the rear of the hood moved to in relation to the cowl. I made several different thickness shims to experiment with until I had a nice fit. Repeat driver's side. Lastly I adjusted the hood upper 'stay' rods, pulling the top of the radiator into place. (No radiator hoses attached.) The hood now 'hangs' correctly in place. (MUCH easier without fenders in the way !!) Hope this helps, jb