Front Clip (Fender & Hood) alignment

[Alexander]

Hi Gents,

Over the winter I disassembled my front clip a had it painted. While the parts were at the painter, I detailed the engine bay. This included removing and painted the radiator support shell.

I am now ready to put it back together, but I fear it won’t align correctly.

Question: what should I start with? I suspect I should first correctly position and align the radiator support? Any tips how to do it and in what sequence to assemble everything?

Thanks

Alex

[Plymouthy Adams]

my car came to me disaasembled here..I am modifying inner fenders and such now and doing the clip assembly/alignment. The lower heavy metal base (u-channel) is the key for grille and trim to lay flat across the face it also goes a long way in supporting the forward section of the fender on the outside corners and giving you the correct curvature and outside lift helping to bring the inner part of the fenter at the top to lay flat on the grille insert without having to pull these down with bolts....this bar can be quick set and bolted in place with one bolt each side to establish your grille insert opening..it's really very simple design and amazes me they are as solid as they are when bolted together..it is all the tiny supports panels and brackets along with the inner fender and aprons that strengthen this assembly..

all does key on the position of the rad support in left to right (very little here but adjustable) and front to rear..the height of the rad support is key to correct hood to fender gap along the length of the hood where the left to right if minimal but will align the very nose nicely. Inner fenders are very sloppy and have plentyof tolerance for alignment..the rear of the fender is adjustable with shims behind the metal plate and the cowl as is the forward hanger is also adjustable width wise by the same method at the top for the rad support.

are you intending to assemble on the car a piece ata time or assemble the doghouse and then place on car for final fit?

[Don Coatney]

Hi Gents,

Over the winter I disassembled my front clip a had it painted. While the parts were at the painter, I detailed the engine bay. This included removing and painted the radiator support shell.

I am now ready to put it back together, but I fear it won’t align correctly.

Question: what should I start with? I suspect I should first correctly position and align the radiator support? Any tips how to do it and in what sequence to assemble everything?

Thanks

Alex

I see you posted a picture attached to you posting. Asembly should be reverse of dis-assembly. Did you take pictures and measurements of the dis-assembly steps?

[Plymouthy Adams]

I did not take pictures of my 54 when I took the clip apart for sandblast and paint..though apart just a short time (super speed for me) I still did a head scratch on a couple of things..thanks goodness I got it all back together with no scratch or chips to the new paint..them doors be heavy..wife was my only helper in the reassembly..I ssure you that even though I may have neglected a few pictures that would have help on assembly,..I did assure alignment was possible prior to final removal for painting..like the originator of this thread..I would like a quick in and out and be done on paint and assembly..but I also know reality does take over when you wake up..

[Dan Hiebert]

Its been a while since I put the "dog house" back on my D24, but I remember that what Tim already noted is very important - that radiator support is essentially the spine of the whole shebang, it's gotta be true or you'll have to brush up on your list of expletives for the rest of it.

A tip that I hope isn't insulting (my Dad taught me this when I was a wee tot so its second nature to me, but I see mechanics not doing this pretty often) - don't cinch each nut/bolt/fastener up as you put them in, wait until you get the whole assembly together. It'll be a little loose and you'll have to be careful not to damage your paint in some places, but it will be much easier to make the adjustments to bring the parts into alignment without forcing them.

[Alexander]

Thanks for the feedback. I have good pictures which should help. However I don’t think my challenge will be remembering how it bolts back, but rather the best way to align everything in relationship to each other. (I had everything off including the hood hinges)

I thought perhaps there was a trade secret or rule on how to best do this or what to start with. Maybe it’s not going to be as hard as I make it out to be.

I start this weekend. Ill post pictures as soon as I am done.

Thanks,

Alex

[Rusty O'Toole]

The usual rule is to assemble the front clip, rad support etc and mount it as an assembly. You will need to adjust and shim it here and there for alignment. If you saved the original shims and know where they go, that is a good start.

Then put the hood on and align that.

Of course the doors must be hung first. The doors align to the body, the front clip to the doors and the hood last.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I believe you would want to set the hood in place and align to the cowl getting a good clean alignment and proper gap there..then you can adjust the front clip by up and down/left to right for the hood to align with the dog house..for once the rear gap is set to the cowl..you have no other adjustment to align the hood..except the outer lips at the rear have minute in/out and if you lucky to have the cross support..you can set the center dip (lack thereof actually) and the rear width a bit better holding a nicer tighter curve at the rear of the hood in relationship to the cowl..do ensure when setting the hood in this manner you have the cowl lacing in place..

[DCurrent]

Alex,

If you haven't figured it out yet you Will get a lot of different ways to assemble your front clip. Everyone likes to do it a different way. Really the only rule is to assemble it together and align it to the parts that do not move. No I haven't assembled a early mopar, but assembly is generally the same. Assuming your doors are on and alignment is good all around then your fenders must be assembled next after your radiator support is on. As someone said earlier leave your bolts loose for movement. If your using the original star lock washers they will eat into your fresh paint quickly.

Matching your fenders to the door body lines is key to the right look. Your fender alignment will also depend on your hood placement. The cowl will not move so you hood should fit up to it where it suits you. The hood stainless should align up with the stainless on the cowl and doors. Once everything is placed approximately close together then final fitment begins.

Its important not to loose sight of details that are not on the clip yet. Such as fender welt, moldings, and stainless. Do not rush it!!!!!!!!! If you feel as if its taking forever... walk away. Take a break! A scratch will not go away once there. Final fitment can take days for perfection. I'm somewhat familiar with bodywork and spent 5 hours getting the hinges and hood to fit my 48 plymouth. Sometimes it is necessary to think out of the box. Some holes may have to be reamed just a little, shims placed here and there, and brackets may need to be bent.

Most importantly take your time!!

Here is a tip; Wrap masking tape on all adjoining edges of the sheet metal. kind of expensive, but it is cheaper than a chip or scratch.

Darren

[Alexander]

Darren and others thanks for all the feedback!

most of the tips have been very helpful. I started to put everything back together as per some of the recommendations. Most of the sheet metal is back on. shortly after this picture was taken I attached the hood. All is going well, however I am struggling to adjust the hood gap between the cowl and hood. I need to push the hood further back as the gap is too big, but it won’t go. Need to get creative as such are suggesting.

Alex

[Frank Elder]

Darren and others thanks for all the feedback!

most of the tips have been very helpful. I started to put everything back together as per some of the recommendations. Most of the sheet metal is back on. shortly after this picture was taken I attached the hood. All is going well, however I am struggling to adjust the hood gap between the cowl and hood. I need to push the hood further back as the gap is too big, but it won’t go. Need to get creative as such are suggesting.

Alex

The standards you are going for were never the standards back then.....

[Alexander]

Its slowly coming together. Not too bad other thand the hood gaving me a hard time, but I think I now got it.

Quick uestion:

what is the typlical gap between the hood and the front fender brace (the area where the badge is mounted, see attached picture). Right now its at about a 1/4".

[Young Ed]

Thats probably about right. The plymouth ornament overlaps the two pieces. Should hide all that.

[DCurrent]

That's a good gap. It looks to be equally spaced between the fender and hood also. You can get a good idea if there is more room to close the gap if you apply silly putty or something of the same nature to the tops of the hood to fender bumpers. My guess is that is very close. Have you aligned the hood stailess with the cowl stailess? That will throw everything off!

Darren