Hood and FENDER FIT and adjustment on the Cuda

[miketyler]

My hood doesn't fit pretty. I think it fit better before when my car had the fiberglass fender on it. I'm pretty sure I understand the adjustments and what they do. The four side bolts give you fore and aft movement and can set the hood square while the six hinge adjustments control the level and profile of the hood.

I think my problem is with the hood opening. My fender-to-fender opening starts out at 52 3/8" at the windshield and increases going forward. At the third fender bolt I get 52 9/16" and at the front header panel I get 52.5". Most noticeable to me is that my two fender-to hood gaps are not parallel. To correct one upsets the other. Is this the sort of pain you deal with when replacing a fender on an Ebody? Is this something that a good body man can straighten out or is this a case of it will never be perfect?     

[miketyler]

This is probably more a matter of fender alignment and adjustment. I REALLY would appreciate any commentary from those who have juggled the front end sheet metal on their Ebody and managed to get it all aligned back up nicely 

[HemiDog]

All I can say is that I feel the pain.   
I spent some time this last weekend doing the samething and the only advice I can give is to get the fenders lined up first.  I ended up rechecking my door gaps on the back side of the doors first, making sure they were the same on both sides of the car.  Then I rechecked the front fenders and made sure the gaps were the same on each side between them and the front of the doors.  With the front nose panel in, I squared the fenders up by making sure the center of that panel was in the center of the radiator support.  This isn't fun and will try your patience, but you have to take your time.

On my hood, it took a long time to get it where I thought it should be, but it still wasn't clearing the fender on one side and only in the back.  The issue turned out to be that the hood's lip in the back was slightly bent out.  With that fixed all is good!  My point there is that sometimes the parts are not perfect so a little fixing might be in order. 

[miketyler]

Thanks for the advice; I was looking for a magic fix that didnt require taking it all back apart but I guess that wasnt being realistic.   

I loosened the fender, and removed the front header panel and headlight door. I used one of my nylon tie down straps to draw the pass fender in. Its much better now and has brought new issues to light. It seems my hood has been repaired on the front passenger side corner and measures a full 1/4" longer than the same location on the other side. I am not sure I will be able to compensate for the additional length but I'll have to try. 

I'm surprised I didnt have more people respond but this really does come down to common sense and basic assembly skills. I just wish I had more of this under my belt.         

[chevyconvert]

keep in mind these cars were never perfect..even when new.
I was just reading a vintage 1969 mag with a road test on the new '70 Challenger.
They complained about the way the doors sagged even then!

[Cuda Cody]

When putting body panels on, what is the best order?  For example.... let say someone was going to replace a quarter panel.  Is it best to start with the doors then fenders and then get the hood lined up?  All this most be on before putting a quarter panel on?  right?

[360 'CUDA]

The best thing on quarters is to mount the doors first and try to line them up perfectly to the old quarters and door sill. Then make measurments, scribe about a million marks and go from there..

its fun

[miketyler]

I think metal fit and alignment is one of those acqured "old school" trade skills you get from hands on experience. Even the manual doesn't explain hood adjustments; it simply tells you to scribe marks before you remove it so you can ensure it goes back in the same location.

Strangely enough, loosening the top mount bolts and pulling the forward portion of the fender in slightly increased the gap at the door line. Another instance where one adjustment has a resultant affect on an unrelated area.     

[71fish]

I pulled hair for 3 weeks on this one. Finally got it close enough where I'm more than happy with it. First I set the doors to the rear 1/4. Then the fenders spaced the same to the front of the door as the rear already is. Then, I do the hood. Now i only did it this way, becasue I had off all the panels. if you just take the fenders off, you should not have to alter any other body parts.

Remember, not all nos parts may correctly fit on your e-bod. The guys on the line many times took different parts in order to get that perfect fit.

This was prob the worse thing i had to gruel over on my cuda. Good luck & get a partner. You really need at least 2 people.

[Cuda Cody]

Funny you should say that because even with the Gen 2 GTS vipers they had issues.  There was one viper on the line that took 6 different hoods to find one that would fit.  When a craftsperson on the line takes that long to find a hood it slows the line up.  That is the main reason the Gen 3 SRT vipers have a standard hood.  I feel sorry for the people that will try to restore vipers in 30 years and will not be able to find a hood that fits.  The gen 1 are the worst!

The guys on the line many times took different parts in order to get that perfect fit.

[torredcuda]

The sequence should be align rear door edge to  rear quarter as the quarter is obviuosly a welded panel and will not move and the lower door edge to the rocker.Of course this assumes the quarter and rocker are original or replaced correctly location wise.Then you align the fenders to door gap while getting your hood opening even from both sides of the cowl and the correct distance apart.The front hood opening is fixed by the header panel.The last adjustment is the hood to fender.As you have found out you may find you need to go back and re-adjust some things and go thru some or the whole process again.Sometimes you have to cheat one gap a little to get another one right,just try to keep things straight and square as much as possible.As others have said tolerances on the bodies back in the day was nothing like it is now so you`ll never get them all perfect unless you bondo the edges like I`ve seen them do on some muscle car shows. 

[miketyler]

ok, I have all my gaps where they are about as good as can be expected. With my hinges adjusted at their lowest point, and my latch adjusted down as well, my hood doesnt suck down as nice as I would like. I can push on the sides but the other side pops up. Its like its see-sawing in the middle. Its not hitting anything, I've removed the air cleaner to be sure.

Is this the behavior you get when your hinges are worn out?

[torredcuda]

Are you talking the front or rear of hood?

[miketyler]

actually, is about the middle of the hood. I can snap some pics. Its almost as if the hood has more bow to it than it should but its not the case. When you push down on one side, it fairs in pretty nicely with the fender line 

[miketyler]

Or I would have posted pics but I get the message "upload folder is full, please contact your administrator"