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C.I.Blazer · 08-11-2020, 08:32 AM

lksdcvn - Wow! Thanks for the great reply. That is incredibly helpful information for me and I am sure it will be for others in the future as well. Also, appreciate the help with the pics.

It sounds like I am on the right track which is great to hear. Doing something like this for the first time can be a bit daunting but the help on this forum has been phenomenal. A couple of comments then a couple of questions.

- Yes, the mounts must have all been original because they were pretty well destroyed. Also, all the bolt heads except one were welded to the bed.

- Yes, I did remove the drivers door previously to fix a bad hinge. The door would not shut at all unless I forced it down with a lot of pressure. After the repair, everything lined up much better and although the body lines are not exactly on. With the exception of the driver door pinching where it hits the front fender (as you can see in the pic), both doors function pretty well.

Questions:

- There is no extra metal piece in the rear-most body panel bolt. I can see that it was there but it has been removed. Do I need to fab something up to replace it? Is there a reason these where there on the rear-most bolts but none of the others? Is there more force here or something perhaps because it is near where the rear fender attaches to the frame?

- How tight do I tighten the nuts on all these mounts? How much do I want to compress the bushings?

Given what you have said I think I will:

- Call the shims good for now. I have only fixed one hinge that was cracked and bent where it attaches to the door. The other hinges are still saggy so I will get those rebuilt first.

- Remove the front clip and adjust my door position in relation to the B-Pillar.

- Once the door is lined up well, take some measurements then tackle by rocker, rocker box, and floor rust repair.

- rehang doors then re-install and adjust front fenders.

Any comments on my plan of action?

Again, thanks to everyone for the help. Deadhead, I do have the factory manual and did see that page. Just wasn't sure how to balance the shimming with the door and fender adjusting. As so man of you have encountered, it is hard to start with no reference point.

Appreciate all the help.

08-11-2020, 08:32 AM	#12
C.I.Blazer Registered User Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: WA State Posts: 186	Re: Help with shims and panel alignment lksdcvn - Wow! Thanks for the great reply. That is incredibly helpful information for me and I am sure it will be for others in the future as well. Also, appreciate the help with the pics. It sounds like I am on the right track which is great to hear. Doing something like this for the first time can be a bit daunting but the help on this forum has been phenomenal. A couple of comments then a couple of questions. - Yes, the mounts must have all been original because they were pretty well destroyed. Also, all the bolt heads except one were welded to the bed. - Yes, I did remove the drivers door previously to fix a bad hinge. The door would not shut at all unless I forced it down with a lot of pressure. After the repair, everything lined up much better and although the body lines are not exactly on. With the exception of the driver door pinching where it hits the front fender (as you can see in the pic), both doors function pretty well. Questions: - There is no extra metal piece in the rear-most body panel bolt. I can see that it was there but it has been removed. Do I need to fab something up to replace it? Is there a reason these where there on the rear-most bolts but none of the others? Is there more force here or something perhaps because it is near where the rear fender attaches to the frame? - How tight do I tighten the nuts on all these mounts? How much do I want to compress the bushings? Given what you have said I think I will: - Call the shims good for now. I have only fixed one hinge that was cracked and bent where it attaches to the door. The other hinges are still saggy so I will get those rebuilt first. - Remove the front clip and adjust my door position in relation to the B-Pillar. - Once the door is lined up well, take some measurements then tackle by rocker, rocker box, and floor rust repair. - rehang doors then re-install and adjust front fenders. Any comments on my plan of action? Again, thanks to everyone for the help. Deadhead, I do have the factory manual and did see that page. Just wasn't sure how to balance the shimming with the door and fender adjusting. As so man of you have encountered, it is hard to start with no reference point. Appreciate all the help.