door windshield fender and hood fit up issue

[dougkirkbride]

here are some current pics of the area where the door, windshield fender and hood come together:

Kudos who have this part of the build completed, this is definatly the most cumbersome!

44281

44282
44283
44284

to me, this is what needs to happen to make the body lines look correct:
the fender needs to move in to match the door body lines, the door cant move out any more or it will be half on the steel pad it bolts to at the top, above the hinge.

my front bumper is only 3/16 below the small square tube in the front of the car, if i go lower with the bumper my radiator cap hits the hood, I think most guys are down 3/4 of an inch there. If i did lower the front it maypull everything away from the windshield enough and allow the hood to slide forward to allow the fenders to come in.

has anyone had problems with the stock radiator cap hitting the hood? Any ideas besides lowering radiator?
Thanks Doug

here is where my side sail is:
44285

[Bob_n_Cincy]

here are some current pics of the area where the door, windshield fender and hood come together:

Kudos who have this part of the build completed, this is definatly the most cumbersome!

44281

44282
44283
44284

to me, this is what needs to happen to make the body lines look correct:
the fender needs to move in to match the door body lines, the door cant move out any more or it will be half on the steel pad it bolts to at the top, above the hinge.

my front bumper is only 3/16 below the small square tube in the front of the car, if i go lower with the bumper my radiator cap hits the hood, I think most guys are down 3/4 of an inch there. If i did lower the front it maypull everything away from the windshield enough and allow the hood to slide forward to allow the fenders to come in.

has anyone had problems with the stock radiator cap hitting the hood? Any ideas besides lowering radiator?
Thanks Doug

here is where my side sail is:
44285

Doug,
That looks pretty good. I just did my doors a couple of weeks ago.
My side sail are 3/8" to 1/2" back further than spec.
It gave me clearance at roll bar and door-fender full open with no trimming. I will have to do a little FG work to make the fender-Sale joint cleaner.
It also mad my wheel perfectly centered in the wheel openings.

Body lines were the last thing on my mind. With 3/16 door gaps, everything was tight. So no way to adjust for body lines.
My OEM radiator didn't have a cap.
Bob

[Quiny]

I had to cut down the back tips of my front hood a lot to make it work, mine is also a little crooked even though everything else measures perfect almost like the hood was made crooked. I found I need to suppress the engineer in me, put down the micrometer and pick up a yardstick.

[RM1SepEx]

I had to cut down the back tips of my front hood a lot to make it work, mine is also a little crooked even though everything else measures perfect almost like the hood was made crooked. I found I need to suppress the engineer in me, put down the micrometer and pick up a yardstick.

:rolleyes: Couldn't agree more, can't get it exactly even, engineer has to stay away. You need to see that you can't see both sides at the same time and you have to "adjust" to make it pleasing to the eyes.

[dougkirkbride]

Thanks for the pics and reply's guys.

Dan where abouts is your side sail? and your front bumper? is it 3/4" down from the tube in the front? your fenders look more in towards the center of the car than mine and your door panels look better inline with the fenders.

the longer I work at it the less reserved I become to trim, sand, hack, and bend the panels to get what I think I need.

moving my radiator up to avoid the hose touching the steering rack caused my cap to give me problems with interfering with the hood. Some things are so stinking tight and I am thinking of how my panels sat for a year and relaxed maybe is causing some issues.

[RM1SepEx]

sides sit 3/4 or so back vs 5/8, engine cover too tight on the roll bar but if I go back farther I'd have to rework the door latch brackets. Front lower uses an angle bracket of aluminum to sit both lower and forward of the radiator support. Much detail in my build thread... EVERY position effects somewhere else, it's all about trade offs and compromises. My hood has a forced curve with a stand off in the center holding it up to get a nice even hood to windshield gap, that effectively makes the hood sit a bit narrower.

Struggling now with uneven door opening sizes, I have about 1/4 less height on the passenger side under the windshield post and it is at the top of the slots. The driver's side comes down about 1/4 inch on the slots. NOTHING is actually square and the same, side to side. I think the body panels are not mirror images either.

You need to remove a TON of that rear edge of the fenders, look at all the completed cars. That material needs to go to have the door hinge open and clear.

[CU9DZ]

Dan. Where did you get the locking hood pins? Did they come all keyed alike? What manufacturer? I got a few sets from Summit Racing but each set is keyed differently.
Thanks Davis

[dougkirkbride]

You need to remove a TON of that rear edge of the fenders, look at all the completed cars. That material needs to go to have the door hinge open and clear.

Yes i would half to agree with this but i am thinking about limiting my door opening distance using the mod wayne recommended in his door assy write up. if i limit it to about 22"gap at the door opening i can get my lines pretty close and not half to trim much out of the scallop. people will see the door closed more than open so its important for me that that door / fender interface looks good. it being an odd interface, i think it draws attention by itself.

[RM1SepEx]

Dan. Where did you get the locking hood pins? Did they come all keyed alike? What manufacturer? I got a few sets from Summit Racing but each set is keyed differently.
Thanks Davis

EBay