Thread: GM A-Body Panel Alignment

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Hey guys, I have a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible that I had a ton of work done on by a body shop about 12 years ago, including brand new rear gm quarter panels, brand new GM fenders, and a host of other repairs, then had the car shot with deltron guards red two stage. The cars been in my garage for years, i drive it once in awhile, and recently went back to do what it needs to get it back on the road. Im finished with the mechanical end of it, and i never liked the way the front sheet metal lined up, and would like to get it straaightened out. Heres the problem: The gap at the top of both front fenders is wider than the gap at the bottom. And, the rear of the fender, where it meets the door, sticks out too far. I have tried to adjust the front sheet metal, being very careful because the car is painted, but I have noticed that on the GM A-body, the hood hinges bolt to the inner portion of the fenders. So when you move the fender adjustments, the hood moves along with it. I cant seem to get the fenders to line up correctly no matter what i do. Should i trust the car to another body shop, and hope that they dont damage the paint, or does anyone who has experience with A-body sheet metal alignment have any ideas on what i should do. They did a less than perfect job on the car, even though i paid for a perfect job. I would like to try and get it done myself, because noone is as careful as yourself when it comes to doing work like this on your own car. I am fully capable of doing any adjustments that i may have to do, but would like to get some pointers as to whaer i should go with this. Thank you
Dan

A tip
When lining up the fenders and hood and doors use masking tape on the edges so not to bump them and chip the paint. Do the doors line up with the quarters?? If they do the it should be just a mater of moving and shiming.
Good luck

yes, the rear of the doors line up with the quarters, my problem is in the front. It seems like both fenders have to be sort of "rotated" up in the front so the gap at the top of the doors closes up. Ive loosened the two bolts under the hood, and the one in the top of the door jamb, but the fenders just wont go where i want them to. It doesnt help that the hood hinges connect to the fenders on an A-Body, either, because when i move the fender the whole hood moves too, then that throws the hood out of whack.

It could be you'll have to shim up the core support (where the fenders attach at the front) to get the "rotation" you need. As for the hood hinges, the holes that sync with the bolts on the underside of the hood should be slotted for side to side movement, or at least be large enough for some side as well as fore/back movement. Or sometimes a little tweaking is necessary, just don't do so much as to cause a bind in the hinge.. Also, check the alignment of the door at the rocker panel in front and see if it isn't in too far. You have to get your head around trying to visualize all the intersecting panels moving "together", and be familiar with ALL the attachment points so you can "see" how the whole arrangement needs to move, not just thinking of one panel at a time. Panel alignment can be tedious/repetitive work............probably why the shop you hired didn't do it if they weren't quality minded. One other note to cheer you up if the front end's been damaged (including frame rails) in an accident and not fully repaired properly you may not be able to get a complete win.

the best way to fix this is get some big washer at your hard ware store. check first for the size you will need . slide them in under the core and bushing .you can cut them and make horse shoes out of them so you do not have to remove the core bolts cut a 1/2 gap in the washers gm use them to lift up the cores for fitment when cars were new. ford truck use this to . the core bushing get hammer over time and the body may be setting to low the bushing may be going bad .the best way to go is all new bushing if this is the case. all new body bushing this is a big job. or you can get new core bushing and try that but there is a good chance you may have to shim the new ones but do not let this get you down. if the car drive good a the door fit good to the back of the car. just lift the core up. all this tin goes for the ride .i have had to do this many times to make things right . the bumper will have to go up to so make shure it will not hit any painted parts and if you lift the core up i would stop at 3/8 of shim and start looking for more things that are going bad and you may have to move the core side to side to get the hood to fit so when done just do not slam the hood or you will be repainting it . back off the top bolts on the fenders so it will move up and not work i a bind and shim s on th fire wall side of the fender. and the one in the front door jam put some wooden paint stick in the air gap or a lot of tape .from fender to door so if the front jumps back it will not hit the paint

thanks for the replies. looks like i may have to remove some of the front body parts, like the bumper, grille, etc to avoid damaging anything in the process... thank you
Dan