Fender Alignment

[Thompsju]

Somehow in the midst of an engine overhaul both fenders and the bumper have misaligned (door catches badly, headlamps are gapped). The hood is and was also misaligned. (the previous owner failed to mention a salvage title which also involves a bent frame)

Any hints, tips, write-ups on this would be much appreciated.

 

[ILoveAudi]

Well there's not much to say. Know what you're buying before you buy it.

 

[Thompsju]

You seem to be trolling on everyone today.

Drink some cranberry juice, it might help.

 

[SomeDudeAtHome]

You seem to be trolling on everyone today.

Drink some cranberry juice, it might help.

ha he's not trolling he told you what most people do before buying a car. Personally after finding out what you have about the car (read the history report too) I'd sell that car and never look back. Get rid of it asap.

 

[ILoveAudi]

^ What he said. I'd get rid of it.

 

[Thompsju]

I've already put too much time and money into it...

Anyways, are there 2 bolts on each Front fender?

 

[Thompsju]

I got the car for $1,000, of course I knew it was going to need fixing.

 

[Scottydoggs]

yes the fenders bolt on, you can try shimming them.

but if where the frame bolts into the body is bent or rusting out ( check it out good) its only gonna get worse over time.

 

[Speedy1973]

salvage title which also involves a bent frame)

Uh..... Take a hit int he pocketbook man, get rid of that. It'll just cause you more headaches down the road.

Gp's are plentiful (Y) get another

 

[Scottydoggs]

with any luck just the sub frame is bent, or front rad support. all fix able.

if the bodys bent, well thats another story.

 

[Speedy1973]

with any luck just the sub frame is bent, or front rad support. all fix able.

if the bodys bent, well thats another story.

sure it's fixable. but is it really worth it? when there could be more wrong with the car? Ie: roted rockers, rotted strut towers etc etc.

pics in this thread would help, just to see how bad your panels are gapped

 

[Scottydoggs]

your right, if its rusted out, sell it fast, start over.

but if all thats solid its worth a shot to save.

 

[Thompsju]

The suffrage is bent in the front near the rad, but not enough to affect anything.

The rust is almost all taken care of at this point. Rust treatment, Eastwood, and underbody liner.

The panels weren't off before, now when I open the door it grinds against the fender. (it did NOT do this before, so it's a small matter of adjusting the panel)

 

[Thompsju]

The subframe is bent in the front near the rad, but not enough to affect anything. If I really cared, $65 on the frame rack would solve that.

The rust is almost all taken care of at this point. Sanding, Eastwood Rust treatment, , and Eastwood underbody liner.

The panels weren't off (misaligned) before, now when I open the door it grinds against the fender. (it did NOT do this before, so it's a small matter of adjusting the panel)

I'll post a few of my before and after.

 

[Thompsju]

I have over 500 pics on my phone, so there's currently no order to the chaos.

http://s1331.photobucket.com/user/thompsju2211/profile/

 

[Scottydoggs]

yeah you've got a bunch of time invested. i can see why you want to hold on to it. that car "looks" ok from your pics, why not get it on a frame rack and checked out and fixed for 65 bucks like you said?

 

[Thompsju]

I got both fenders aligned so that the doors no longer rub the fender when opened.

Bolts #18 & #29 are used to align the driver fender. The passenger side is mirrored.

 

[Thinksun]

My drivers door rubbed (bound up against) the fender bad when I got mine. A $10 doorman hinge bushing kit fixed problem in 20 minutes- may not be all due to bent subframe. http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-50241-38490.aspx

 

[Thompsju]

Cool. Dorman owes me some freebies anyways.

 

[BillBoost37]

It's probably body flex etc that caused it. Doesn't seem that it was too bad if you were able to fix it with a couple of adjustments. Good job and thanks for letting the rest know how to fix it in the future.

To anyone telling him to get rid of the car because it has a salvage title etc.. WTH is wrong with you. You know nothing about the history of the car or the accident that sent it into a salvage title. Assuming that the accident screwed the doors after he did a motor is pretty silly. To do a motor you have to either jack or lift the car. Anyone that ever jacked one of these cars by the front of the subframe, put it on stands and let it down probably bug eyed at the amount of flex their first time.

Hell.. I have bought more cars as parts only (written on bill of sale that never made it home, lol) and had great cars. Right now I have an 03 Impala that was purchased for $450 as parts. Car is unbelieveably clean inside and out. It needed a trans, which cost $100 (and it's a fresh rebuild)... This $650 (after all costs) car is amazing and in no way needed to be junked. It needed about 6 hours of work under the hood for a trans swap.