Body panel alignment - Top of Apron to Cowl (1 Viewer)

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Thanks everyone. Pretty sure it was/is an original fender that hasn’t been cut/modified from what I can tell. I shimmed up the drivers side by adding a couple washers under the front thicker body mount but it didn’t seem to do much. It’s still off but I might be over analyzing it:bang: It’s loosely bolted in place. I found a picture of the drivers side prior to disassembly for comparison. Leave as is or dive further in?
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There is a spacer in there but probably not thick enough. Also, everything is loosely bolted together.
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I’ll give that a shot. I only have a 1/8” piece of foam/neoprene in there now. So I shouldn’t mess shimming the cowl anymore? I recall the original spacer was something similar to what went under the radiator support bolts..
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yes very similar but thicker.. part # was 53154-60010

there is also a stock spacer 52212-90310 on only one side of cowl body mount depending on lhd or rhd.


have you installed 51464-90800 (shim, radiator cover cushion) to the top of bib yet,

and both 53349-90310 (bumper, fender to hood)?
 
yes very similar but thicker.. part # was 53154-60010

there is also a stock spacer 52212-90310 on only one side of cowl body mount depending on lhd or rhd.


have you installed 51464-90800 (shim, radiator cover cushion) to the top of bib yet,

and both 53349-90310 (bumper, fender to hood)?
Are these still available?
 
53154-60010 discontinued - make one out of conveyor belt (3/8 +/- ) to raise bib up.


52212-90310 - stock spacer on one side of cowl, if your aftermarket cowl body mounts are the same size,
something to consider. if they are different left to right, swap accordingly.


51464-90800 and 53349-90310 are both readily available in OEM or aftermarket and will aid you greatly in not marring your immaculate paint while shifting/lining up, and also having the right gap for fitment.

You are so very very close.
 
I bought the same kit although I have not installed mine yet.

Since the body was off the frame, was the frame ever checked to see if it was straight and not twisted? Visual really doesn't count, a frame table would be needed to verify it wasn't twisted or out of alignment. If the frame is twisted it might explain why the passenger side fits better than the drivers side.
Byron, can you please measure the 2 front thicker mounts and see if they are the exact same thickness? I'm 99% sure they are as I don't remember them being different.
 
53154-60010 discontinued - make one out of conveyor belt (3/8 +/- ) to raise bib up.


52212-90310 - stock spacer on one side of cowl, if your aftermarket cowl body mounts are the same size,
something to consider. if they are different left to right, swap accordingly.


51464-90800 and 53349-90310 are both readily available in OEM or aftermarket and will aid you greatly in not marring your immaculate paint while shifting/lining up, and also having the right gap for fitment.

You are so very very close.
Thank you so much for the great detail. Feeling like I can make this work. Just need a little more patience.
 
I just went through this ( albeit not same year or model (1966 FJ45, frame off resto/ paint etc) but my issue was the front fenders were too low).
After much to-ing and fro-ing, I levered up the body and reduced FRONT body mounts from 1/2” ( similar polyurethane body mount kit that you have pictured) to 1/4”; leaving back two body mounts at 1/2”. This changed angle of body slightly and lowered the fender interface allowing everything to line up perfect ( with adjustments to the four slotted fender mount holes.
A datum that helped me was the front bib mount. Once I installed front bib, the vertical plane of where the fenders needed to be was set, allowing me to adjust the body up or down to match the fenders. Q? a bit confusing? In other words, I started at the front bib and worked backwards. All lined up now, hood, fenders, body...yippee!
Hope that helps.
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I just went through this ( albeit not same year or model (1966 FJ45, frame off resto/ paint etc) but my issue was the front fenders were too low).
After much to-ing and fro-ing, I levered up the body and reduced FRONT body mounts from 1/2” ( similar polyurethane body mount kit that you have pictured) to 1/4”; leaving back two body mounts at 1/2”. This changed angle of body slightly and lowered the fender interface allowing everything to line up perfect ( with adjustments to the four slotted fender mount holes.
A datum that helped me was the front bib mount. Once I installed front bib, the vertical plane of where the fenders needed to be was set, allowing me to adjust the body up or down to match the fenders. Q? a bit confusing? In other words, I started at the front bib and worked backwards. All lined up now, hood, fenders, body...yippee!
Hope that helps.View attachment 2524052
First off, wow! Great looking rig! What spacer did you use under the bib hinge? @deadsolt recommend conveyor belt material but I’m trying to source something from a hardware store. I need to bring my driver side cowl up 3/16 to 1/4 inch.
 
Byron, can you please measure the 2 front thicker mounts and see if they are the exact same thickness? I'm 99% sure they are as I don't remember them being different.

I tried to measure them along the ends and couldn't get a constant measurement as they are cast or injection molded. I then decided to use my caliper depth feature and went through the mounting hole and got 0.925" and 0.930" so they are within 0.005".

I then decided to see what, if any, difference there might be with the factory mount and took this picture:

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Based on the photo (passenger side) the factory mount is thicker but I'm not exactly sure by how much. If that is the case on differences between all the mounts I'll be making or buying some from of shims when I do mine. I also don't know if any of the factory mount is actually a shim and the polymer mount will compress some.

Can you post a picture of the mount installed with body weight resting on it?
 
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First off, wow! Great looking rig! What spacer did you use under the bib hinge? @deadsolt recommend conveyor belt material but I’m trying to source something from a hardware store. I need to bring my driver side cowl up 3/16 to 1/4 inch.
Made my own bib spacer: motorcycle inner tube ,folded double ( originally had two of these spacers in place but the iterative approach to getting things lines up /3 days!/ made me take out one spacer. So in the end, the bib spacer is probably about 3/16” when compressed.
 
So here it is with roughly a 3/16 shim under the driver side body mount. I haven't tightened the bolt in the body mount since I’ll need a slightly longer one and suspect I'll lose a little height in the cowl when I do. Thinking this is as good as it gets. If I go any higher I think I'll run in to steering column issues..... earlier in the thread it was mentioned to notch out the holes where the fender bolts to the frame. This could solve this last little bit. Thoughts?
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I had been checking my panel fitment on my doghouse prior to doing body work and painting. I purchased new oem fenders, when I mounted the drivers apron I noticed the apron was slightly higher, like yours, where it met the tub and there was a slight gap between the flat(horizontal) top of the fender and the apron, like yours. I had to straighten/tweak/tap/hammer the mounting flange from the curve to the ends of the apron, so the apron overall would fit the fender better. They were slightly distorted. Both sides needed a little work. Your gap maybe because your apron is not bolted down all the way.
 
/jdns78fj40:
looks close enough for me and only you will notice it’s not perfect!
don’t forget the top of bib rubber spacers (4 total)....SOR has them. ( looked in earlier pics you didn’t have them....they set the proper hood height and protect your shiny new ( nice) paint.
 

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