i bolted on the front R model valance this morning ,easiest valance i ever installed .it is bolted at the fenders but only held in place with screws every where else for now ,i still have to take it back off for painting. it will pop rivet at the radiator support with 1/2 inch head rivets after painting.
a little helpful hint ,when installing fiber glass never tighten it down all at once . snug down the bolts and let it rest for a bit ,do this a couple of times .it will keep it from cracking.
the hood to head light doors fits really good now that i re arched the end of the fenders .now it is a complete body.
been a long hard day.i bet i hand each fender on and off at least 30 times each. a little welding , a little grinding and a whole lot of hammer and dolly work and they finally fit .the pass .side was the worst of the two and i think it came out the best .no bondo will be needed .driver side is not bad but it could be better .pass. side is a ford tooling and driver side is a Dynacorn. the Dynacorn fit up to the door a little better but it was flat on the top. i had to keep working the hood side to get a proper fit . the headlight buckets fit after i egged out the mounting holes .the hood fits very well and fits right up to the head light doors. i just need to fit the R model front valance and the body is done .
i replaced the battery apron some time ago .i tried to fit the pass. side fender . look the fender apron holes are already punched ,yeah right ,punched in the wrong spot come on people if you are going to take the time to make dies to stamp something like this out ,take the time to do it right. i suppose it is partially my fault ,i should have checked it before i welded it in . this fender is the ford tooling, see the stamp? the top where it meets the door has a 3/8 inch gap .the face up to the door is not real bad but ,the gap at the top and bottom is close to where it is supposed to be and the middle touches the door .don't they use any kind of pattern when the make this stuff?? the bracket under the fender where it bolts to the rocker is 3/4 of an inch from the rocker ,going to have to completely re work the area. i here people complain about fiberglass fitting bad ,at least you can easily add to or take away from it .metal is not so easy .THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE FUN.
i bolted the doors ,the trunk lid and the rear valance on today .i need a little readjustment on the trunk lid but every thing went back about where i had it before .to bad it still has to come apart one more time for paint. the hinges will stay in place so that will help for final assembly after paint.
time to start fitting those Dynacorn fenders.
i finally got some time for me today .i sanded down every thing but the two front fenders and the hood and primerd them .i didn't primer the inside face of the doors because this primer would fill in the grain .i will try to get most of it bolted on the car tomorrow. then comes the fitting of the fenders . i will primer the hood and fenders at the same time later. i can't wait to see it all in one color.