The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1949 Chevy Panel Truck

Body Gaps

Before I started tweaking the body gaps I went ahead and installed the rubber wiper seals in each of the doors. I started out attempting to slide them in place but quickly found out that it wasn't going to work so I ended up sliding the bottom groove in place and pressing the top groove with a blunt screwdriver. I then took a plastic trim tool and gave it some small taps with a hammer to set the top groove completely in the channel. Took about 45 mins per side but they are now installed.

On the back portion of both rear fenders there was a gap near the bottom where it fit to the bedside that bugged me. After thinking it over for a bit, I decided to massage the body panel instead of massaging the fender. To get a better fit I slit the body panel in the local area of the gap just behind the body-line on the bedside. I then took a body hammer and closed the gap between the fender and body panel by tapping on the bedside panel, which opened up a banana shaped opening within the body panel. I then made a piece to fill the area and welded it into the opening and sanded it down and shot it with primer. I had to do this on both rear fenders/bedsides.

Another area that bothered me was the top of where the two barn doors come together. When I capped them several years ago the two doors ended up with a slight point between the two doors as opposed to a smooth curve like I was looking for. I show a pic of the area with a stainless scale held against the area and you can see a subtle, yet noticeable, point. So I marked where I thought I needed to slit the top and slit down the sides of each door so I could tap the contour down a bit in the local area. I slit it once and tapped it down so the gap was basically gone, then checked it and I had to re-slit it a few times and tap it down to get it where I wanted it. I then welded up the gap and sanded it (relatively) smooth. Hopefully with these slight tweaks a quick wipe of filler and some block sanding will make it all look better when it comes time for the bodywork.