The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Front end shims

‘47 Chevrolet 3100 AD

I’m fitting my front clip....hood and fenders. I’ve read enough to know the procedure but need some advice.

I’ve measured the two front cab support distances from floor to the floor. They are close. That suggests shims under the radiator shell is pretty key.

“As Required” is interesting. Is there no documented target spacing I should be working around....didn’t the assembly line have a standard number of shims etc that were added for each vehicle? Seems to me that couldn’t take time to individually adjust each truck. I know in 70+ years things have moved, rusted, replaced. Just interested if there’s a baseline to work from? I couldn’t find anything.

Sounds like “As Required” is really a trial and error answer. Am I right?

As Required is what I'm expecting when I put mine back together. The cab welding dimensions are specified as 1/16" +/- so multiply that by the length of the front clip and it could get pretty big.

Yes, trial and error. When you think you have it, park where you can stand back at least 10 to 15 yards and look at the side view (both sides). Even a 1/2 inch off will show up as an oddity. Good luck.

What do your gaps measure between the bottom of the front cab supports and the frame? Same question for between the cab floor and the frame at the rear.
Having those gaps within specifications will dictate how to shim the radiator support.

I’ve measured and the gaps are all really close from laying on my back.

I’ve been working to close the fender/hood gap and adjust the hood following thread suggestions and tech tips here. Everything is loose. The problem I’m having is that I can’t get the front of the hood low enough to lock. It will lower far enough so the safety catch holds the hood. But I can’t get the lock to catch even by lengthening the catch bolt. The bolt aligns with opening in the lower catch plate but the front of the hood won’t go down far enough for the bolt to lock.

I’ve tried putting shims under the radiator support saddle to raise the front up to meet the hood. Gone from none to 6 in 1/8 increments. Thinking that HAD to be logical. Wrong logic!

In adjusting the hood, the gap between the cowl edge and back hood is 1/4”. The rear right corner gap is 1/2”. The left rear corner is a touch over 1/4”.

I’m wonder where I can go next. I’m missing something, somewhere. I’ll try to send pictures. I’m stumped at this point.

Remove the hood latch on the upper radiator baffle and remove the hood support springs.
Now, with the hood closed, check the gap between the rear of the hood and the cowl. It should be parallel to the cowl for the full length and around 1/8th inch gap.
I am assuming that you have the rear of the fenders pushed down as far as possible. It will also be very helpful to completely remove the bolts which attach the inner fenders to the toe board. These bolts sometimes prevent you from lowering the fenders fully down.
The key to setting up a front clip is to set the hood in the correct position, then adjust the fenders up to fit the hood.