The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Body Panel Alignment

Well....just got out the credit card and ordered a boat load of parts to continue on with the restoration. Things like cab corners, cowl panels, floor pans, a couple patch panels, brake lines, fuel lines, wiring harness, radiator hoses, thermostat....and the list goes on.

But I would like to pick the brain of some body experts on here as I'm somewhat new to this. Body panel alignment shims...what size and how are they used? I see they come in different thicknesses as well as different slots widths.

Can someone give me the quick "crash course" on alignment shims?

Thanks

Sir, If you buy the factory assembly manual it has measurements describing the space between the frame rail and the cab. Then you decide which alighnment shims go where. Thanks stove 51. V/R, Nick Cavallaro, Bel Air, MD

In general, they are used, as you know, to align body parts/panels as they are bolted on. They enable you to obtain level, plumb, smooth, even sheet metal. They also allow for proper gaps and door opening clearance (doors have hinge adjustments for this also). They are open, horse shoe shaped, slotted as you say so that you can try different thicknesses without disassembling the bolt. It can be a time consuming, be in the right mood, deal. Don't forget that rubber seals, windlace and cab mount pads will affect the fits. As far as body mount hardware (at least on TF) there is a set of bolts, pads, washers and nuts that are used to attach the body to frame. Not shimmed, per se, to align any gaps, etc. You can use regular washers to "build up" if you want, and shims to tweak. The slot widths, of course, tell you sort of where to use them according to the bolt size at a location. You don't use a wide slot with a small diameter bolt.

If you are talking about a 51, there aren't that many shims involved in the body. The fenders , doors and hood do not use shims. Shims are used on all the cab mounts.

I looked up cab mounting hardware on the vendor websites to try and be informed a little before posting, don't see any shims in the kit. Just a straight forward hardware kit with what look like all flat washers, round and square and some "bushings". However, if the assembly manual says shims, then shims it is. They do have universal shims for 1936-1991. What needs to be shimmed if a new mounting kit is used that has no shims supplied? What are you trying to align? I think that would help the poster. Question was general "crash course" on shims. I did not know the cab to frame was shimmed and not body parts, That is opposite of TF. When disassembling old AD trucks, do you find factory cab to frame shims of varying thicknesses in different cab mount locations? Like they were trying to "level" it with a level? If you put the cab on first, nothing to align to? Good work on the 51's Fred!!

'shims' are mainly an "after the fact" thing that are used when there's a slight mismatch from specs between various parts - commonly available on the Help! rack in any FLAPS in a pack of 3 or 4 thicknesses, no need to buy from the vendors - the factory likely didn't use many/any, but they're a common thing in body shops

Bill

The front mounts on an AD cab have shims. The front mounts determine whether the cab is level. There are shims involved in the shackle mounts at the back of the cab. The front clip mount under the radiator has shims. This area has a lot to do with the fit of the hood to the fenders.

Good to know.

Thanks gents for the replies. I should have been a bit more detailed in my post. I'm not referring to cab/body to frame mounting, (I'm clear on that process) I'm more concerned about aligning body panels with each other...doors, fenders, hoods...etc. Keeping the gaps evenly spaced. There were no shims in these locations upon tear down. I was curious if they are used in order to keep even spacing throughout the body sections during reconstruction. And if so, what thickness/gap is the "rule of thumb" for these trucks.

Thank You

they're used if needed, but there's some amount of adjustment possible in just the standard factory mountings such as the door hinge, which on some series have slightly oval holes - you'll also find the rad core support mounting can affect all of the front sheet metal fit including how it meets the cab

in the factory they had the 'luxury' of setting aside a piece that didn't easily fit well and using one that did, if you're swapping in parts from another truck or if you've done much metal work, you might need shims that the factory didn't

Bill

Good to know Bill. I didn't realize the radiator support can affect so much.

For fitting the hood and front fenders I backed off the front clip mount under the front and used the support rods under the hood to bring things into alignment. I then sized the rubber in the front mount to fit.

Good luck with your attention to gaps!