frustrated

Hey Fil,
I havn't got a far as bolting that (fenders/doghouse) all together for real as I have plenty of other stuff to do but have noticed the same issue,my body shell is an 81,fenders 78 and core support off of a 79,
It has been so long since I took it apart I don't remember any shims being under the core support and figured my misalignment issues were due to the different year parts,I know they'll all work together it's just different variations etc. I just seem to remember seeing some instructions,I think with my energy suspension body mounts,to retain and re-use the factory shims under the core support mounts,like I said I havn't fooled around with that part to much yet but about how much did you have to add to straighten the fender and close the gap? Being as I'm not a body man I'm learning that stuff (lining up body panels) as I go,
I'm guessing if you use a good (and long) straight edge and line up the body-character?-lines and maybe the tops of the wheelwells amongst each others and stand back make shure everything looks right it doesn't matter how many shims you have to use,well within reason anyway,main thing is looking right,close up is good but 30 feet or so will tell you a lot! Let me know if you figure out anything interesting as I'll probably be gettin into that come spring time! Later,KillerDave

this is good!fear not!
not long ago,i put the elcamino body back on the frame with new poly bushings and oem door hinges.i too had this larger gap at the top and decent lines at the bottom.i also tryed the oem support bushings and the ones that came with the kit.the poly ones were awful,needed a ton of space.i put the gm ones in and they needed 9/16" on one side and 5/8"on the other side.the factory ones were the better of the two choices.there wasn't this much space when i took it apart but it was a diffrent support than what came out.i ended up making a set of spacers out of two spare poly bushings from a friends lift kit.its ok to shim the support like this,just make sure the shim(s) are as wide as the bottom of the bushing cup,i think its two inches(mine anyhow).its best to shim between the frame rail and support bushing.you may notice after you shim the support up, the bottom fender gap may want to close.loosen the bottom abit,shim the top and even the fender to door line.these cars rolled off the line with shims in the fenders and doors etc.its ok to use shims.i've found factory support shims on later model gm pickups from time to time.the thing that works for me is,your quarter panel(s)are most likely one of the most stationary panels,chances are the last guy that owned your car didn't move them,the other panels maybe.align your doors with that,its a great place to start.do both doors,then move on to the fenders,hang the hood,then the headlight mounting panel.by doing the header panel last,you can swing both fenders together on the support to make the fender to hood gaps,square it up so to speak.the header panel ties it all together thats why it's last inline.keep in mind that the lines on these cars were not nearly as refined as the lines on todays cars,they are bigger and not nearly as consistent.you need to find a happy medium across the board as far as good gaps go it maybe a bit bigger on one end than the other,the stamping of the panels themselves has alot to do with the way the panels line up too.it was long ago,and it was gm-need i say more.a big help in all this is not having your latches in the doors and hood latch out.if you leave these items in they will dictate where the door,hood etc is going to lie when you shut them,you want nothing to catch them just letting them close where they be is the way to go.work on the striker/latch position after the lines are established.PLUS you won't have to keep running back and fourth popin' the hood or fumbling for a door handle it gets old quick and it doesn't help.i also prefit my body for paint,what helped was,after i got it all lined up,i drilled 1/8"alignment holes through doors-hinges,hinges-a pillar, fender -support,this way when ur assembling it after its painted,you can fine tune it all to where you had it placed before by just cracking the hardware loose and having a buddy hold the panel while you place a small drift or small punch into that hole to make the final placement.an 1/8 bit now doesn't work to line it up because the hole is now filled with paint so a smaller item is best.take your time and get some help.it's all worth it in the end,i'm sorry i don't have any pics with the support on.any more ?just ask