Mopar fits

[Canadian1968CoronetR/T]

Had a freind over the other night to look at my new 68 car, he brought his wife along. The first thing she noticed was the door fit on the pass door not good gaps and down alittle at rear. I was not pleased and stated that in the last few month I had been looking this car had better fits than most. Do all mopar of that area have fits like that and are they fixable? Hope freind leaves wife at home next time.

 

[70rr-brian]

I'll let someone else address the commonality of these issues but funny story. Guy I knew 20 years back or so with slicks, a new hyped up 440 w/nitrous and no body reenforcements twisted the body to the point the passengers door would'nt even close.

Panel alignment was never their main focus back then.

 

[wannadrag]

Fit and finished sucked when they were new.Go to a car show and look,you'll have a hard time finding one perfect.

 

[Bruzilla]

I was told guys can use a welding rod to go down the end of the panel and build up material to fill in those gaps, but the process was more expensive than just living with the gaps.

 

[terzmo]

Had a freind over the other night to look at my new 68 car, he brought his wife along. The first thing she noticed was the door fit on the pass door not good gaps and down alittle at rear. I was not pleased and stated that in the last few month I had been looking this car had better fits than most. Do all mopar of that area have fits like that and are they fixable? Hope freind leaves wife at home next time.

I hate people pointing out deficiencies I already know about. Quality control was not a major enforced issue in the years up to the mid 70's when the oversea's market gained alot of momentum on a "quality" product. It was fashionable in the 50/60's to trade a car in after 2 years so many didn't care about door gaps and such. I've seen mopars with good gaps and awful ones. Remember...alot of these cars had quarters changed,fenders,etc and the bodies were at the mercy of the mechanic. I always rationalize that if it doesn't bother Me...screw what others think.

 

[bigredbird]

60s/70s Mopar doors weigh as much as a modern compact car. Of course they're going to sag and droop a little. That's what the adjustment bolts are for.

 

[WP29440SE]

people that dont know how these cars were new have no business judging them. my original paint lemon twist duster has factory runs on the outside . half my engine bay has runs and the other half barely has paint at all. every gap is off and this car has never been wrecked. under coating where it shouldnt be and none where it should. these cars were blow and go back then. mystery rattles, wind noise and leaks were the norm.

 

[Propwash]

Out of the big three, Chrysler was the worst for gaps....Now a days, poor body work and not so perfect aftermarket panels can add to it. Proper alignment right off the bat is the big key. Guys that have progressively put these cars back together know that the quarter/rocker to door, door to fender and fender to hood/cowl gaps need to flow as far as aligning them in the correct order to insure proper gaps all the way around. Throw a wrench in that and you'll be making up for an issue in one place, only to create a problem in another. Essential is door to quarter/rocker. Obviously the quarter/rocker is not adjustable. As far as after the fact fixes in those areas, you're burdened with removing metal, adding metal, metal build up or slight shaping with a filler if very shallow. Easier fixes for alignment issues are manual door/fender/hood adjustments, like mentioned-rebuild/new hinges and shimming.

These guys are right...out of the box these cars had poor alignment. I guess on your end it's a matter of how happy your are with them and if not, what's the fix and how far are you willing to go to perfect something that was never perfected to start with.

 

[Bruzilla]

Heck, the gaps are about the only original thing still on my car.

 

[CTMopar]

I have seen where people new to mopar state that they have noticed that mopar people are way more detail oriented (for one way of putting it) than other car guys. This thread just makes me think how you will only hear a mopar guy complaining that a restoration was messed up because the doors line up too good. I have heard this statement several times. Of course if their doors are constantly being blown off by mopars why would they care about gaps?

 

[Cranky]

My sister bought a new 66 Belvedere (later to be mine) and it was a demo. Either this car came from the factory like this (doubt it) or the dealership had a great body man because everything about this car was right on!! Nothing had to be slammed to shut....everything clicked shut when closed easily and no rattles. I got this car in early 69 kept this car until I got shipped over seas in late 71 and I did nothing but run the dog out of it but I did take care of the maintenance on it always! My present 66 Belvedere wasn't as good but I have to say it wasn't bad. I've had it for over 25 years now.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Some brands had better body fitment than others but none of them were like the newer cars. Computers, lasers and all kinds of modern manufacturing processes have made the bodywork on new cars arrow straight compared to the old days, at least when they roll off the assembly line. If you want to see an old car that has poorly fitting bodywork, check out an old Corvette. Especially the C-1s (55-62). At a serious Corvette meet they will actually take points away from you if the body is too straight or everything fits too well. To me that's one of the cool things about our old rides is that they aren't perfect and never really were.

 

[b-star69]

I hate people pointing out deficiencies I already know about. Quality control was not a major enforced issue in the years up to the mid 70's when the oversea's market gained alot of momentum on a "quality" product. It was fashionable in the 50/60's to trade a car in after 2 years so many didn't care about door gaps and such. I've seen mopars with good gaps and awful ones. Remember...alot of these cars had quarters changed,fenders,etc and the bodies were at the mercy of the mechanic. I always rationalize that if it doesn't bother Me...screw what others think.

x2 what-a-bitch

 

[440+6]

When i bought my 70 GTX in 1979 it was an original unmolested car, gaps where off and it had paint runs on bottom of passenger door and rocker.
When I restored it all gaps where fit in the correct order and everything ended up fitting near perfect.

 

[iraqivet01]

Spent two days getting the gaps on my Coronet after it can back from body shop because they weren't even close.

Some gaps you have to live, unless your Chip Foose who spends months adding and grinding to the point where they are no bigger than a credit card before paint.

Getting the body lines right and door gaps on a these cars takes a lot of time and patients. Thought I was going to wear out the threads on the bolts they were tightened and loosened so many times.