I had my stasng painted in pieces and learned that it was the worst way to do it. It is all back together now and i have been driving it. However the front fender gaps at the doors are off. I know that the fenders can be shimmed. can one of you guys put up a pic of the shims that i should use. Im sure i have them in the parts bucket that i have but i dont know what they look like.
If any of you know any tricks to lining up the doors and the quarters please list them.

 

Bunch of questions first....How far off are they? Did you have the doors off the car? Are the quarters original? Can you post some pictures?
I am thinking if the doors were off the car and the quarters are original you adjust the doors to fit the quarters and then go after the front fenders.
Remember, these things did not fit together that well even from the factory.

 

All the parts are original. Yes the doors were off. Infact the whole car was apart. It is a pain in the a$$. i will post pics later today.

 

The biggest thing that I have learned about body work is, it is more of an art than anythiig else. Nothing...and I mean nothing, is just a simple "bolt on and go" deal. You have to learn to be "creative" to make things as close as you are comfortable with. The better you want the fit, the longer it takes. The shims you seek should be a hoarse shoe shaped deal but you can pretty much use what you want (washers or whatever) as they won't be seen.

The easiest way to do it is to line up the doors with the quarters and the rocker panel. Get these as close as you possibly can because a little off here will be a lot off when you get to the fenders.

Take your time. It will take a lot of going back and forth and a bit of time to get it to where you are happy with it.

 

How off is off? Is the gap that runs vertical between the door and fender the problem? Does the gap get wider? You can shim under any bolt. Also, keep in mind that the gap is fairly wide. Don't think its 1/8 inch. Its closer to 7/16. Also remember that the fender should protrude a tad farther then the door edge at the gap. This prevents wind noise from being created. Also, if you shim the bottom of the fender it will also allow you to distort the fit.

 

Here's one. This came from the top front of one of my front fenders. It was the only shim on either fender. When I reassembled the fender fit better without it even though it was the same fender. It's about 1/8 inch thick.