Hi: I am working on a 67 camaro complete ground up in progress.

I have got california fenders (rust free) and i am trying to fit them up to the car before i do too much to them.

they fit up ok, the gap at the door is good however the lap??? at the door is a bit off what i mean is the fender at the main bend in the middle is out farthure than the door but they both fit flush at the bottom and not bad at the top.

I have tried everything to get a flush fit all the way up the door/fender gap. is this normal for a car built in 1967? Or is there somthing i could do better to get a better fit.

Thanks

Sounds like you need to add extra shims to the two bolts at the bottom of the fender to draw the length of the fender down. Also, maybe take some shims out of that one fender bolt that is in the door jamb.



[This message has been edited by bonecrusher67conv (edited 07-08-2001).]

On my standard hardtop car, I have had the opposite problem than what you have had. My fenders don't have enough bow in the center and opening clearance was a problem even after putting a bunch of shims and having the fenders slightly protruding at the bottom edge. I still have those factory chrome and rubber door spear shaped moldings that must dive under the fenders and they barely clear.
Sounds like you need to add extra shims to the two bolts at the bottom of the fender to draw the length of the fender down. Also, maybe take some shims out of that one fender bolt that is in the door jamb.

You can do a rough fit of fenders when you first put them on, but adjustments will surely change when all the sheet metal and hood are installed.

Personally, I found the best thing to do is assemble all of the sheet metal including the header and valance first before making final adjustments. Only put the wheelhouse bolts to the fenders, inner supports, and extensions through the holes held by two threads or so. Once all the bolts are barely threaded in, then measure diagonally the hood opening for squareness (even better install the hood). I have had to use a motorcycle tie down from the horizontal firewall fender bolt diagonally over to one of the top radiator support bolts on the opposite side to hold things square before tightening the wheelhouse bolts. Also, you will want to leave the two cushioned big radiator support bolts loose and it is also important to leave the bottom two small bolts that connect the wheelhouses to the bottom of the radiator support barely threaded.
Another gotcha is the outer bumper bracket hole alignment. So you might also want to put the bumper up with only a few threads also before the final tightening of the 4 fender extension bolts that sandwich the wheelhouse to the fenders. Don't get overanxious and install the battery tray or headlight buckets until you get your adjustment is perfect. It is a real pain to get to the fender extension bolts and the header bolts if you put those two items in prematurely and you have to go back and loosen them for adjustments. Lastly, put the fender to radiator support bars in as they really just get the way of the whole adjustment stage.

Thank you very much i will try that!