Problem aligning fenders

[Tony C.]

I am needing help with aligning the fenders on my 72 Nova for over 4 hours!!! :crying: The car is sitting on jack stands and I am attempting to put the fenders and wheel wells in. I thought the problem was the fiberglass wheel wells weren't made right but the steel ones back in, but I the problem is the same, which is when I put the wheel wells in, the gap between the fender and the doors aren't even. There is a large gap at the bottom and narrows as it gets to the top. The body is sitting on 3/4" aluminum body bushings as is the radiator support. When I put 1/2" spacers between the radiator support and frame (but leave 3/4" body bushing between the frame and body), the gap between the door and fenders lessen at the bottom, but I still can't get them right! :pat: Is it better to have the car on the ground and not on jack stands? (the jack stands are all the same height) I am trying to finish the car, but this is stopping me!! Has anyone ever run into this problem? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[69protour]

I'm no expert, but you might have to have the car on it's wheels and then try it to see if it's any better. I've also heard that when your fitting the fenders, you get the top where you want it and tighten the upper bolts, then put a jack under the fender on the subframe and jack it up slightly and that will pull the bottom of the fender closer to the door and then tighten it. Hopefully this will help, let me know if it does, I'm in the process of edging my car and I'll be doing the same thing your doing right now in a couple of weeks. Good luck,,,, Trond.

[Tony C.]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try it in the morning and everything else I can think of. I'll let you know what happens.

Tony C.

[customcarpainter]

With the Nova being a unibody type car it is basically sagging in the middle.Don't try to get the wheel wells to fit until the fenders are bolted in place.Your going to have to put the car back on its wheels so the suspension and body are where they would normally be.For some reason,putting a car on jackstands changes things.If you need the car sitting higher,put a rim under each tire,making sure the rims are all the same size.you will probably have to put a jack under the frame rail at the front and apply a little pressure to get the gap where it needs to be.Don't tighten any bolts until it fits like you want.Don't use spacers or shims unless you just have to.The fiberglass wheelwells could have the mounting holes drilled in the wrong place or could be some excess fiberglass at a mounting point.Its fiberglass so you may have to make it fit!

[Tony C.]

Well I finally got the fenders aligned and the wheel wells in. Thanks for the additional info Customcarpainter. I still had some trouble with the steel wheel wells, but they are in. The car will have to go back to the paint shop later and I'll have the body shop check the frame and body alignment.

Thanks for your help,

Tony C.

[VenturaII]

Don't forget the Nova comes with an extra spacer that fits on the body mount at the firewall. Leaving that off would cause the problem you described also. Its about a 1/2" thick.