body panel gaps?

[patriot68]

what is an acceptable gap for body panels?..
i was looking at my car at the body shop today . my body guy said he was going to have to add some metal to the front of the doors to make the gaps right...both front fenders are reproduction and the gap is about 1/4 to 1/2 at different parts..they also installed new rear quarters and had to massage them to get the right gap at the rear of the door..

[toxicz28]

It depends on the look you're going for. Stock, has loose tolerences. Show, I would set to 3/16". But if you have spots that are 1/4", I would probably go with that. It would be real hard to add 1/16" as well as see it.

[F70t/a]

Whats the smallest gap you could go with? I know a lot of builders do 3/16's, but it seems a bit too big for my taste

[toxicz28]

Whats the smallest gap you could go with? I know a lot of builders do 3/16's, but it seems a bit too big for my taste

I suppose you could cut 1/3 off of the gap and do 1/8", or even 3/32". But you might be asking for trouble at the door/fender gap. Especially if something shifts.

[B Schein]

I always use a paint mixing stick as my gage. I don’t have one hand to measure but I would guess that is around 3/16

[Jagarang]

Straight gaps become obvious once the car is put together. You might not think you'd be able to tell, but it's one of those "untouchable" details that adds to the overall impact of the car. It's sorta like those little details/modifications that nobody notices until you mention them. Individualy tiny details might not seem like alot, but when you put them all together, they MAKE the car. The gaps are one of the things I look at in the car magazines. I hate to see a nice car with a crooked bumper, pinched trunk line, bad hood to fender gap, door to rocker alignment, etc.

[F70t/a]

Straight gaps become obvious once the car is put together. You might not think you'd be able to tell, but it's one of those "untouchable" details that adds to the overall impact of the car. It's sorta like those little details/modifications that nobody notices until you mention them. Individualy tiny details might not seem like alot, but when you put them all together, they MAKE the car. The gaps are one of the things I look at in the car magazines. I hate to see a nice car with a crooked bumper, pinched trunk line, bad hood to fender gap, door to rocker alignment, etc.

I agree that bugs me big time.

[Travis B]

I always use a paint mixing stick as my gage. I don’t have one hand to measure but I would guess that is around 3/16

we use paint sticks also....3/16

[F70t/a]

we use paint sticks also....3/16

Travis,


Do you have any pics after a car has been painted? Does it make the gaps a bit smaller( like on a show car kinda paint)? I've done 1/8 gaps, but on a beater car in primer.

[Travis B]

Travis,


Do you have any pics after a car has been painted? Does it make the gaps a bit smaller( like on a show car kinda paint)? I've done 1/8 gaps, but on a beater car in primer.

well even on a car with several coats of clear the mil thickness won't really amount to enought to close up your gaps that much....I do know that all the big boys foose,troy,boyd,etc all use a 3/16 gap no more and no less!

[F70t/a]

Ya I noticed they all use a 3/16 gap.