The big ole clam shell alignment help/tricks?

[jonszr1]

I'm trying to get a better hood alignment of that big bad clam shell. big helms seems vague as well as chiltons manual. anyone know of a good way to do this and what moves what . HELP PLEASE

[Corvette95]

hard to help via typing. What areas need aligning?

[jonszr1]

front needs to be raised alittle its hitting the air filter connector. aloso itnot centered in front and the gsps on the doors are not the same. passside larger. when i set themetal pipins i guess the ones at the latch with the sprins to 2in cant get the hood to close . trying to rectify a bad put together bafter paint job.thanx

[jonszr1]

sorry for all the errors on the above post. Having a tough time health wise. SO I"ll try againin the front i think it is to low and to much to the drivers side. in the backthe gap on the pass side is3/16 bigger than the driver side alsowhen the latch pins are set to spec( 2in to thethe underside of the tip. I even retracted the bumpers just above themso they wouldnt hit at that setting the hood wouldnt close. any advise i'd be very thankfull for

[Corvette95]

Several adjustments, first being the nut under the springs on each side of the hood...like a 24 mm . you can loosen then entire plate and move it. Then on the door jambs the metal plate the bolts to the door jamb and hold the fender in place is moveable for adjustment.. Also the metal splash guard supports in front of both splash guards is moveable plus they both have shim adjustments, as well as shim adjustments in front of the front bumper support bar as well as the front impact bar has many shims. You can also adjust the front bumper to correct small flaws in gap both left and right and up and down. Remember make small adjustments at a time because with such a large panel...it is affecting gaps everywhere when you correct one area. good luck.
Chris
Corvette95

[jonszr1]

thanx tons , the info you have given me I could not find anywhere. gave you a bump. now I can spend all daytrying out those new places to adj. Should also disconnect the air bag before i mess around. have a great weekend.=D>

[Corvette95]

also, and ONLY do this if the car has been in an accident...you can adjust the door hinges to correct fit, but never do this JUST to adjust hood space.

[jonszr1]

I had the car repainted and they took it all apart . boy i wish I hadn't. I ended up with soft paint . they only buffed above the rubber . down below has the worst case of orange peel i have ever seen 1/2 the bolts were missingand the ones that were there were wrong . the windshield wiper wouldn't work due to the hood being down on top of them. he wouldn't even try to make it right. being that he is 500 miles away and the difficulty proving shoody paint work in calif. I guess I am f***ED.7000 down the drain. so i amjust trying to fix his work the best i can. Don't ever go to Meadow vista Autocrafters in Meadowvista calif. (Auburn) so any help i amthankfull for. thanx again.

[Corvette95]

if thats the case, I bet he took out (or let fall out) all the shims, and there are a BUNCH of them, and didnt write down / mark where they were and how many were there. First thing you are going to need to do is call a corvette salvage yard and get a box full of all kinds of shims. You will NEVER get it right trying to line it up with shimming. There are shims even on the metal door jamb plate.

[jonszr1]

Oh my i could be over my head then do you know of a good shop in calif that might be able to do this type of work. I really don't want to make it worse. or if not where i could get a detailed plan that shows where to start size of gaps and how to go about making it right. thanx again your aces!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!