'70 Charger hood and trunk alignment issues

[Coelacanth]

I thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone. I have some hood and trunk alignment issues that'll need to be addressed or paint chipping will probably happen.

Hood: Too high on driver side, too far in on driver side; good height on passenger side but extends too far out on passenger side.

Trunk: Too low on passenger side; too high on driver side.

I need to install a new set of hood bumpers and re-check, but I think it's most likely it'll still need to be aligned.

Any tips on how to achieve the necessary raising/lowering/extending/retracting would be helpful. I did read other topics on this but a detailed refresher would probably help me and others. Thank you!

 

[pnora]

Your left front fender is low. That should be raised first. The trunk is a pain. They never fit perfect from new. If your trunk latch cant be lowered you may have to slot it a bit. Is your trunk seal in place?

 

[Coelacanth]

I have a new trunk seal installed. Thanks about the front fender, I don't recall it being low relative to the hood before it was painted, and the panels weren't removed for painting, so I'll have to take a closer look at that. The trunk & hood were removed though.

EDIT: I'm pretty sure my left fender to door gap is perfect, so unless the leading edge of the door is also low, I'm guessing the issue is just the hood. Both my door gaps look perfect. I need a closer look at that cowl...

 

[Don Frelier]

@eldubb440 is your expert here.

I agree the one fender looks low.

I take a utility knife and scribe around the washers. (Not if you have a show car but OK for me)
Maybe a dry erase marker? If it's really nice car.

It's helpful to have 2 people to adjust a hood.
As soon as you loosen the hood bolts the front will want to droop down so I get a helper to just keep it where it is.
You can loosen the bolts just enough to allow for a little bit of movement then tighten them back up.
It's kind of trial and error.

The core support bumpers may need a little adjustment along with the latch...

BUT!

Be sure to close it very very slowly and watch the gaps because if you go to far you can indeed chip the paint with a collision.

 

[Coelacanth]

Can you do it one side at a time? Since it's only about 1/8" too far in/too far out from the fronts of the fenders.

 

[pnora]

This looks low to me. Get it up to cowl height where it should be. Your hood will be closer then.

 

[Don Frelier]

Can you do it one side at a time? Since it's only about 1/8" too far in/too far out from the fronts of the fenders.

Yes you can do it 1 side at a time.

 

[Coelacanth]

This looks low to me. Get it up to cowl height where it should be. Your hood will be closer then.

As I remembered, the cowl, fender and door are all perfect. Digital images and perspective can make things look different, but as these pics show, only the hood is high. Everything else is good.

I installed new rubber bumpers and got the front of the hood also lined up perfect, height-wise, with the fronts of the fenders. Will need to tackle the hood front-to-back and driver side height next.

 

[chargervert]

The time to align panels is before paint! After you paint a stripe on something you are very limited on how much you can move it around!

 

[RemCharger]

Are the trunk bumpers installed yet?

 

[mopar4don]

Your hood being high may be the teeth of the hood hinges are worn.
go to post #1176 to see how I solved it.
You might need another hinge

Don's 1969 Charger Restoration

It worked out well for a temporary booth. You do need to be careful with it as it is VERY thin and will tear easily. It tore in a couple of spots while setting it up but I just taped it up.

www.forbbodiesonly.com

 

[Coelacanth]

Thanks Don, that's some fantastic DIY work there, machining new hinge gear teeth. I've had so many other things to work on with my Charger that I left the hood and door alignment for another time. I just know my hood closed properly before it went to the body man, and it will seat down if you press on the driver side corner, but when you raise and lower the hood again, it sticks up 1/4" or so.

I've been focusing on fuel delivery issues so I can get the car started for the first time in 12 years...new fuel tank, stainless lines and Eddy 750 rebuild.

 

[Coelacanth]

Are the trunk bumpers installed yet?

Yes, they are now and the low passenger side seems to be resolved. I never noticed before it went to the body man if maybe the right side bumper was actually missing all this time. Maybe it was, and that was why it sat too low.