I've read a few posts on this but I haven't found an answer yet.
I replaced my front cab braces and mounts and now I'm test fitting everything back up. The rotted front cab braces caused the front of the cab to sink in the front which threw everything else off.
The door gaps look good, the fenders, however, still have a big gap at the bottom. The core support is installed with the correct cushion under it so it's not excessively high.
Am I correct in assuming that the front of the cab needs to be shimmed up until the gap at the bottom of the fenders disappears? I shimmed it a bit but it seems like it's going to have to come up quite a bit (like over 1"). Has anyone had to trim the rear cab mounts to equalize the front/back so the front isn't excessively shimmed?
Just wondering what experience you guys have had in lining everything up. Any tips or tricks would be appreciated.
you might have to shim as required, but before you do that, use the body line as a reference first.
the body line from the box and doors should be a nice straight level line. if this line dips at the front then you need to shim the front. with the doors and box mounted, step back and take a look at the body line to see where it needs to be shimmed or not. since the fenders bolt to the front core support, it could be possible to have the core tilted back that will cause the fenders to tilt causing your gap. also make sure your cab is not tilting side to side by using the front cowl and back window as sight references to make sure they are level. of course to do this you have to level the frame off first by probably best way of using adjustable stands to level frame.
it is a lot of small teeks and and measurements to make sure everything is square and level, usually best by starting with the box and then moving forward. the box has the least amount of adjustment, square it off first then move to the cab and doors and then front fenders. that is why the factory made such big asjustment slots in all the mounting locations.
i found body alignment to be the most time consuming and frustrating part of the build. a smalll adjustment here to correct a gap caused a bigger gap there, correct that gap and a bigger gap opened up over there, etc. etc, etc.
i found the body line sighting the easiest way, it is a fairly straight line back to front. line everything up and it should be perfect.
That seems like alot to me. Is it possible that the replacement pieces don't match the existing somehow? I ended up putting a 1/4"shim under the front but that was for a bit more engine clearance. Then I put the same amount of shim under the core support and didn't have much problem getting good gaps, other than the normal tweaking and adjusting. If you had to raise the front 1" I don't know if the stock bolts would be long enough either. Let us know what you figure out and good luck!
I am glad the i read this thread because just yesterday i asked a question about door adjustments even though door line all the way arround were ok. The cap support coming off of the chasse is rotted through completely, I believe that my be the reason both my doors are popping when they open.
Before adding a 1" shim at the cab mount, you might think about lowering the radiator support. It is 4-5' away, so a little bit of lowering there will be a lot of gap change at the cab.
I am assuming that a fridge front end is hung off the radiator support like my 56.
No matter what you do, sighting the body line is a must, as was stated.
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Randy Jack 56 F100 Street Rod Daily Driver
Growing OLD is mandatory. Growing UP is optional. Inside every old guy is a younger guy wondering what the heck happened.
The core support is as low as it can go. It just has the square rubber pad underneath it.
Now when the front cab supports were replaced, the were from Classic Fabrication. (I think they were. It's been a whole year!) Close, but not exact. Added to that are the floor patches I made myself. They fit, aren't very pretty and I hardly think they are exact replacements so I'm thinking these two factors are working against me.
I thought I'd work with the cab first, as the bed need some more work but what was suggested makes sense.
Well, a whole lot of time has passed and I'm knee deep in body work. Still working on getting everything to line up. Here's what I found.
My frame has been tweaked and is bent somewhat. Measuring from the front bolt on the rear spring it is 1" higher on the right than on the left. I took one leaf out of the left and added it to the right (I flipped my axle over the springs). Got me a bit closer but not enough.
Here's my question - how many shims are too many? I've shimmed in areas up to 1". Is this excessive? Has anyone else had to resort to this many shims?
Evidently, this was the method used by the previous owner as I removed a couple of beefy shims when I disassembled the truck.
I think McDonald was right on in his advice.To prevent having the"broken-Back " look, the cab,bed and front clip ,all need to be in-line. What you do to get there, or "have to" do to get there will most likley be a series of compromises.
I'm suspected bent frame early in this thread...but if the frame is not bent real bad then the body should still go on somewhat level.
I'm now wondering if the prior front 'cab-sag' or 'drop' caused by rusted front mounts...hasen't caused thr fender to cab brackets (if your model has them) to bend,or the fenders to "set" to the old rusted,broke-down position...Don't know if I explained that well or not.
As with all old cars and trucks..body alignment is a series of compromises. You may have to assemble this beast...then push it outside on level ground and stand back about 30-40 ft to get a good sight-line...you will know the broken-back look pretty quick at that distance...any closer ,you may not see it. Take some measure ments at the bed also so your sure it's not adding to an illusion.
Best-of-Luck!
I started with the highest point on the frame which appears to be the front passenger side bolt on the bed. I bolted it down there, no shims. From there I leveled the box (using various thicknesses of shims) and worked my way forward. I suspect some shift when I welded in the front cab braces which would explain why I used so many shims there. I'm just wondering if it is unacceptable to use 1" worth of shims? Has anyone else experienced something similar?
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