I just swapped my core support today too. I had to install an 85-86 support because of my new radiator.

The holes in the support need to be pretty large to allow for front/rear and side/side panel alignment.

The best thing to do is to get all of the bolts started but don't tighten them. Start tightening them down a little at a time and check all of the gaps to make sure they are all good.

After I swapped my front end last year it took more time to line everything up than it did to replace the whole front end. Just be patient and take your time.

On another note: make sure your door pins are good and that they line up correctly with the bed before you try lining up the fenders to them or you will be chasing your tail.

 

Thanks Stosh. I do believe some of the problem is in fact the new holes I drilled for the core support are to small and are not allowing me any back and forth and side to side adjustment...

 

Here are a couple photos on the dismantle portion.





Here is the bumper mount off a 94 that I got to try to make on my 85, going to be kind of hard since the front of my frame isnt the box shape like above...But I do have an idea or two.

 

It would probably be easiest if you could cut the later model frame horns off and weld them on to the earlier frame.

 

I have the same alignment problem, but mine is due to extra washers under the core support. My old front clip had these large washers under the support so I thought the new one might need them as well. When I pull my motor out this summer I plan to remove the extra washers to see if I can't get it aligned a bit better.

 

I had the same problem too.

I have about 1/2" of fender washers stacked up under mine to get the fenders to line up with the door gaps. I thought that was due to the fenders being cheap aftermarket junk.

I'm looking for a set of OEM fenders. Nothing fits better than OEM.

 

I plan on taking some back out to hope it helps. Also when I removed the old front end there was 6 on the drivers side and only 2 on the passenger side.

 

Just to add.....
when I switched fenders on my 94 there was a spacer where the bolts go near hood hinge. It was mangled and when I installed the new fenders I had to fabricate something to make it align as well. A few days ago when I pulled the front end off my 93, there was no spacer at all. so I suspect that on the assembly line they have to make things line up as well, so spacers are used when and where necessary.
You would think that things would line up at the factory...but I guess not always. The factory spacers are not metal...not sure if that matters or not.

 

The problem in fact was the core support holes were not big enough. I measured from the cab to the core support on both sides and its 40.5 on both sides so its good and both fenders fell into place. Although the fenders fit the core support dont align exact to the frame but I guess not everything is square.


Here are a few pictures....





I thinks I may have a problem, is the radiator from a 85 and a 94 different? It looks to me that the radiator sits a little to high...

 

This was recently discussed in another thread...apparently the 85-96 use the same wing style rads....
Here is the link to the thread....perhaps it will be of some help.>> https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ap-issues.html
Does your rad have the wings on the bottom that rest in the supports....If not, perhaps it is the wrong rad.
There are a bunch of rad photos as well.
I just recently put a double core in my 94...It was an SPI rad...model #CU1454

 

Well I was expecting to have a problem with the radiator hitting the hood but it was not a problem because the hood bows up in the middle avoiding the radiator.PHEW!!!

All sheet metal is on, now comes the dreaded part, adjusting everything! Anyone have tips on this part?

 

Im doing the wiring right now. I have a question about the lighting. I know the one long one at the bottom is used as the turn signal, But what does the other one at the bottom go for and the white one? are they suppose to be running lights?

 

All the wiring is done everything except the dang hood light works. I dont know if I wired it right or not, but the new light has a green and a black wire, so I took the green and spliced it into the existing wire for the hood light and grounded the black to the firewall, did I do it wrong?

Here is the latest update. I got all the fender wells, batteries, wiring, and washer and overflow tanks installed. I just got done installing the grill and that little skirting under the grill.

For the past half hour I been messing with the hood trying to get it to align. Everything else is good and aligned except the hood. Here are some pictures of what needs done....

On the driver side the gap between the hood and cowl is good.


But the gap on the drivers side from hood to fender isnt good.


On the passenger side its pretty much the opposite.

The hood to cowl is a huge gap!


The gap for the hood to fender is real nice.

If I move the hood toward the cowl on the passenger side wont it make the gap on the passenger side hood to fender get closer and the opposite side get farther away?


Here is an overview of the makeover...Almost done, just got to find some dang chrome bezel piece that goes around the headlights. A local guy had a set but wanted $40 a piece!!! I told him I could buy both Brand new for $50... A junkyard I called wanted $15 a piece but they didn't have and trucks the years I needed... Once I get those pieces for both sides I can get the project completed!

 

Align the hood to the cowl first and get the gap equal.

Then loosen the front fender mounts and move them side to side to get them parallel to the hood. There are two on top of the support and two behind the headlights.

You may also have to add or remove shims under the support to get the fender and door gaps parallel too if you run put of adjustment in the slots on the front fenders. That's why I suggested checking your door hinge bushings too. If they are sagging you'll never get everything right.

Like I said before, sometimes it takes more time to align all of the gaps than it does to swap the parts.

 

I got pretty lucky, I bolted on my hood and nailed the alignment without having to adjust anything. My doors are a whole other matter. I got the pass. door perfect, but for the life of me cant align the driver door. I think I may have problem with my cab as both sets of doors I installed turned out this way.

Truck is looking good ryan. My donor truck had the argent grill and headlight trim. I had a chrome grill left over from a 95 F-150 I used to own. I sold the argent grill and trim and got enough money to buy new chrome headlight trim from LMC.