So I just finished my time prepping the out side of my car for paint. Sanded it down and bondo an area and so forth. Before i go any farther I wanted to know how to align my front fenders. Ill post pics of how bad they are, but it looks like someone pulled them out only on the bottom. Insight will be extremely helpful.

 

Is the pinch weld on the bottom of the rocker messed up from someone putting a jack on it? There's an attachment point down there..

 

What exactly is a pinch weld?

 

A pinch weld is where two pieces of metal are welded (usually spot welded) and it forms a standing seam. Pinch welds are usually under a vehicle where the floor pan meets the rocker panel or around door jambs, like under the hatch in the back where the standing seams are used as attachment points for weather stripping.

Random picture off of google of a pinch weld:

 

At the bottom of the fender there should be 2 bolts loosen the bolts and slide the fender in then titen the bolts up

 

Yes the pinch weld looks as if someone put it up on jack stands and used the pich welds as a contact point. How do I go about fixing this. I would really like to get her lined up and ready for paint by the end of this month. Furthermore, it looks as if my drivers side fender is waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy to close to my drivers side door, and my passanger side is completely opposite. Its as if someone had tweaked the car to the left completely. Ive been reading and it looks as if i need to start by taking the hood off the car, then the front bumper and then starts aligning it and then go from there. What do you guys think?

P.S. or do you think i could have frame damage? I hope not.

 

IDK how accurate this would be but maybe worth a try??

Measure from the center hub of a front wheel to the center of the rear wheel on the same side.

Do the same for the other side.

Compare the numbers.

Just an idea...

 

[QUOTE=3rdgenred;4432030]Yes the pinch weld looks as if someone put it up on jack stands and used the pich welds as a contact point. How do I go about fixing this. I would really like to get her lined up and ready for paint by the end of this month. Furthermore, it looks as if my drivers side fender is waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy to close to my drivers side door, and my passanger side is completely opposite. Its as if someone had tweaked the car to the left completely. Ive been reading and it looks as if i need to start by taking the hood off the car, then the front bumper and then starts aligning it and then go from there. What do you guys think?

P.S. or do you think i could have frame damage? I hope not.[/QUOTEI would s
You may have to have a shop lok at it to know

 

Well I would like to have a consistant 1/4" all the way around the car. But my biggest thing tomorrow will be taking off the hood, then the bumper, then aligning the fenders, then putting everything back together.

 

thats what Id do, align the fenders, then hook everything bakc up and align the hood so everything matches up, you may need to use spacers at sompoints to get things to sit just right.

 

Where can you get spacers at? Is it just some washers or is It something else? I hope to get this done today.

 

Washers will work. Spacers or body shims are just U shaped so you can just slide them in and don't have to take the bolts completely out.

 

Where do you get these body shims at? Kragen? Autozone? Pep Boys?

 

you are going in the right direction but just a hint do not bolt hood hinges on the fenders till fenders are all lined up it just makes things a lot easyer.also there are some hidden adjustment at the front of the fenders

 

Not sure if they have them there.. Places that sell body shop supplies like paint and sandpaper are more likely to have them. Or places that deal in restoration parts can get them like Goodmark dealers.

 

what size should i go? there are many different ones.
plated and come in three basic sizes and two thicknesses. Item 15691 15681 15671 15651 15661 Thickness 11 GA. 11 GA. 16 GA. 11 GA. 16 GA. Approx Pcs. Per Carton 600 875 1,200 1,375 2,100
Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart

 

good idea to check it but don't take these numbers too seriously (unless they are several inches off) because if you're alignment is off these will be off too more than likely. I had a car in high school that I did an alignment to and the car hadn't been wrecked to my knowledge and those numbers were about an inch off and the teacher was not the least bit worried about it. Just an fyi for everybody because these numbers can be very scary.