GENERAL BODY TIPS Published 2007 Updated 2021
DOOR OPENS TOO FAR
It really blows when your door opens too far and bends both the fender and the front edge of the door along with the trim. There was a discussion on this very subject on the 311s.org forum. Here is what we discovered.
The discussion started with the following question. "My driver's side door opens just a bit too far. It has bent the chrome trim on the outside. It looks like maybe the door flung open hard one time and "stretched" something allowing it to now open too far. Before I replace the trim I'd like to fix the door. Is there an adjustment or a replacement I can make?"
Answer: Do you still have the door brake on the door? It is common for the tab on the door to fatigue and come off so the brake (stop) is no longer attached to the door. The pins can fall out as well rendering the brake(stop) useless. If you remove the brake you'll see a hard rubber do-nut on the end that fits inside the door pillar (A pillar part by the foot well). You need to remove the trim panel from the foot well area ahead of the door pillar. Once you get that off you'll see a couple of holes behind it that you can sort of reach through to get the door brake out. Once you've got it out you should see the bumper(doughnut). You could add more material to that to shorten the allowed travel. You would have to find something suitable at a hardware store such as a rubber stopper with a hole in the center. Those are common at good hardware stores but will only be in the specialty fasteners section of a Lowe's or Orchard Hardware & Supplies if they have them at all. Mark Banger has the solution "Of course Lowe's packages every little thing they sell, so I have the little bag in front of me. The bag has several numbers on it, but I think the correct number is: H881257 (Hillman product)Not a good number-2021. You can get the grommet from Home Depot Hillman-5-8-in-Inner-Diameter-1-1-8-in-Outer-Diameter-Rubber-Grommet-55060/300942678
All the grommets are in one place, not too hard to find. If you have the dimensions, there are only a dozen or so grommets in stock.
1 1/8" Outer Diameter - much smaller than original but original oversized
5/8" Inner Diameter - a perfect snug fit
3/8" Thick - perfect match to original End of Mark's quote"
The OEM doughnut is 3/8" thick. Here is a picture of the door brake(stop):
Click here larger view.
If the tabs that hold the pin on the door are broken off-you will have to fabricate some new ones and weld them back onto the door. It is best to take the door off to accomplish this task. I have seen these completely ripped off as there is a lot of stress at this connection point. Especially if the door has been flung open hard one too many times. There really is not much to the tabs and they are easily made. Getting them welded back on is the hard part.
And there you have the fix to the door that opens too far
HOODS/BONNETS
There are basically three types of hoods. The early hoods 1963-1967 which have the prop open slide on the hood and another with the slide on the inner fender. The later hoods 1967.5 - 1968 which have had a clearance cutout to fit the dual circuit master cylinder and the early style single latch. The 1969 and 1970 have the same cutout for the master cylinder but they also have a different catch mechanism. It is offset some what from the earlier ones and has an added safety catch. The early hoods will not fit on a later car but the later hoods can be made to fit on an earlier car.
Hood alignment is best done with the front grill removed. That way you can get to the bolts on the hood hinges to loosen, adjust and then re-tighten. Impossible to do with the grill on.
Another problem with the hoods is the hood release cable. If it breaks you are in serious trouble as it is darn near impossible to reach the latch with the hood securely closed. A remedy for this is to run a safety cable from the hood release through the firewall so you can pull the backup cable if the hood release cable fails. If you just adjusted your latch and find you can no longer get the hood open. Do not scream at the top of your lungs. With a second person pulling on the hood release rap the hood with the flat of your hand. Nine times out of ten the hood will pop open.
The chrome trim on the hood is a press fit. Use a piece of hardwood as a block to tap it off. Be especially careful when you are putting it back on too! It can chip your new paint job if you are not careful. There are several variations out there and one does not fit all.
FENDERS
63-64 1500's are unique to themselves as are the 65-67 1600's. These fenders all have a small flare to them. The 67.5 & 68 fenders are identical and have a rather pronounced flare to them. I like the bigger flare personally. The 69's are the same but they have the tear drop shaped side light. The 70's are the same with the rectangular Z car style side lights. So, 67.5-70 are the same if you ignore the side lights.
A point was well made concerning the structural integrity or lack of in regards to the fenders. Do not use them to lean against or sit on as they can be crushed. Several have found this out the hard way posing for a picture with their brand spanking new paint job only to crunch the fender and bring tears to their eyes. You can touch but do not use the fenders as a seat!
Fenders are prone to rusting especially where they attach to the the body right in front of the door. There is a cavity there that fills up with road crud and dirt. I make it a habit to try to keep that area clean when I wash my car. I had one that was so far gone someone had put a brace from the bottom of the fender to the lip on the engine side of the firewall. Pretty tacky looking. Original fenders are best kept on the car but if they are too far gone you have little choice but to replace them. One of the vendors had some patch panels fabricated for the lower corner that usually rusts out. You cut out the bad, use a panel flanger and weld in the new piece.
TRUNK LIDS
63-65 1500's have the exterior hinges and a locking device when you open the trunk lid up. 66-67 have the similar trunk lids and have a torsion bar to keep them open. The 68 through 70 have the same trunk lids. I am unsure of inter-changeability but am sure the early trunk lids will not work on the later cars and visa-versa.
Another neat trick is to put a safety release on the trunk latch just in case you lock your keys in there. It has happened and is just about as bad as the hood cable snapping. Drill a small hole directly below the latch on the inside of the trunk. Affix a small gauge wire to the latch and down through the hole we just drilled. This wire will be out of sight and covered by the rear bumper. If you lock your keys in there, reach down and pull down on the safety wire and the trunk opens with ease.
BADGES/EMBLEMS
Instead of using those little metal clips to hold your emblems on use some small plastic tubing. Go the the hardware store and buy some 1/8" clear tubing and cut some small pieces 1/4" to 1/2" long. Slide the tubing over the mounting pegs and you should be good to go. Works very well. Check back often as there is much to add to this page.