Body / Glass: Adjusting 51 LC trunk lid

[StudeMann]

I am trying to get a better fit of the trunk lid to body on my 51 Land Cruiser.

The front corners are tight but the other gaps are pretty good. The hinges and brackets are adjusted as far back as they can go. I think I might need to elongate the slots in the hinge brackets a bit more to allow further movement backwards. I thought about filing the corners of the trunk lid but I don't want to thin out the steel at these points. Any other ideas?

The front of the trunk lid is also low compared to the body. I have slipped some washers between the lid and the hinge plate to raise the lid. Has anybody got a better idea?

Thanks,

Jim

[41 Frank]

To make the trunk lid go forward and down shim the stud closest to the back window, to get the trunk lid to go back and up some, shim the stud closest to the body opening.

[9echo]

Frank, Thank you so very much for the tip on getting the trunk lid to fit.
I have been fighting this thing for six months. I did as you suggested and in five minutes had the trunk lid fitting at the front and also centered in the opening at the back.
Thanks to you and also this great forum for the guidance in getting my coupe back to being highway ready.

[41 Frank]

Glad I was able to help you in a small way. Don't think I don't know what you were faced with, been there,done that, so to speak. I just recently had the same sort of problem with the hood on my 52 and several trunk lids in the past. Its really hard for me to face the fact that these guys on the assembly line had to do these sorts of adjustments in just seconds.

Frank, Thank you so very much for the tip on getting the trunk lit to fit.
I have been fighting this thing for six months. I did as you suggested and in five minutes had the trunk lid fitting at the front and also centered in the opening at the back.
Thanks to you and also this great forum for the guidance in getting my coupe back to being highway ready.

[StudeMann]

Frank,

I tried your method for adjusting the height of the trunk lid with good results. However, I think I will still need to enlarge the slotted holes to shift it back enough to fit as well as I want.

Thanks for the tip.

Jim

[41 Frank]

Yes I know what you are facing as I had the same problem on my 41 when I found a new hinge and when I went to install it I could not get the lid far enough forward and wound up slotting the holes in the bracket some. Glad to see you are making progress though.

Frank,

I tried your method for adjusting the height of the trunk lid with good results. However, I think I will still need to enlarge the slotted holes to shift it back enough to fit as well as I want.

Thanks for the tip.

Jim

[9echo]

My trunk lid is not as close at the front as I would like, but at the back of the lid it is a good fit with the opening there. I think I will leave it as is.
Thanks again Frank.

[StudeMann]

My trunk lid is not as close at the front as I would like, but at the back of the lid it is a good fit with the opening there. I think I will leave it as is.
Thanks again Frank.

When I shift my trunk lid back to get more clearance at the front corners it will increase the gap in the middle. If the gap is significant I might try adding a small amount of body filler to bring the front edge of weatherstrip channel in the body in line with the trunk. The weatherstrip can compress in width to suit the narrowed channel. If you are re-painting you might consider doing the same thing.

Jim