Body / Glass: 1957 Silver Hawk Hood and Fender Fitment

[carussell]

I am new to the site, so this is my first post. I am currently "restoring" a 1957 Silver Hawk and am having a whale of a time trying to get the alignment of the hood, front fenders, and left/right grilles to my satisfaction. Is there a trick to this? I have searched the Internet and virtually every Hawk I observed had a problem with fit in this location. Am I to expect this as normal fit on the Hawk?
I have not yet installed the cowl and fender rubber as I am trying to get everything "right" first. Thank you in advance for any input.

[ralt12]

Cowl rubber first, or the hood won't fit right. General order of assembly that I've seen here on the forum is to fit the hood first, then the fenders. As the cars came from the factory, fit is not exactly up to 2011 standards, so expectation management is key. As it is, fitting these bits together has forced me to close the garage doors, due to the flamboyant language resulting from the process.....

[warrlaw1]

LOL, Art. Hood first. I found out the hard way that you should measure the hood, first, to make sure it is square. Mine had been hit and was out 2 inches at the front driver's side. My good ol boy was removing fender metal to make it line up with a wonky hood. Please don't do what I did. Cost me $7500 to undo the damage

[carussell]

LOL, Art. Hood first. I found out the hard way that you should measure the hood, first, to make sure it is square. Mine had been hit and was out 2 inches at the front driver's side. My good ol boy was removing fender metal to make it line up with a wonky hood. Please don't do what I did. Cost me $7500 to undo the damage

My hood is "square" and shows no signs of impact. What is the best method to "draw" the fenders inward to meet the hood? I believe the cowl/fender rubber will align the hood vertically all around, but not horizontally; therefore, I do not believe I should install the rubber until the horizontal alignment is better. Would that be a correct assessment?

[carussell]

Cowl rubber first, or the hood won't fit right. General order of assembly that I've seen here on the forum is to fit the hood first, then the fenders. As the cars came from the factory, fit is not exactly up to 2011 standards, so expectation management is key. As it is, fitting these bits together has forced me to close the garage doors, due to the flamboyant language resulting from the process.....

I am attaching more images to show the body alignment problem at the front. The gap between the hood and fenders is wider at the front than at the rear. Also, more exaggerated at the right (passenger-side) grille and hood. Rear cowl to hood is good as well as rear hood to fenders.

[valleyguy]

As has been said get the hood to cowl gap correct first; Make sure you use the cowl rubber in this setp, if only setting it in place loosely. (BTW, when I did this on my Hawk, I actually used some thinner rubber than the original type; that thicker rubber raised my hood too much). If you already the chrome grills in and bolted, you might want to remove them so that you can moved the fenders around. I would loosen all the fender bolts, work them into position by adding/removing shims between the fender and frame etc. You might not get it perfect, but you should be able to get the gaps better than what is shown in your pics.

Good luck,
Joe D.

[carussell]

I will give that a whirl. Perhaps I may be asking a bit too much from this ol' Hawk. Thanks for all the advice, from everyone!

[kurtruk]

Yeah, it was good enough for the factory in 1957.

virtually every Hawk I observed had a problem with fit in this location. Am I to expect this as normal fit on the Hawk?


Not an expert, but shouldn't you have your rubber bumpers in there on the fender? (Second pic)

[Welcome]

>>>Not an expert, but shouldn't you have your rubber bumpers in there on the fender? (Second pic)

Good eye!!!

Yes, there should be and not just any size "rubber bumpers" will allow the hood to nest correctly in between the fenders.

[jclary]

It has now been several years since I have been in an auto assembly plant. I used to sell to automotive, truck and tier one supplier plants. You'd probably be surprised at some of the rather primitive methods still in use to make panels fit. That is why you will see hammers, crow bars, and even pieces of wood, lying next to assembly lines. Studebaker was no different. In fact, often you will find shims, washers, and rubber insulators used to bring body panels into alignment. You could probably take two or three cars that came off the line in sequence with different shims or washers used on a front fender mounting point.

Even on more modern cars with smaller panels, lighter materials, and more precise stamping machinery, there is usually a "final assembly" team that inspects and adjust for assembly variances before a car is shipped to the dealer.

Tearing an older vehicle apart and attempting to put it back together is about as frustrating as playing a twelve string guitar. You spend half your time tuning it and the rest of the time playing it out of tune. I have been taught to fit the hood to the cowl first, and then the fenders. My '48 Coupe was a difficult restoration and I am not satisfied with fit. However, I am just happy that I got paint all over it...it runs...and does not have many rattles! In a sea of common cars, it is so unusual that no one but me seems to notice the "fit" problems. Do the best you can and enjoy the ride!

[Jeff_H]

When these cars were built, the hoods were attached to the bodies before they were dropped onto the chassis. The whole body with doors and hood was dropped down from overhead crane onto the chassis. The front fenders and grills with the radiator core support was assembled elsewhere and then picked up and set in place onto the front of the chassis by a group of workers.

So, you must start the front end panel fit with getting the hood aligned to the cowl. W/o the rubber strip in place, they often sag in the middle and will scrap the paint off the cowl in the center when attempting to open.

This link has some good tips on hawk panel alignment:

http://www.raylinrestoration.com/TechnicalPages/BodyAlign.htm

On my '53 I had no end of troubles getting even "acceptable" panel fit on the front end. The car is a krazy quilt of parts from different cars so notes on shims, etc were not a lot of help since everything was "new".

Get the hood aligned at the cowl and then the rear of the fenders aligned to the cowl and the front of the doors. You may need to add or remove shims between the fenders and the frame and adjust the core support to raise or lower the front of the fender so the back fits to the door. Don't be afraid to adjust the thickness of the rubber shim on the A post to get the door gap even. The hood can be tweaked left or right by washers behind the hinge pivots/straps on one side or the other where they attach to the hood.

Most of all, if you find your ears starting to steam, get out of the garage for a couple days and find something else to do for a while!!!

[carussell]

The gaps were too wide for the bumpers to function properly; that's why they were not installed. Thanks for all the tips!

[Welcome]

The gaps were too wide for the bumpers to function properly; that's why they were not installed. Thanks for all the tips!

Then next question is:

Did you use the tall (7/32") p/n 283157 bumpers or the short (5/32") p/n 274974??? It could make a difference!

Good Luck!!!

[carussell]

Then next question is:

Did you use the tall (7/32") p/n 283157 bumpers or the short (5/32") p/n 274974??? It could make a difference!

Good Luck!!!

The two front bumpers used are 1312038, the side bumpers are 274974. I went ahead and put them in place and - as expected - no difference. When the gap is ~3/8" with the hood closed and at proper height with the fenders, it won't make much difference if the bumpers are 7/32" or 5/32"; they are not going to "bump". The gap is simply too wide and will need further "adjusting". I will give it a second cussing beginning tomorrow and perhaps into the weekend!

[BobPalma]

Carl: My camera is awaiting a new battery right now or I'd post a photo.

If someone else can do so, you'll feel better after you see the front "head-on" photograph (not drawing) of a 1957 Silver Hawk on Page 7 of the 1957 Hawk-only brochure, PD1014.

That's a production car. The hood fitment is horrible, and easily seen. BP