1954 CK assembly

[Studesrule]

Just painted '54 Starliner and in the process of assembly.
1) Aligned the hood with the fenders off and it fit pretty well, however when fenders were installed it was too close to the cowl. So, tried to make some alignment adjustments to move the hood forward about 1/8 inch and managed to get it misaligned. Issues: a) hood not centered L to R, but I do not see any adjustment features to move it sideways. b) I have not installed hood springs, should they be installed in order to get proper alignment?
2) Headlight chrome trim rings. Now, after paint, I have noticed that one fender has a slot above the headlight bucket for the headlight trim factory clip to fit into, however the other fender has no slot. Both headlight buckets have slots but are not large enough for the factory clips. Was there a change to use the headlight bucket slots, and if so did the headlight trim rings have different clips? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[SN-60]

An option on (2) would be to cut a slot into the unslotted fender front edge. Too bad this wasn't done before paint though!

[sweetolbob]

If a slot will solve problem #2, then just use a Dremel tool with a thin abrasive wheel. Put a wet rag on the fender area above the cut and go slow if you are concerned about heat.

It sounds like you have the rubber bumpers on the hood, and that possibly led to wedging the hood backwards. You may need to spread the fenders slightly in the front to open up a bit of room.

Hopefully Brad Bez (bezhawk) on the forum will see this and respond. If not, I'd PM him and ask the question also. I would put the springs on just to see what happens with them installed.

Good Luck, these parts were hard for the factory to get right so you're not alone. I'd also try to realign the hood before I went much farther. Use a lot of high quality 3M blue or green tape to save the paint.

One last question, Did you hang the doors prior to the hood and fenders? I'll bet you did but just checking.

Oops, forgot to ask if the spreader bar is bolted between the hinges also?

Bob

[studegary]

I don't fully understand your #1.
If you aligned the hood first, as you should do, I do not see how the hood got too close to the cowl (unless it was being forced back by improper fender alignment).
The first alignment is the hood to the cowl. This is with hinges, springs, rubber strip all in place.
Then you align the fenders to the doors and hood.

#2 - The mounting of the headlight doors (trim rings) changed over the years. You can use either or both of the systems.

[Studesrule]

That's for sure. The dremel suggestion (sweetolbob reply) might work.

[Studesrule]

Used the cowl gasket for hood alignment - no fenders. After fender install, etc., the hood fit very well without the cowl gasket except it was close to the cowl. Added the gasket and it pushed the hood up too much, especially the corners. BTW, no bumpers on the fenders at that point, fender to fender width looked good, hood fit pretty well except offset somewhat. Closed, latched ok. So I tried to move the hood forward and messed it up. Hate to take the fenders off again.
As for headlight trim, did both systems use the same clip on the trim?

[bezhawk]

The back of the hood width is held by the length of the hinge tie bar. You can bend it slightly to get it a little shorter this will help hold the edges from being too high. Also take a well padded chunk of wood and very very carefully close the hood in it at the cowl. don't bridge over to the outside [top side] of the cowl to save the paint. The hinges are slotted up and down at the mounting screws, and the body is slotted forwards and aft. You can loosen the three bolts on each side and adjust the hinges up and down and forwards and aft. Side to side can be adjusted by making sure the hinge levers are straight up and down and you can slightly do one of two things: bend the arms a little towards where you want them, or preferably shim under the hinge to body mounting points. Make sure the castle nuts and cotter pins are in place at the hood studs where the hinge mounts to them. You do not want lots of side to side play. The side gaps are mainly adjusted by the fender to frame mounting points. You may have to loosen the mounting points and adjust the gaps. Don't forget the inner fender bolts to the cowl supports, and most of the forwards and aft adjustment is through the door post to fender flange rubber shims.

[Studesrule]

Thanks for your response. Problem now is the hood is offset to the passenger side. Gaps are constant along both sides. Checked hinges, passenger side seemed bend outward in comparison to the driver side. Removed shorter hinge arm from hood stud (very tight fit) and bent it inboard (now tighter fit). Checked alignment - slightly improved. Removed tie bar (very snug fit) -alignment significantly better. Removed longer hinge arm and bent it inward - alignment now looks very good.

Should I now bend the tie bar to shorten it so it does not push outward on the hinge arms?

What purpose do the springs play - I have not installed them at this point.

Second issue - headlight trim rings. When Studebaker changed a slot in the fender for the trim ring clip to a slot in the headlight bucket (not sure what came first) did the clips change?

Thanks for your help.

[StudeRich]

Yes the headlight Rims were changed, there are TWO types of Clips, both supplied with the New Repo Rims.

[Studesrule]

I think the hood was too low in the front when I aligned it without the fenders, core support, etc. It was hard to tell where it should have been. Seems that with it too low in front then when raised to proper height it moved back. Not talking about much. Thanks for your comments.

[bezhawk]

Yes, bend the tie bar to hold things in place or the fit will only be temporary. When installing the tie bar the screws should have to draw them into the hinge uprights. That is there should be about a 1/16" gap to draw it tight. Yes the springs are a necessary evil, Without them you will very likely bend and kink the corners of the hood. You MUST remember to PULL forwards you as you open the hood so the arms of the hinge will unfold properly. Without the springs facing forwards to the inner fender it is much more likely to be in a bind. The springs that go down into the splash area also help keep the hood corners down and steady when closed.
Like Rich says either headlight rim tab will work as long as it goes into the corresponding slot in either the headlight bucket, or the fender itself. [depending on whether the long or short tab].

[Studesrule]

OK thanks for all the help (from everybody). I did install anti-kink supports on the hood as I was doing the body work, but I will install the springs as well. Makes sense that they help keep the hood forward, certainly don't help to raise the hood.

Is there a place I can buy the headlight trim clips that are used with the headlight buckets? My trims pieces are redone but with the wrong clips (at least for one fender).