headlight bucket fit issue

[bocksta]

The headlight buckets and fender gaps are really good , but one or both of the headlight buckets are off ,defective ,repo junk. My fenders are Original Ford Tooling on each side i dont think they're the problem. The gaps between the hood and the part of the bucket that passes under it is different on each side . The drivers side is about 1/4 below the hood while the pass. side is about 3/4 to an inch below the hood. I cant adjust the buckets without really messing up the fit.
So what is happening is that when i go to install the lower grill support theres a big crooked mess. Anyone else have this problem before?
Heres a few pics

View attachment 283993

 

[BarnStang]

Your headlight buckets look better than most...A quarter inch difference is near perfect alignment on these cars. The headlight buckets can be difficult, and you will have to compromise in some respects, or spend a bunch of time fitting and refitting until it's perfect. And you may never actually get to "perfect"

 

[bocksta]

I could accept that the buckets wont be perfect . the issue i have is that the fit on the top and sides of the fenders is very good . If you look at the last pic you can see the lower grill support and how slanted it is from one side to the other.

 

[Bullitt]

Your fit really isn't that bad. Unless you want to spend some serious time swapping parts in and out, I'd stay with it!

I've got the opposite situation on my car. Cheap repo fenders and original Ford buckets. One side fit perfectly, fender line matches and all. Other side, the fender was welded wrong and the bottom alignment holes were way off (like and inch). Needless to say, hours of work later they look "ok", but certainly aren't perfect.

 

[tx65coupe]

As far as the headlight buckets go, mine doesn't look much if any better than that and it is original Ford body parts.

I'm not sure why the lower grille support is slanted quite so much. Are you sure that something is not bent?

 

[BarnStang]

We need a better picture of the stone deflector. I looks like it just needs to be massaged upward, I don't think the headlight bucket is causing this...Can't see it well enough to tell. Would also like to see the lower valance-how did the lines to the lower fender come out? THe stone deflector needs to fit down on the lower valance.

 

[bocksta]

fender to valance fit

the valance fits good on both sides

I stopped installing the stone guard when the lower grill support looked so bad.
Im going to work backwards today .mount the grill to the lower support and then mount the buckets to that.Ill put it up to the fenders to see whats going on.

 

[BarnStang]

That probably won't help much, it looks like the LH lower valance needs to be drifted up. And the stone deflector with it. Not sure why it's like that, if the fenders are Ford tooling (which is not OEM, but the next best thing), and the stone deflector & lower grill suppport are original parts...
You may need to enlongate the slots on the fenders, on both sides, and drop the RH side a bit, and raise the LH side a bit. You can flex the lower valance a bit to maintain the body lines.
Sure seems like alot of difference between the sides...on the lower grill support, did all the sheetmetal screws go right in or did you have to push and pull to get the holes to line up with the buckets? How about the stone deflector mounting holes to the core support? How does the stone deflector line up with the core support on each side at the mounting holes? Is it really level where it's sitting now? Cause if it's lined up with the core support where it is, there is something very out of whack...

 

[bocksta]

Thanks for the help Barnstang.I backed off the bolts inside the headlight buckes of the fenders, same with the valance .
I guess i had installed the valance before i tightened the fenders all the way . That started the problem. the valance is tweeked on one side enough to push that fender out and dive the bucket up. Grill now fits and the lower grill support bolted right up .

 

[TeamEntity]

I know this is old. but i was wondering what the lower grille support mounts to? I'm confused and hard for me to tell in that pic. 65 stang i have. thanks.

 

[2+2GT]

The doors, especially the RH, are bent. Pity, because they've already been painted, you'll have to protect them with thick cloths while straightening them, and hope for the best. I have seen untouched originals no better, though, remember, these cars were built before numerical control and laser guided machinery.

The guys I know fit everything before painting, their cars end up better than factory.

http://www.mustangbarn.com/images/AA0035.JPG

http://www.mustangbarn.com/images/AA4392.jpg