I hit an item in the highway with my 70 Challenger's front valance. The valance is badly, badly dented on the passenger side, and although it is no evident that the fender was in any way damaged, it was apparently pushed back just enough that the passenger side door will not open due to lack of clearance between the fender and the door.

The fender needs to come forward.

The fender and door were out of adjustment before this happened due to a bad job of body work, so the hit was not that major, it just compounded a problem and made it worse.

Here are my two questions

1. The door will not open, cannot be forced open, and as such- I cannot access the fender bolt that is hidden behind the door. Is there an easy solution to this problem ? Other than a cliff and one heck of an insurance policy ?

2. I've got the front valance off the car, and I'm wondering what the process is to adjust the fender forward ? Do I need to completely undo the fender as if I'm going to remove it from the vehicle ?

Will I be able to move the fender forward any at all without removing that bolt that's hidden by the door ?


Thanks !

You can reach that fender bolt by removing the splash shield that is attached to the body under the fender. It is plastic and spans the distance between the fender and body to protect the door from mud thrown off the tire. Sit down beside the tire and reach up under the fender, it's not to hard to reach.
jt