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DIY or get a Pro?

Posted By: Lawn Monkey

DIY or get a Pro? - 10/24/14 02:48 PM


Fenders on my Challenger have a big gap where the hood and the doors meet, they are out of alignment about 3/4 of an inch, I heard fender/door/hood alignment on a E body is tricky , whats your thought? farm it out or can a Shade Tree Mechanic do a good job?
Posted By: herkamer

Re: DIY or get a Pro? - 10/24/14 04:35 PM

Depends on the paint quality and your skill level. It's not terribly difficult to align panels. Start with the doors to the quarters and rocker panels, then work your way forward. Keep in mind you can compensate for worn hinges, but it's best if they are in good shape. Unless something has been bent from an accident, it should be pretty straight forward to line everything up.
Posted By: skicker

Re: DIY or get a Pro? - 10/24/14 06:52 PM

It isn't that bad to do it yourself.
Be prepared to spend the time to get it right.
Pay attention to what adjustments you make and in which order.
Some adjustments will modify the previous adjustment.
Get the small rubber 3M paddle for body putty. (about 2"x3"x3/16")
I use one as a go-no-go gauge when aligning panels.
It seems to work really well.
Plan to spend some serious time on making it dead on.
Posted By: stumpy

Re: DIY or get a Pro? - 10/24/14 07:00 PM

Good idea is to run a couple of layers of painters tape along the panels edges to keep from chipping the paint and setting the gap.
Posted By: TC@HP2

Re: DIY or get a Pro? - 10/24/14 08:57 PM

It can be done at home with some careful work and a helper.

Plan to spend $90 an hour for a pro to do it.

Taking a swag, I'd say 8-12 hours worth of work.
Posted By: Lawn Monkey

Re: DIY or get a Pro? - 10/26/14 02:13 PM


Thanks fellas, going to go for it, the paint is trashed so the plan is to remove ,sand and prime while off the car then re install and hope I can get a really nice fit, can't be any worse than what I have cause for some strange reason the previous owner left one fender to body mounting tab on each fender with out a bolt thru it, its also got a 1/4 inch gap between the body and the tab

btw I tried getting a local auto body shop but those guys just are not interested in this type of work
Posted By: Dean_Kuzluzski

Re: DIY or get a Pro? - 10/26/14 04:18 PM

Quote:

btw I tried getting a local auto body shop but those guys just are not interested in this type of work




A friend of a friend is a local bodyshop owner. He says there's just no money in doing that kind of work. Insurance repair of late model vehicles is all they do. The owners aren't as fickle since all they really care about it resale of the vehicle.

As far as aligning the panels yourself. As mentioned if it hasn't been in a previous accident it should line up with enough effort.
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