Front Clip Alignment

[lrlforfun]

OK Riviera People: In my opinion one of the things that makes any First-Gen Riviera look really sharp, (even the rusted and busted ones), is when the front clip and all it's components are in exact alignment. This especially includes the positioning of the hood and front bumper assemblies. I know that many hoods have peak rust and the peaks have been damaged and fixed poorly and that is a complete other subject which also needs to be addressed.

I was wondering how the front clips as well as bumpers were aligned at the assembly plant. I mentioned that I've removed and reassembled several front clips. I'm trying to figure out how to align the parts so they will really resemble the front clip when new. My question.....does anybody have any insight into this? Thanks, Mitch.

[1965rivgs]

Buick used sized "fixtures" to align the sheetmetal. But keep in mind the cars needed to be assembled as quickly as possible and by any number of assembly line workers on any given day so for the enthusiast at home in his/her garage such tools are not necessary.

Tom Mooney

[lrlforfun]

OK Tom: Could you elaborate on that please because I have no idea whatsoever of what "fixtures" are. I am looking for several things here. One is the correct gap distances between the panels and the other is between the bumpers, filler panels and fenders. Also, would you or anyone else know the sequence of front clip assembly? In other words, what part was installed first, and what came after that and so on. And while I'm at it I may as well ask the big one, and that is, where are the alignment points for the front fenders, especially when it has to get closer to the door gap? Thanks, Mitch.

[pyntre]

OK Tom: Could you elaborate on that please because I have no idea whatsoever of what "fixtures" are. I am looking for several things here. One is the correct gap distances between the panels and the other is between the bumpers, filler panels and fenders. Also, would you or anyone else know the sequence of front clip assembly? In other words, what part was installed first, and what came after that and so on. And while I'm at it I may as well ask the big one, and that is, where are the alignment points for the front fenders, especially when it has to get closer to the door gap? Thanks, Mitch.

Ah the ages old addage ...what came first , the chicken , or the egg.... On a serious note....I had 4 guys with lots of body shop kinda experience pushin the fenders this way , then that way , then shimmin this and shimmin that, blew my mind how hard it was to figure this 65 Riv tin out... I think those guys on the assembly line had it easier too because they had brand new unfatigued sheetmetal to work with ...we get to try the same thing after almost 50 yeasr of it rattling around and gravity pullin on it. I marked every shim pack ...drilled marker holes through the door hinges for reassembly and still had one heck of a time gettin to what I finally said was GOOD ENOUGH....those 4 guys didnt work for nothin...I agree its a challenge......(But nothin like changing the fuel filter on my wifes 03 Expedition this morning out in the driveway when the thermometer was screaming 14 below...I still cant feel my one thumb)

[RivNut]

OK Tom: Could you elaborate on that please because I have no idea whatsoever of what "fixtures" are. I am looking for several things here. One is the correct gap distances between the panels and the other is between the bumpers, filler panels and fenders. Also, would you or anyone else know the sequence of front clip assembly? In other words, what part was installed first, and what came after that and so on. And while I'm at it I may as well ask the big one, and that is, where are the alignment points for the front fenders, especially when it has to get closer to the door gap? Thanks, Mitch.

Section 12 in both my '63 and '64 Chassis manuals covers "sheet metal" It doesn't say so is so many words but from what I can tell the section is written sequentially from where you start to where you finish. It starts out with door alignment to the body (in fractions of an inch) then proceeds to fenders, hood, and finally bumpers. If you're not sure, I'd say your best be is to find a chassis manual for your year and follow it.

Ed

[Guest Rob J]

Excellent question Mitch, and I have wondered this same thing since I got one of these cars. From what I've studied, this is what seems to be the sequence of assembly. This is also how my paint and body shop is going to paint and reassemble my sheet metal.

1. Fisher body hung and aligned the non painted door frames on the non painted body shell. I assume they had some sort of panel gap spec given to them.

2. The body shell was then dipped, primed, and painted.

3. All front sheet metal parts were painted separately while off the car.

4. Interior of car was installed, and competed at Fisher body. Basically the entire body shell was completely assembled before it was dropped on the chassis. Glass, interior, dash, wiring, door skins, everything.

5. Completed body was dropped on a completed chassis.

6. Painted Inner and outer fenders fitted. Front radiator support fitted. Hood and brackets fitted. Front bumper and supports fitted and aligned. Headlight assemblies fitted. Grill fitted.

Who knows if I'm 100% correct in the procedure, but I bet I'm fairly accurate. Based on the evidence I've seen in disassembling a virgin car, and based on how Fisher Body and GM built other cars of the similar era, this is my consensus.

[lrlforfun]

OK Rob: In the Buick Motor Division's movie the "1960 Buick Daytona 10,000" it briefly gives a clip at the beginning of the video of the assembly line workers putting the front and inner fender on as a unit. This might have been s o p for GM assembly, but I can only theorize. I'm studying your sequence and taking it under advisement. Thanks for your input, Mitch.

[RivNut]

1. Fisher body hung and aligned the non painted door frames on the non painted body shell. I assume they had some sort of panel gap spec given to them.

2. The body shell was then dipped, primed, and painted.

3. All front sheet metal parts were painted separately while off the car.

4. Interior of car was installed, and competed at Fisher body. Basically the entire body shell was completely assembled before it was dropped on the chassis. Glass, interior, dash, wiring, door skins, everything.

5. Completed body was dropped on a completed chassis.

6. Painted Inner and outer fenders fitted. Front radiator support fitted. Hood and brackets fitted. Front bumper and supports fitted and aligned. Headlight assemblies fitted. Grill fitted.

I've got a couple of thoughts on this assembly procedure.

First, in 1963, I don't think cars were being dipped as they are now. When you pull back the carpet and pad on the floor on the interior, and the floor on the trunk, I've never seen any evidence of anything that would indicate that the body had been dipped.

Second, The '63 Riviera was the first car to have rimless door glass. We know from the Fisher Data plates that glass was installed at the Fisher body plant before the body was shipped to final assembly. The door skins were not part of the door at this time; they were left off so the glass could be aligned. Here's my question. Was the door skin put on after the glass was aligned at the Fisher body plant or were the door skins part of final assembly? Either way, you have to start by aligning the doors with the body, then the fenders get aligned with the doors, then the hood is installed. After that, there was probably a crew with a bunch of shims who, using the "fixtures" Tom referred to, to align the whole assembly.

What I didn't mention in my earlier post about alignment that I took from the chassis manual was the intro to the section. It stated something along the lines of "because of settling and shifting during transport, body parts can become misaligned." Then it goes on to tell the sequence that is used to realign these misaligned parts. You've got to think through it logically. The body shell can't shift; it's your base from which you start. Go from there and work forward.

Addendum: I just googled "front fender alignment guide" and found a ton of articles from places like Hot Rod, Rod and Custom, and other similar publications that explain the sequence, parts, and tools needed to align fenders and hoods.

Edited February 3, 2013 by RivNut
Add "google" findings (see edit history)

[Guest Rob J]

Ed, I'm pretty sure most GM cars were dipped back in the day. Only thing is, the solution they were dipped in was nothing like the E-coating used today on modern vehicles. As far as I understand, the reasoning for the removable "drain plates" in the floors and trunk of these cars was for the dipping process to drain out.

[Guest Rob J]

Here's an interesting Fisher Body video I had seen about a year ago. Took me some time to dig it up. I think it is a very interesting view, and sheds some light as to how cars of this era were built.

Here's another from 1955

Edited February 3, 2013 by Rob J (see edit history)

[RivNut]

I watched the entire 25+ minute video and what I saw confirmed what I posted earlier. This was a 1970 Monte Carlo being followed through the production process. In 1970, there was no dipping for primer. The body was washed and rinsed a few times before paint but once it got to the paint line, primer was sprayed on and the paint was sprayed on by machines that kept the thickness to "one-half of one-thousandth of an inch tolerance." After the body had been painted, it was then shipped to final assembly where the fenders, hoods (all painted at a different place,) grills, bumpers, etc. were installed. In this particular build, the first thing installed was the header panel that contained the grill and headlight assemblies, then the fenders were placed between the body and the header panel. On our first generation Rivieras, there is no header panel that contains these parts; fenders go all the way to the front of the car, grills, and headlights are attached to the radiator core support. Lot's of new techniques in a period of seven years.

I did find it interesting to see what GM (and the world) considered 'high tech' in 1970 compared to the technology we have today.

Ed

[1965rivgs]

Before understanding the sequence of building the first gen Riv body it`s important to know the body (from the cowl back) was assembled at Fisher Body #1 and the front sheetmetal was assembled at Buick City (final assembly), two different locations. Because the Riv was the first car assembled with frameless glass, the engineers needed to design a system that would not involve door adjustment once the finished body left the Fisher plant. This is because, at Fisher, the glass was adjusted to seal properly to the weatherstrip before the door skin was installed. After the door skin was installed and the body shipped to Buick City (final assembly), it was physically impossible to make adjustments to the door because the compensating adjustments to the window glass would not be possible without removing the door skin. Therefore fixtures/gages were used at Fisher to set the leading edge of the doors to a pre-determined overall width which coincided with fixtures/gages used at Buick City to set the trailing edge of the front fenders to the same dimension. By utilizing these fixtures/gages the initial fitment of front end sheetmetal to the Fisher supplied body would be very, very close and require minimum adjustment of the front end sheetmetal and no adjustment of the doors. Fisher also employed a contour fixture/gage which indexed to the leading edge of the door to adjust the "bulge" of the door skin to better match the front fenders. Buick City also employed gauges to check hood dimension (like a "buck" to only check the dimensions of the hood panel) and another fixture/gage to setup fender to fender top edge dimension to accommodate the hood`s dimension. There was also a gage to check the assembled fender/wheelwell dimension and yet another gage to setup the top edge of the front fender`s overall width at the core support after the front clip was mated to the body.

I`m sure there were many more dimensional tools, which I am not aware of, that were utilized in assembly, quality controls, etc.. but of what practical use is that to us now? I dont know anyone who is required to assemble a couple of dozen Rivieras in an hour?? But there is one common thread that runs through the method Buick used to assemble the Rivs and what most of us are trying to accomplish in our one man shops. That thread is COMMON SENSE; or as my wife frequently refers to it as uncommon sense. As Ed has described above, the rockers and quarters are non-adjustable and therefore act as a starting point. In our one man shops do we need to be concerned about the front clip and the body being assembled in 2 different locations? No. Do we need to be concerned about removing a door skin once or twice to get just the right glass to weatherstrip fit as the bean counters at Fisher Body were? Not really. Once the bottom and trailing edge of the doors is aligned (be sure the doors are "loaded" with the internals as the weight will make a difference in final adjustment) to the quarters and rockers the front edge of the doors should fall relatively into place. Work forward to the front fenders and hood, dont forget the option to shim the front core support. After you are satisfied go back to the doors, remove the skin, and align the vent window frame and then the door glass. The quarter glass is last.... have fun. Think like a finish carpenter who encounters something out of square or level..split the difference and the human eye is not likely to pick it up, all things visual are relative

. One other point, this should all be done BEFORE you completely disassemble the car, as in a frame off restoration. Little tricks can be utilized like drilling holes in the door hinges and driving in roll pins to act as reassembly guides, using engraving pens to mark the OD of adjustment bolt washers, etc.. to make reassembling freshly prepped or painted sheetmetal a no-brainer and reduce the need to refinish boo boos or re-touch. Bet they didn`t do THAT at Fisher Body!......have fun!

Tom Mooney

Edited February 4, 2013 by 1965rivgs (see edit history)