RH AND LH Rear fenders not aligned with doors on my 72 240z

[jalexquijano]

Recently noticed the Paint shop that charged me US$4,750 for restoring my car did not aligned the rear fenders with the doors. They are arguing that they were aligned before installing the doors seals. I have a 6 month guarantee on the job done but unfortunately the owner of the shop died two weeks after my car was delivered and now they do not want to answer phone calls and honor the guarantee. In this sense, i will proceed legally against them and ask them to appear for a citation at the consumers protection board.

Anyway, i still need to fix my car and have posted the pictures to see if someone can instruct me on how to get this straight. will i need to cut and solder back both fenders?

[ksechler]

Yep, go ahead and cut those fenders right off.  

Looks fine to me.  Guy dies and you're fixing to sue the shop.  Real nice!

[jalexquijano]

looks fine?? I dont think so? I just called the new manager in charge and he says the shop has a seizure order to freeze all the assets inside of it, including cars that have been taken for repair by many owners. I believe my legal actions will not lead me anywhere. Need to get this solved.

[Patcon]

So you are going to have to pay more to get the door lines fixed and resprayed, after you already had to deal with overspray all over the dash versus just using a better shop in the first place!

[gwri8]

You're blowing this out of proportion IMO.  I know you're not the handiest guy, and neither am I for that matter, but threatening to sue over aligning your doors is probably the reason they won't answer your phone calls. How about you just align the doors yourself. Problem solved.  Plenty of info on here to do that.

Edit to say a 5mm gap between panels is perfectly acceptable, I would even say desirable.

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by gwri8

[zKars]

Remove the weatherstrip from that door and close the door and hold it in position so that as much as the door is aligned with the front and rear fender, then see if it fits differently/better. This will give you an un-biased indication if the door fits the opening or if the weatherstrip is in fact holding it away. The fit overall is pretty good, I would not be suing the shop just yet.

You can tap the pinch weld where the weatherstrip sits and bend it back into the car a bit to adjust how close  the weatherstrio comes to the door. Also after a few months the weatherstrip will compress and the door will likely fit better. You cna then tap the pinchweld back into alignment.

This is normal body fitment work. They didn't do anything "wrong".

[jalexquijano]

please look at the RH rear fender. Isnt it bent and not aligned? I think it should be straightened so it aligns with the door.

[Patcon]

In the lower picture I believe the door sits out from the chassis a little. The door is what needs adjustment. Start with the weatherstrips the way Zkars suggest. If you won't take good advise the help dries up...

[Mark Maras]

 Use the term "Weatherstrip" in your SEARCH for information. This is a common problem with aftermarket WS. The reason some folks are using KIA weatherstrip is because some  WS manufacturers use a stiffer foam or a different cross section configuration. There are plenty of opinions and ideas for a solution on the first few pages. Good luck.

[jalexquijano]

i bought the Vintage rubber kit which is supposed to be the best quality all around!! My question is do i need to adjust the rear Fender??? cutting it and aligning it?

[Mark Maras]

 No, you shouldn't need to modify the quarter panels. I believe the body shop said all was well before the weatherstrip went in. If that's true, the problem is the weatherstrip. As I stated previously, if you search using the term weatherstrip, you'll find plenty of folks who have had this same problem and have some creative methods to solve it. It's possible the body shop had to adjust the door latches to allow the doors to close and latch.

[sweatybetty]

On 9/16/2016 at 7:25 PM, jalexquijano said:

 My question is do i need to adjust the rear Fender??? cutting it and aligning it?

yes. go for it