Are in final stages of body work (in primer) restoring a 64 BJ8. Door gaps pretty good, rocker contour/gap good, door edges fairly flush with the fenders all around, but the swage line does not line up exactly, especially at the right rear. I will add that they did not line up before the car was disassembled either, and the car was original and never restored/disassembled, just in poor shape. So it came from factory like that.
As mentioned the tops of the doors as they curve inward are flush with front and back fenders on both sides, so to adjust the door/fenders to get the swage line to line up exactly would screw up the flush alignment and the door gaps.
To get it exact one would have to either reshape the doors swage line or adjust the doors to get swage alignment, then build up,reshape top of doors/fenders where they meet, and redo the gaps all over. At this point my only option is to leave them alone, or try to reshape by lowering the swage line with body filler or lead. I am sure this has been done, but I am afraid I do no have that talent and may or may not look right when done.
How important is the alignment of the swage line? Car will not be painted two tone. Car is not going to a museum piece, but we want it as correct as it can be. From the photos, what would all of you do? Leave it alone or try to reshape the rear part of the door swage to match rear fender? Opinions?
Note, I recently attended a British car show in Tampa where there were at least 25-30 Healeys. Some swage lines were perfect, most were closer to mine, and a few were worse. Yet all the cars in my opinion looked better than new. I actually bought a brand new Healey in 1968 so I have some recollection of how they came.
Thanks
jjs64bj8
As mentioned the tops of the doors as they curve inward are flush with front and back fenders on both sides, so to adjust the door/fenders to get the swage line to line up exactly would screw up the flush alignment and the door gaps.
To get it exact one would have to either reshape the doors swage line or adjust the doors to get swage alignment, then build up,reshape top of doors/fenders where they meet, and redo the gaps all over. At this point my only option is to leave them alone, or try to reshape by lowering the swage line with body filler or lead. I am sure this has been done, but I am afraid I do no have that talent and may or may not look right when done.
How important is the alignment of the swage line? Car will not be painted two tone. Car is not going to a museum piece, but we want it as correct as it can be. From the photos, what would all of you do? Leave it alone or try to reshape the rear part of the door swage to match rear fender? Opinions?
Note, I recently attended a British car show in Tampa where there were at least 25-30 Healeys. Some swage lines were perfect, most were closer to mine, and a few were worse. Yet all the cars in my opinion looked better than new. I actually bought a brand new Healey in 1968 so I have some recollection of how they came.
Thanks
jjs64bj8