Anyone Have Closeup Panel Fitment Photos?

[kkaa]

I think anyone that want to learn about stress, the perverse purity of cussing that weaves effortlessly through the air like a well conducted symphony, should exercise this inner daemon by trying to correctly gap a Healey!!

Ive been trying get it just right, scouring the web, but cant find any good closeups pics of the rocker and how the front wing to rocker and rocker to dogleg looks. Im getting about 1/8th gap more than where the door chases up to the top. Andrea and Rich's picasa sections have almost all Ive ever needed, but sadly not these....


Thank you.......

 

[healeyblue]

Do these help?

 

[kkaa]

Thank you my friend, yes helpful. Do you happen to have any closeups of the one that goes to the dogleg? Im looking to see how the rocker goes under the dogleg, how much gap there is between the fender and the car.

Do these help?

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Don't mean to hijack this topic but I've always wondered why folks who do a complete panels-off restoration say they spend so much time getting the panel gaps right. I assumed if you took the body panels off the car and then put them back on after body work, painting and such, they should fit just as well as when they were removed. Now I'm thinking this because I've never removed the panels from my car, so I have no experience. Do things really get that out of line when you remove and reinstall?

 

[drambuie]

:sorrow::sorrow:Your depressing me! Wish my factory gaps where that nice!

 

[Chris_Masucci]

Do things really get that out of line when you remove and reinstall?

Yes, yes they do.

 

[kkaa]

Good Q, but yes, they get way out. They can go from a 1/16th gap on top to /4" from top to bottom depending on loaded with engine weight vs not, or if you fixed any sag

Don't mean to hijack this topic but I've always wondered why folks who do a complete panels-off restoration say they spend so much time getting the panel gaps right. I assumed if you took the body panels off the car and then put them back on after body work, painting and such, they should fit just as well as when they were removed. Now I'm thinking this because I've never removed the panels from my car, so I have no experience. Do things really get that out of line when you remove and reinstall?

 

[John_Progess]

When I restored my 64 BJ8 I bet I spent 2 months working every day getting the door gaps correct as I had to re-construct the A and B pillars which were rusted away. I would attach the front wing and door, check the gaps, adjust and shim a little, remove both panels, re-attach both panels and the gaps would be off! Don't ask me why but it is just the way it is. I finally did get the gaps even and straight. Take your time as this is the area that you need to get right or the entire project looks off.

 

[kkaa]

Ugg. At that point where i'm seeing it flush around the entire door, with a level the two panels, fender door or wing door no elevation changes. The gaps are 1/8th all the way down to the front wing, perfect. Now its just the connection where the dogleg stops overlapping the rocket and i see a 1/8 extra gap. Ill take a pic tonight....

When I restored my 64 BJ8 I bet I spent 2 months working every day getting the door gaps correct as I had to re-construct the A and B pillars which were rusted away. I would attach the front wing and door, check the gaps, adjust and shim a little, remove both panels, re-attach both panels and the gaps would be off! Don't ask me why but it is just the way it is. I finally did get the gaps even and straight. Take your time as this is the area that you need to get right or the entire project looks off.

 

[bighealeysource]

Hey kkaa,
I would recommend getting hold of the restoration series done by Roger Moment and Gary Anderson and available through the Austin Healey Club USA. If you're a member it's online and free. If not a member, then consider joining as the subject matter of panels and gaps is discussed in one or two of the installments. I'm in both Healey clubs so this is not a push to get you to join one or the other but it is really an excellent series of articles written over a few years.
Regards,
Mike

 

[kkaa]

Mike, Great advice and have it, the multi-part series. I guess when you actually get it perfect, you write a book!! Ill take a pic and post it tonight, i might be fussing over nothing....I also bought on google their restoration guide, but says even 1/16th to 1/18th, but between them talk about the difficulty.

Hey kkaa,
I would recommend getting hold of the restoration series done by Roger Moment and Gary Anderson and available through the Austin Healey Club USA. If you're a member it's online and free. If not a member, then consider joining as the subject matter of panels and gaps is discussed in one or two of the installments. I'm in both Healey clubs so this is not a push to get you to join one or the other but it is really an excellent series of articles written over a few years.
Regards,
Mike

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Mike, Great advice and have it, the multi-part series. I guess when you actually get it perfect, you write a book!! Ill take a pic and post it tonight, i might be fussing over nothing....I also bought on google their restoration guide, but says even 1/16th to 1/18th, but between them talk about the difficulty.

I don't know about any book saying they are to be 1/16 to 1/18 but I've been told that the correct gap was 3/16 and most of the cars I've seen "restored" reflect that 3/16 gap. The gap should be fairly consistent all the way around.

 

[kkaa]

Perfect, thanks for this. Ill give it and post a followup once its done...Another snowstorm today and good time to have at it..

I don't know about any book saying they are to be 1/16 to 1/18 but I've been told that the correct gap was 3/16 and most of the cars I've seen "restored" reflect that 3/16 gap. The gap should be fairly consistent all the way around.

 

[Healey Nut]

Good Q, but yes, they get way out. They can go from a 1/16th gap on top to /4" from top to bottom depending on loaded with engine weight vs not, or if you fixed any sag

Im sorry but if the frame flexes enough to alter door gaps etc when the engine is put in then I would have some serious concerns about the integrity of the frame .

 

[healeyblue]

kkaa,
Yes post up some pics so we can see what you are dealing with. I adjusted and massaged the gaps many times, but all without the engine in place and I still had no movement once it all was back together. I checked and checked and rechecked many times though. I made sure the gaps were good during welding times and during the body work times. I come from the background of restoring Porsche 356's and the gaps on those cars are far more critical and harder to get right. These cars are easy by comparison, but you must still check the gaps often, and leave a little extra for paint thickness as well.
Jim

 

[andrea]

Hi Jim
Sorry! I lost this Thread --here my car gaps
Note: MAURO fit my doors gap nearest the perfection- but I have wrongly mounted my check straps on reverse mode (RX on LX side), and this damaged the gap, of the RX door in the upper part, for about one 1mm more

This are the photos shot for my Historic certification, and can be easy enlarged

 

[kkaa]

These are perfect, thanks Jim and Andrea, ill try to finish and post the results this weekend!!

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

I don't know about any book saying they are to be 1/16 to 1/18 but I've been told that the correct gap was 3/16 and most of the cars I've seen "restored" reflect that 3/16 gap. The gap should be fairly consistent all the way around.

I believe the late Eddie Miller Jr. used to place a dolly(home made) under the center of the frame and a 100 lb. bag of cement across the front shock towers and also in the trunk then do his fitting and welding.

 

[RDKeysor]

This may be stating the obvious, but it appears best to be sure that these cars are dimensionally stabilized early on in the restoration process. I am aware of a beautifully restored BJ8 on which the top does not fit and the door latches had to be recessed to match up. The owner has considered replacing the car's frame, giving one an idea of how difficult this problem can become. I think this discussion is a valuable one for people undertaking these projects. A member of my family had an a 356C Porsche coupe fully restored, and I observed that the restorer had literally welded the chassis to a template in the process. The outcome was excellent.

 

[CLEAH]

This may be stating the obvious, but it appears best to be sure that these cars are dimensionally stabilized early on in the restoration process. I am aware of a beautifully restored BJ8 on which the top does not fit and the door latches had to be recessed to match up. The owner has considered replacing the car's frame, giving one an idea of how difficult this problem can become. I think this discussion is a valuable one for people undertaking these projects. A member of my family had an a 356C Porsche coupe fully restored, and I observed that the restorer had literally welded the chassis to a template in the process. The outcome was excellent.

Is there in fact a set of dimensions available of the door openings for a "correct" car? I will be replacing the sills, rear shut pillar assembly and the portion of the rear quarter where the shut pillar attaches. Is there a set of dimensions available of this opening? I'd be using the hinge pillar as a datum. (I'm still in disassembly mode, but this task already has me lying awake at night...)