This is my first Vette. Someone took the body off and reinstalled it. The left front fender has a crack at top of the wheel opening, and they overlap. I added shims to the support, hoping to spread the two sections apart so they will fit togeter, but it made no difference. I also tried to put an original shroud in and the upper radiator hose neck hits the shroud. It appears that the radiator support must be raised to line up the holes and clear the neck. My question is, how do you know if you raised it enough, I am afraid of doing any damage. Any help would be appreciated. Joe
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Re: 61 Front Radiator Support Shims
Joe,
It sounds as though the damage has been done so you can only improve the situation. Straight axle cars are notorious for the vertical crack at the top of the front wheelwell, and it stems from the the radiator support shims failing.
I don't clearly understand where exactly you installed the shims you mentioned, but I can offer some help.
Disassemble the lower radiator support mount where it attaches to the third arm on the front crossmember and bolt the support to the body where it belongs. Carefully raise the front of the body by adding shims between the support and the third arm until the bulge at the top of the wheelwell of the front fenders straightens out. There is no science to this, its all trial and error.
Don't worry if the gap between the support and the third arm seems large, my '58 needed two mounting kits worth of shims and extra long bolts, but no cracks either!
Hope this helps...Best Regards from Connecticut......Mark -
Re: 61 Front Radiator Support Shims
DITTO AND AMEN. Supprising to see all the straight axles with "drooping" noses and bulging fenders. This is a simple fix!
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