hello n.c.r.s. members. i have a question. it might sound silly, but it is bothering me. i bought a 66 corvette coupe that has been restored recently. in a converstion with the restorer, he states that it was a body off restoration. this is pretty obviuos looking at the car. it is in as new condition. one statement he made has made me a little nervous. he states that when he took the body off the car that there were no shims between the body and frame, just the rubber body mounts. the gaps and body lines on the car look very good. the only thing that looks suspious is that the lock stryker assembly that mounts on the door, slightly rubs the body at one point while closing the door.( passenger side) would a properly placed shim cure this? is it likely that a body and frame would not need any shims? any help would be appreciated.
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Re: 1966 shims between the body and frame.
Hi Scott!
I'll try this one...
When the cars were originally constucted, GM realized that precise tolerances were impractical on a large assembly line. Therefore the frames were measured on a machine that determined how many shims each body mount required and denoted these with slash marks in white paint on the frame next to each body mount. The rubber "donut" and the required amount of shims were then held in place with 1 1/2" masking tape while the body was lowered.
Is it possible your coupe required no shims at any mount points when it left the factory? Possible but unlikely. Depending on your faith & reputation of the person who restored the car, perhaps someone forgot to mark how many shims were at each mount point. And didn't realize this until time for reassembly. Again, this is supposition. If the body is excessively torqued you will find the fiberglass will begin to fracture in a few years.
Your rubbing striker is a potentially more serious matter. The coupe body is fairly rigid at the door opening and if the door is perfectly aligned in the opening I would suspect a problem with the striker. Realize that the coupe doors didn't fit very well along the top margin because of a discreprancy in the size of the body roof molding. I suspect "shimming" the body would not accomplish much.
All of this telephone diagnosis is worth little. I would reccomend having a knowledgible NCRS member in your area inspect the car to determine the problem. I would also reccomend Nolan Adam's book for more detailed build description.
Congratulations! You have a beautiful car!
Carl
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