Hood alignment

[RODRIG3911]

Been working on lining everything up after changing out my old fenders for new one. My hood sits a little higher then the fenders in the middle and I have my hinges as low as possible.. What would be the best way to fix this? Maybe washers under some of the fender bolts? See pics

 

[AZ73]

Do you have the rubber bushings on the fenders in there?

 

[reamer]

"new" fenders are not the same as NOS. Will never "line-up" like original Ford....

 

[RODRIG3911]

yes I got the rubber bushing in place... I've been days cutting, grinding and welding the new fenders to fit nice, it just sits low on the apron.. I'm pretty sure I can put bolts between the fenders and apron to line up right, just don't know if there's a better way

 

[luke]

You just have to keep fussin with them. The aftermarket fenders take a lot of time to fit them right. You will learn along the way for sure. You can shim with washers under the bolts, just don't do a bunch or it will be noticeable. On mine we had to actually remove the mounting flange on the fender where the bolts go down the hood line and reposition it. Pita!

 

[Rustytruck]

You need to hang the door and see how the rear of the fender fits to the height of the front of the door. It looks to me that the rear of the fender is mounted too low and if cut loose, moved up and re-welded it that would improve the situation a whole lot. Then you would need to cut loose the side fender flange to the apron and re-weld it to support the fender in its proper location. So first get the rear of the door hanging right with the body tub so the top is flush and even with the top of the tub. Then hang the door nice and level and plumb. Then see if the fender needs to come up. Getting the door hung properly may need shimming or replacing the body mounts.

 

[RODRIG3911]

Thanks guys. I actually have the rear aligned very nice now. I did have to remove the spot welds and adjust and re-weld it. That part actually turned out real nice... I see what you are saying about the fender to apron flange, I didn't notice it was spot welded on too (And wrong).. I guess I'll need to remove that flange too and re-weld it higher. This is starting to be a pain in the butt!!! I wish i would have focused my attention on just fixing the original panels, but at this point I might as well see this through...
FYI the Blue oval fenders from WH are made in Taiwan and I do not recommend them (Although I love WH). The panels are molded very nice, but put together like crap. I doubt the have a Bronco at the factory in Taiwan to line them up right!! I wish they came in pieces so that i could weld the flanges on myself!!

 

[Rustytruck]

Their still better than what we had 25 years ago when there were no fenders available. I am with you though it would be better if they didn't get pre welded. at least the nose on the drivers side seems to fit good. Not so much on the passengers side.

You might also look at shimming the front 2 body mounts. That might help you some. maybe a 1/4" on both sides.

 

[RODRIG3911]

All done with no shims .. I think 15 years of Bronco ownership gave me some skills lol.. It wasn't as crappy as I thought it would be to remove the spot welds, align and re weld. It actually fits very nice now!!! But yeah, I really really wish they sold panels un-welded especially because each bronco is just a little different..

Any one have this issue in the future see my pictures. It'll show you exactly what needs to be done.. Now time for a little grinding and priming ;D

 

[Rustytruck]

Great job and only an hour and a half. Easy peasy, love it when a plan comes together.

 

[jim3326]

Been working on lining everything up after changing out my old fenders for new one. My hood sits a little higher then the fenders in the middle and I have my hinges as low as possible.. What would be the best way to fix this? Maybe washers under some of the fender bolts? See pics

That's how mine line up and the hood and fenders are original!?:?

 

[RODRIG3911]

Me too. Thanks again for the advice with the flange movement Rusty. It looks better then it ever had. I'll do the other side next chance I've got an hour and a half to spare lol

 

[RODRIG3911]

Jim you can do the same thing with the OEM ones.. I went and looked at my originals and they have a welded on flange as well. It really was easy bro. I honestly was a little afraid and thought it would take days.. You can do it!! ;D

 

[jim3326]

A little late now, had I known in '09.......

 

[RODRIG3911]

Your bronco looks Beautiful Jim!!! You are probably the only one that notices that any how. I can't wait to paint mine some day

 

[suckerpunched]

I had to do the same thing with the one fender I replaced. the original fit fine. this problem seems consistent, it is not the first time it has come up on here. seems like the manufacturer should be able to cure this pretty easily. mine fit ok otherwise.

 

[RODRIG3911]

I agree... The panels are beautiful and perfect, other then they weld the flanges on all jacked up and don't finish hammering the bends straight lol.. With A dolly, hammer, welder and grinder they turn out nice ;D

 

[Skiddy]

yours is a lot better than mine. spent all last weekend trying to get my oem fender to fit to the grill without dropping almost 2". did some checking and my core support is off that much from the radiator to the fender apron and apron has a big slope (been cut and pieced together) damn PO'sshimmed the front of the passenger fender up some. looks better for now, before pic

 

[Cortez]

Glad I read this -I have two new fenders hangin on the truck, adding new door skins, added rockers, and quarters. I thought it was looking great but haven’t put my hood back on yet! At least I have this option if I need it.

 

[RODRIG3911]

Beautiful bronco skiddy. I see what you mean about it sagging on the drivers side. Might be a good idea to just weld a new core support in place of that hacked up one. Out probably wouldn't be too difficult, just time consuming cause the grill and radiator would need to come off....


Cortez good luck bro. Both of my panels had low flanges, but maybe you'll have better luck. If you do need to move them it's not too hard.. This time I drilled a small dimple with a drill bit in the center of the spot welds, and THEN used the spot weld remover. I had a hell of a time when I did the windshield mount and cowl because the spot weld tool was walking all over.