A Not-So-Instant Replay: Part I

Since I reassembled the car there's been something bugging me. Well, a few things actually. The gaps around the doors weren't particularly tight and this caused the fender gaps to be too loose. In fact, besides looking lousy to someone who knows classic Mustangs, the panel misalignment caused the front windshield trim to fit poorly (and the original piece of lower trim does not fit at all.)

I was reading a classic car magazine the other day and in the classic car auction recap pages, the author mentioned a car at auction with "panel gaps so big a squirrel could fit through." So, that was the last straw! :-)

The passenger door is twisted a bit too—too far in at the handle area and too far out at the front lower corner. The passenger fender is too far forward so the headlight trim doesn't line up. The fenders are also too far out, needing to be brought closer to the hood. Speaking of the hood, it can be brought back towards the cowl when the fenders are right.





When I reassembled the car I used the pilot holes the body/paint guys drilled. Frankly, I didn't know any better at the time and was probably anxious to get the car done. :-) Now, I will be closing as many gaps to 1/8" as I can (except for the front door gaps—maybe 3/16" on those.) Right now all the gaps are at least 3/16" and one is 1/4".





I've been finding plenty of old photos online of original Mustangs and they really had good gaps from the factory. I don't know where these old cars got the reputation for poor panel gaps from the factory, but I haven't been seeing it.