1929 Ford Model A Roadster - From Shimmin' To Trimmin'

In order to maintain body mobility, caged nuts have been spot-welded to the bottom side of each body-mounting hole—before the frame was boxed. Although this extra movement will be slight at best, it can make a significant difference in panel-to-panel relationships later on.

As we’d hoped, our caged nuts have allowed just enough body movement so none of the body’s mounting holes required enlargement. A ratchet strap from floor crossmember to frame crossmember came in handy for moving the body on the frame.

Based on previous experience, uniform gaps can’t be achieved by shimming alone. At the very least, there’ll be some twisting and bending required. Here the left door is high at the upper rear gap, and tight at the upper front. With the handle of a body spoon wedged between the upper hinge halves, we’ll gently, but firmly, push the door closed. This affects the door—not the hinge.

There’s a brand-new digital caliper in the toolbox drawer, but that might be overkill for a Model A Ford. Since we’re after 1/8-inch gaps, a 1/8-inch wooden stir stick makes for a more appropriate gap gauge—and by 1929 standards, this might also be overkill.

The opposite side exhibits opposite issues, with a double-wide upper front gap, and a tight ’n’ low gap at the upper rear. This ain’t pretty, and shims won’t fix it. After on-car bending efforts had proven to be insufficient, we opted to remove the upper hinge for a more aggressive adjustment.

The idea here is to move only the upper part of the door forward. After a visual check of the degree and direction of the desired bend, when to say “when” is still anybody’s guess. I’m still not sure how this happened, but we nailed it on our first attempt.

After bending the forward half of the upper hinge, this door still swings smoothly, but we’ll double-check hinge pin alignment using a length of 1/4-inch rod. If the rod is obviously curved, then the pins are binding and that would require some fine-tuning.

On this body, the outer upper corner of the right door’s rear gap was misshapen, so a fiber-reinforced polyester filler was used there as needed. Once again, our vintage gap gauge confirms that we have a 1/8-inch gap. Nonbelievers may refer to the digital caliper for a more modern reading.

Adjustment of the decklid went fairly easily, with just a bit of a twist and a spacer added to the spindle of the right side hinge. The spacer won’t be visible and it will prevent the lid from drifting out of position when opened.