fender shims

my kid helped me take the fenders off of my 63 limo and i told him to count the shims and write them down. him and my nephew took the front clip off while i was gone and wrote the number of shims on the baggy alright but not where they came from! anybody got a 63 coack or can give me a clue as to how many yours has and where? i know, trial and error but im putting the fenders back on myself and a clue as to how many and where can get me in the ballpark. any clue would be helpfull. i can put two here and three there but that would be a long ordeal with just me.

The shims are just that. No 2 cars had the same number or thickness of shims at the bolt points. The shims were used so fenders could be lined up with the doors and vent screens, so body lines would meet each other. After you are primed and edged in the panels line up your doors to fit, open & close and then line up the fenders adjusting the shims as you go. 63 is not as bad as later years. The Comm Ch. had just the one big rounded side and almost no exact body lines on the fender and front door. This was true on the 59 to 64 Comm Ch. and 59 to 65 Fleetwood 75 limo. Some 61 & 62 Comm. Builders added cladings for the extra body lines for those 2 years. [64 & 65 Fleetwood 75 limo were almost the same] Bumpers were also shimed to fit.
Hope this helps.

now the interesting part comes when you put it back together. you put all the shims back in were they were and still end up changing them around. have a inch stack on one side and one shim on the other. your always holding extra in your hand or digging in the box for one more. one trick on the later cars is to tape them together when you lift them out. then label Right or Left and top or bottom.
but as you did not do that. it's start the bolts in get your door gap pick the body line you want and trade shims till it stays. the only trouble I had on the 63 was getting the proper bow in the fender to fit the door crown. but we had some major repairs on them. don't forget to tie it down on the radiator support before the final fit in the rear. nothing worse then getting a perfect fit on the door only to discover your a half inch off on the hood in front.

thanks

i got the core support and such back on after cleaning sanding and painting it all with krylon black. light coats and then 3 wet coats. no runs and and really shines as i top coated with clear. looks great. got one fender on and sorta lined up. need another set of hands and son on the way. gonna get this back on today. radiator and all ac stuff back on too. plan is to have everything ready to go to the painter by next monday. got all the trim buffed and the the bumpers should be ready next week. i put new springs and shocks and went ahead and put u joints while i was at it. gotta put the gas tank back on as i had it boiled out and coated at the radiator shop. i painted the drums black too. i didnt replact the wheel studs but all new shoes and hardware kits. painted the driveshaft gray. just cause i had 3 cans of gray. i went ahead and painted the inner fenders with rattle cans. they look ok but was just gonna try it out and i got carried away and well there painted. this is not gonna be a nut and bolt restoration but a driver that i can be proud of and use if the need arises. cloth interior but front seats will be leather. 800 just for the front seat but worth it. looks as factory. well got carried away typing, gotta go back to work..

I've parted out numerous 63/64 Cadillacs, to include 75 and CC's. The large shims on the fenders are in the very back bolt hole. Not the bolt accessed in the door jamb, but on top of the fender, by the windshield.
Bolt up the fenders, and align the hood with the 2 bumpers and the adjustable latch. There may be shims on the bottom dogleg mounts.

got it

thanks russ, with yours and others advise i have them on and aligned perfectly. could not be happier. motor is detailed with new gaskets and all painted correct cad. blue. rebuilt the ac compressor and all new orings for 134a. pulled the pan on the tranny and screen was clean so just serviced it and all new good fluid and filter. added a quart of lucas also as i found it to be a good additive. not going to install any chrome, headlights etc. till i get it back from the painter. havent sanded exterior as painter wanted to do it himself. gonna buff the hubcaps next. getting ahead of myself but hey its my car. see ya....

If you have rebuilt the compressor, and installed all new "O" rings on the hoses, then I would install R12 instead of R134, since R12 will cool better in the Texas heat. Never been a fan of conversion to R134, since it is a smaller molecule and usually leaks through the hoses as a result. Your spending a lot of time and money on the restoration, why change the one thing that will make the difference in driving comfort when the outside temperature is 100 degrees?

never thought of it

Paul Steinberg said:

If you have rebuilt the compressor, and installed all new "O" rings on the hoses, then I would install R12 instead of R134, since R12 will cool better in the Texas heat. Never been a fan of conversion to R134, since it is a smaller molecule and usually leaks through the hoses as a result. Your spending a lot of time and money on the restoration, why change the one thing that will make the difference in driving comfort when the outside temperature is 100 degrees?

Click to expand...

you are so right paul. never thought of it im just been reprogrammed for 134a. never entered my mind. thats why i love this site. good advice. ever have the end result in mind and overlook the obvious? thanks again....