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71 cuda frt fender stud/bolt location

asskicked

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So, this is not factory?

challenger-20-43-jpeg.87821


I'm curious about this because of the globs of sealer and what appears to be a fender shimmed up for hood alignment. A problem I'm currently working with on my 71 Challenger, hood is about an 1/8" higher in the middle of the fender top.
 

rklein71

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No studs on my 71, however, I know that my fenders were removed in the past so it could have been changed.
 

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Challenger RTA

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I'm not saying the studs are factory or not factory.I'm showing what I have seen and saying what may be. What may be is that (In a Perfect World) the line never runs out of bolts and nuts. A new worker puts every thing in the correct place,bolts nuts and sealer. And quality control catches ever thing. The worker work is consistence Monday - Friday. As far as fender shimmed up for hood alignment. I have seen this more then one time. Not saying it is correct or not. maybe there is a assembly line picture or original owner that can confirm or deny. Not to mention thesis cars were built with a 1/4" tolerance. To me that's a mile! Just a thought.Maybe this is a quality control or line fix? The washer under the stud is what I found a number of times at the bottom of the fender.to shim out. I'm just saying what ever it takes to move the car along the line?
 
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heminut

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In all the years I've been playing with Mopar muscle cars I've learned ONE hard and fast rule about them, NEVER say never! The factory did a lot of odd stuff.
 

asskicked

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I'm not saying the studs are factory or not factory.I'm showing what I have seen and saying what may be. What may be is that (In a Perfect World) the line never runs out of bolts and nuts. A new worker puts every thing in the correct place,bolts nuts and sealer. And quality control catches ever thing. The worker work is consistence Monday - Friday. As far as fender shimmed up for hood alignment. I have seen this more then one time. Not saying it is correct or not. maybe there is a assembly line picture or original owner that can confirm or deny. Not to mention thesis cars were built with a 1/4" tolerance. To me that's a mile! Just a thought.Maybe this is a quality control or line fix?

Yes, it's sure a butcher job even for factory work. That one stud doesn't even clear the nut. You would think if it was bad later date body shop work, they would have at least cleaned up sealer globs a little better out of embarrassment. I can see that glob work happening on the assembly line but who knows.

I don't want to derail this thread so tell me if I should start another, are the fenders supposed to have sealer in between the inner and outer fenders?
 

Challenger RTA

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Yes, it's sure a butcher job even for factory work. That one stud doesn't even clear the nut. You would think if it was bad later date body shop work, they would have at least cleaned up sealer globs a little better out of embarrassment. I can see that glob work happening on the assembly line but who knows.

I don't want to derail this thread so tell me if I should start another, are the fenders supposed to have sealer in between the inner and outer fenders?
YES. It looks like a factory application.
 

tonysrt

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The stud was probably an Auto body fix, not the line, because it was easier to add shims with a stud than a bolt to align fender to the hood.
 

asskicked

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To seal or not to seal?

Are you guys putting sealer or anything else in between inner and out fenders?

I mentioned my gap problem and was considering using something like pickup truck bed to cap/topper closed cell foam strips trimmed to be mostly hidden once in place. I mean half of 1/8" is a 16th, that would be a nice improvement with little shimming.
 

fasjac

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I know you’re searching for a stud but, have these from a previous restoration.
No stud/s though.
 

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Rapidfire

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To seal or not to seal?

Are you guys putting sealer or anything else in between inner and out fenders?

I mentioned my gap problem and was considering using something like pickup truck bed to cap/topper closed cell foam strips trimmed to be mostly hidden once in place. I mean half of 1/8" is a 16th, that would be a nice improvement with little shimming.
I would not put the sealer back on. I see no reason for it. It’s a pain to take off in the first place. Once you put it on you have to adjust the fenders and if you need to do some minor adjustment later and the sealer is set up nothing is going to move! Then you get to start all over. If everything is adjusted and you are happy then later, just run a small bead of sealer on the edge. Just my opinion.
 

asskicked

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I would not put the sealer back on. I see no reason for it. It’s a pain to take off in the first place. Once you put it on you have to adjust the fenders and if you need to do some minor adjustment later and the sealer is set up nothing is going to move! Then you get to start all over. If everything is adjusted and you are happy then later, just run a small bead of sealer on the edge. Just my opinion.

I figured that was the case. Another thing, in my searches I haven't found much on shimming, some mentions with trying to compensate for factory fiberglass hood bowing but no pics of how it was done. Shimming would obviously create a space in between the mounting surfaces so I would imagine a sealer must be used to keep road splash out when these cars are used as intended. This is one area where I don't like the Chrysler designs of no inner wheel wells for some cars, planned obsolescence at its finest.
 

moparmike1974

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I just stripped down my 74 cuda and it had three studs on each side. In the middle locations. This car had never been apart before so I can guarantee it came from mopar this way.
 
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