55-57 front fender to rocker alignment

[OKGMC4]

Has anyone else noticed that the fender usually hangs below the rocker on these trucks? I've seen several that look right but think that they have been fixed by the owner rather than been correct from the factory. I thought about sectioning the fender but that seems like an insane amount of work for 1/4" of movement. I'm currently thinking of slicing the rocker panel above the lip and pushing it down to match the fender lip, then rewelding it and adding metal to the bottom of the door to make the gap match. Has anyone else done this fix or am I crazy?

[dwcsr]

Some rockers don't fit as well as others. It should be straight front to back corner.

55-7 fender tips are different than 58-9 and the rocker should be different on the original but the repop is the same for 55-59. The brace behind the fender is only repoped for 58-59. If you use a 58-9 fender brace on a 55-7 and don't compensate for the differences it looks off.

[OKGMC4]

But my rockers and fenders are originals and still don't fit right. I've also noticed my door gaps are way off and I'll have to modify my hinges to move the hood over 3/16" to the drivers side because it is off center. Basically nothing on this truck lines up. I could just bolt it all together but I'm a little picky about body lines lining up just right.

[dwcsr]

Sounds like you have some structural problems in that front pillar cab mount area. Door gaps can be anywhere fro 1/2 to 1/8 inch. They weren't very good on door gap tolerences back then. It may have been wrecked at some point. We tend to forget that these old trucks had a life proir to us getting them and some of them were not good lives.

[Kim57]

I had to fudge mine some to get them to fit. I lined the fender up with the cowel as best I could then forced the bottom up some and the rocker down some. This will change the fenders shape some but mine still line up with the doors just fine.
Kim

[OKGMC4]

I tried the bending at the fender and it goes a little ways but the rocker may have to meet the fender in the middle somewhere. For someone who can't visualize what I'm fighting, my fenders look like the orange truck and I want to look like the blue truck. It will just look better even though most people will not notice the bottom edge of the fender.

[OrrieG]

Welcome to TF truck tolerences. The alignment and gaps on these were horrible from the factory. Farmers and appliance delivery guys did not care, they just wanted the doors, hood and tailgate to stay shut and open. If you look in the photo below you will see mine was hanging a little low too. When I r&r'd the front clip i shimmed it so the top curve aligned with the cowl and door and let the bottom hang. I figured only small children and drunks laying in the gutters would notice.

[sgtusmc]

Originally Posted by orrieg

i figured only small children and drunks laying in the gutters would notice.

CLASSIC...hahaha!!!!!!!!!