Body to Frame Bolts

[Jwawhite]

Starting from the basics for door adjustment. Shop Manual reads that incorrect Torque on these bolts could be the issue with door alignment. Manual not quite clear, is there an order with bolts when tightening? For instance, tightening car wheels. Should all be loose at once? Lose and tighten each one down the line? Shake the body when all all lose to Align? Any secrets?

 

[Jwawhite]

Someone out there must? Have some advice? Should they be torqued at the low or high range? How about the condition and size of rubber piece? I have the back "tray" off and note there are two bolts there also and not just along the frame.

 

[Daves55Sedan]

The shop manual doesn't seem to provide a bolt tightening sequence, not that I can find. I have done body-off-frame restorations of a '55 fordor sedan and a '55 Courier wagon. I did not use a specific sequence, but I did first snug all bolts down a little, then looked underneath to see if any shims needed to be put back in. Sure enough, the bolts on each frame rail ahead of the rear axle needed to be shimmed as they were before. I also did not torque the bolts down so tight you couldn't turn them anymore, they don't need to be that tight. The rubber pad below and rubber washer above sandwiches the floor in between and the construction of those big washers are such that the bolts will not back out. So, it ain't goin nowhere.
Maybe not very scientific, but adequate enough for me.

 

[Ford blue blood]

Before any work is started I place a strip of masking tap on the door and body, cut it at the seam. I do all that can be done with the body on the frame. If the tape still lines up nothing has shifted. Take the body off, finish the remaining work, finish the underside, get the frame finished, cover it with a large sheet of plastic, set the body on, assemble all the sheet metal, now start tightening the body mount bolts. The body mounts at the cowl will play a major roll in door alignment, the jamb area specifically. I like to start in the middle of the car and work back then forward. Getting the mounts even (torque) in the middle first gives a good starting point. The front and rear mounts do not necessarily carry the same torque. Watching the quarters and door jamb gaps will tell you which way to go with respect to torque on them. On sedans the alignment of the top of the door to the roof line is really affected by the cowl and hinge mounts and the mid body mounts. Adding or removing shims in the middle will impact that gap.

Bottom line, there is NO set rule for re-mounting the body and getting things to "fit" right. Just have to keep working on it until it all fits.

 

[Daves55Sedan]

I will just add this; if there is the need to replace one or more body-to-frame mounting rubber pads, don't make the mistake of just replacing the bad ones and trying to re-use the old ones that aren't completely destroyed. Just bite the bullet and buy a whole new set. You will thank yourself in the end.
Some folks spare no expense in a body-off-frame restoration, but I have always tried to cut every expense possible by re-using old stuff. Sometimes it works out okay, other times, you could kick yourself for not spending the extra couple of bucks.

 

[Jwawhite]

Dennis Carpenter sells an entire kit, includes all bolts, nuts, washers, square and round pads, about $150. Don't know if kit has instructions ....

Thank you all for the helpful insights!

 

[Daves55Sedan]

Dennis Carpenter sells an entire kit, includes all bolts, nuts, washers, square and round pads, about $150.

$150.00 ! Gee, no wonder I tried to get away with just buying a few new pads. Of course, my project was done 25 years ago, but back then, most places offered the parts sold individually. More recently, I recall someone selling a complete set of pads only (without the hardware) for less than if you tried to buy several pads individually. Had that been offered back then, I might have went for it.

 

[frank long island]

you might ck other sources for a ureathane bushing of the same size

 

[Ole Don]

I had urethane bushings in the rear springs for two years. I removed them and went back to replacement rubber. The urethane squeaked something terrible. I even took them apart and greased them, they still made noise. They belong on a shelf, or in a trash can. I also had them for sway bar bushings, drilled for grease fittings. They did not squeak there.

 

[Dobie Gillis]

They require a special grease or they'll drive you up the wall with the squeaking. Most urethane bushing suppliers have the stuff.

 

[40cpe]

I had creaking urethane bushings for a long time until someone told me about flange bearings. They come in different sizes, I get mine at Motion Industries.