hI ON MY 70 GS 455, I PLAN ON REBUILDING FRONT END AND WOULD ALSO LIKE TO FRESHEN UP ENGINE BAY. IM THINKING BOTH JOBS WOULD BE EASIER IF FENDERS WERE OFF CAR. BUT IN ADDITION TO SCRATCHES AND DENTS, I'M CONCERNED OF DIFFICULTY OF REALIGNING INNER AND OUTERS SO EVERYTHING LOOKSAND FUNCTIONS AS IT DOES NOW OR BETTER. IS IT THE PITA I THINK IT IS OR ARE THERE TRICKS TO MAKE THE JOB EASY?
I'd pull the engine and do your detailing rather than taking the front clip off. Do the front end while the engine is in so that you don't have to compress the springs as the engine weight would do that..
I did this to my GS when I was 19 and had no idea what I was doing with respect to lining the sheetmetal back up and quite surprisingly in retrospect it came out pretty good. I've since learned how to do it correctly. It "just" takes patience and reading/understanding the Fisher Body Manual which describes the process pretty much spot on. You'll get it lined back up at least as good if not better than it is now. As for scratching, tape the edges off and be careful & you should be fine. If you get frustrated, walk away & come back to it the next day. I've had situations on complete restos w/NOS fenders (next set I'm going to do a write up on how to fix them) and poorly assembled body shells & hoods that needed to be cut apart where I walked out not knowing how I was going to correct an issue and by the next night had a plan when I walked in. In your case it all fits now so... You won't be able to do the type job you want leaving it together & will be frustrated. Do pull the engine while you're there as well & replace all the steel front brake lines. The only problem w/taking it apart is, as just illustrated, one thing leads to another. In my case @ 19, while I did get that car back together & literally w/in hours of doing so drove it to the '86 Nationals, it led to an overconfidence in my abilities and subsequently to taking my GSX completely apart - One of my very few regrets in life.
It helps to have another set of hands when putting the fenders back on, if you end up going that far. Slow and steady as Dan says...and walk away if you get frustrated
Yes, I should've mentioned that, especially if new to it and/or when dealing w/painted parts. Once you put them on h take them off a few dozen times, you get the motion involved down pretty well.
thanks guys. a concern i have is that I don't have a lot of free time or storage place to put the fenders. new front end and new brakes could take me weeks if not months. I might have to take the fenders to my bedroom to protect them from damage! wife's gonna love that!
Put a quilt or moving blanket on the roof and carefully set fenders or hood on it. Or do you have a way to hang them from the garage ceiling? Wife will be much happier!
Guess the Fisher Body manual is a big help. My buddy got this incoming '70 GS 455 project we'll work on after we finished installing the brake kit and black rhino wheels on the Silverado. It may need some body works. We'll see.