Bought parts from J/Y--bad fit how do I align???

[King Peetis]

I own an 88 LXI hatch.

I bought a hood (off an 88), R/H headlight assembly (off an 87) and R/H fender (off a different 88) from the local junk yard. I put it all on but nothing seems to line up. The light on the right sits below the hood and fender with minimal clearance. the light on the left sits above the hood and fender with plenty of gap. The parts dont appear to have any defects at all. I have twisted, tweeked, shimed and banged to try and get this stuff aligned----Any help for a frustrated newby?????

[2oodoor]

there are some adustments, but I don't know how to tell you in words how to do it all. I really would like to help ya though..You need to get the hood lined up first, take the striker for the latch off so you can close it without latching.
If the door is lined up good in the back, then put the fender on and get it to line up with the door, then the hood. Before you tigheten up the bottom of the fender, put a jack under the frame in the jacking point reinforced area just laterally behind the fender.
Then make sure your bumper is a streight line before you put the headlight buckets in, there are several adjustments in those that may be posted in a thread here somewhere.
You may have to enable the latch for the hood again when you are adjusting the headlight panels.

[King Peetis]

I will give your advice a shot first thing in the morning. I will post my progress with each adjustment. Thanks for the help.

[ghettogeddy]

i had the same prob with my cf hood
it sate fine on my 88lx 4dr but when i put it on my 87 lxi hatch it sat crooked the driver side sate up alot higher

[King Peetis]

Did you ever fix the problem or did you just live with it? I am kind of a perfectionist and it will drive me crazy until I get it just right...

[2oodoor]

how bad were the old parts damaged? pictures could help getting this done

[King Peetis]

The car was in a fender bender prior to purchasse. The metal bumper was bent and cracked. the bumper cover was trashed and so was the head light and cage. the hood had just a small crinkle on the corner about a 1/2 inch and the fender was crushed on the front corner about 4 inches.I removed everything and it appears as though there is a small amount of misalignment. I cold worked a mojority of it and planned to offset the rest with shims. Im really making it sound like it is more than it was. The guy couldnt have been going more than 3-4 mph when he made contact. I would love to put up pics but my wife has the camera in Boston, but thats a good thing... I think I will need to take my time to get it right. By the way roodoo2, do you live in GA? If so, got a good recommedation for a quality painter? Im in Fayetteville...

[King Peetis]

I give up! Im gonna let the body shop tackle it when I get the damn thing painted...

[2oodoor]

Im about 3 hours away or else I would stop by after work to give you a hand :rolleyes:
It really is not that hard to do but yes it does help to know some of the tricks to it to hurry things along some. I don't know any P&B folks in Fayette Co..
Sound like you have some inner construction that needs just a little attention. If you ever had any framing experience, wood or otherwise you already know that a quarter inch off on one end can make it hundred fold on the other.

[ghettogeddy]

ya i tried several different ways to get mine to site stright i ended up just stick some hood pins on there and forcing it down

[Tdurr]

Hey! im in fayetteville too! lol but i dont know anything that could help you... but On the 19th at 9pm there is gonna be a car meet at Hotlanta wings sooo Go and find my accord so we can talk lol....
~TDR

[King Peetis]

Yeah, I saw it on IA. I'll be there. I wont be driving the lxi but I will have the civic. See you then...

[King Peetis]

Hey darkracer do you know how many 3geez live in fayette co? I'll tell you what, the J/Y is crawling with them-I never thought I would have to stake a claim on a car at the yard until the other day. Me and this dude get to an 88 at pretty much the same time. I was there first but I hadnt started pulling parts yet. He just walked over and started pulling the engine. I said I wanted the hood and he picked up his butcher knife that he was using to cut hoses and kinda gave me that look--you know what I mean? Anyway this is fun for the most part--rebuilding the car I had as a teenager. I bought this very same ride in 1989 but it was an 86 LXI. Ive owned 23 autos and my 86 lxi was the best by far...