Technical Help with 3 panel engine cover.

Have a 1936 Plymouth Coupe. All steel. Already have the top piece on the engine bay. The two side pieces Im trying to put on, have a fitment problem. The left side is all right, but the right side does not match up properly. I have the two adjustment rods on top, and all the nuts loosened in front. Any special method to get them both presentable? I also have the handle on each side panel thatnlocks them in. Again,,left side locks, right doesnt! Any advice appreciated. New to the site. Try to post a pic of my ride at least....

 

welcome

It's really hard to see how the panel doesn't fit right, when it's not shown in the picture. To figure out what it needs done so it will fit, we'd have to see where it doesn't fit right. If there is not enough room for the panel, then the grille shell needs to go forward. If the gap is uneven top to bottom, at the back end, then the grill shell needs to go up or down. If the gap is uneven top to bottom at the front, only on one side, then the grill shell is twisted.

This stuff is a lot easier to deal with if you get it all to fit, before painting the car.

 

Thank you. That helps. I bought the car with the panels off. Asking why they werent on, seller replied: I like this look better. I have the sides on now. Will take pics to show....

 

to add to what Squirrel wrote. both the cowl lacing and grill shell lacing or hood bumpers must be present. start by getting the hood aligned to the cowl, which doesn't move[*] and move the shell to align to the hood.
*extreme cases of misalignment can be cured by moving the cowl.

 

As with any '30s car you will probably need to shim the body and adjust the front end. As someone has also mentioned, all the cowl and grill shell welting must be in place to get proper hood fitment. Did the previous owner make sure the ch***is/frame was true and straight before he started the build?

 

Easier to lie, than to say he didn't get them to fit right...

 

it doesn't look like you grill shell is off any noticeable amount according to this car. As the others said, sometimes you have to move things around a bit to get everything to fit right but figuring out what you need to move how is a bigger issue most of the time .

 

Not sure. She runs true. I worked on it more. Managed to move radiator a little bit more out on the bottom, and added some steel shims to one side. Now to get the latches to work!!!

 

thamks for the pics feorgeous car! I dont have bumpers on mine, and have blue halogens in front. Other than that almost identicle. Is there a chrome strip of some kind between your panels? Looks fantastic!