Body parts question

[Craigerf100]

I've got my front in and out fenders, grille and top n' bottom valances bolted on loosely.

My question is:
In what order is it best to tighten down all those panels? With aligning the fender body lines in mind.

[chad67]

Start at the cab and work forward. Everything must line up with the cab first, and to get your fenders aligned correctly, you are going to need to install your hood.

[Craigerf100]

Install the hood at the same time?

[HIO Silver]

It's back to front.....

Install the fenders and adjust the vertical gap at the fender to the door , the fender to the cowl (horizontal gap). Also adjust the fender in and out so the fender is at the same plane as the door. You may have to backtrack and adjust the inner fenders and maybe all the way back to the brackets on the firewall.

Loosely bolt the fenders to the core support and then install the grill (with the upper valance loosely bolted on) to set the fenders' width. You may have to compromise the grill-to-fender seam (vertical) because of the valance (body color) behind the bumper.

Install the hinges and then the hood.

Don't be surprised if ya gotta back track. You may go bonkers perfecting all the seams and gaps. Take a break to clear your head if frustrated. And remember.. body dimensions and tolerances were waaaaay loose back in the day.

TIP FOR NEXT TIME: My rig had never been apart and the body gaps and seams were really decent. A bodyshop tip is to drilled a 1/8-inch holes at the mating surfaces. I drilled two holes on them inner fender-to-cab brackets and hood hinges because the parts can be adjusted vertically and horizontally. Upon reassembly, I used the drill bit to index the parts exactly where they were before. Typically the holes are drilled under the heads of body bolts/ washers so it's not visible upon reassembly. Me? I simply plugged the holes with a booger wad of strip caulk.

Example:

[Craigerf100]

Awesome thanks Hio