Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims should go

[Scott S.]

Car is a '67 coupe, front clip has been removed, to be replaced with new front clip. I've never done this before, so you can imagine how much fun we're having

The AIM shows the "U" shaped Shims being inserted between the bottom of the Body and the top side of the Birdcage (Door Sill Reinforcement), but there's no "space" between them to insert shims. Whatever space might have been there looks like it was filled with body putty/sealer/caulk of some kind.

Where are the "U" shaped shims (Item 2) supposed to go?

Picture #1: 1967 AIM (1ASM-G1, showing #1 Body Mount)
Picture #2: Instruction page (same as AIM, only clearer)
Picture #3: Body Mount #1 as it sits currently, no "U" shims (from below)
Picture #4: Body Mount #1, no "U" shims (from above)

[John M.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott, I'm no expert either but having just taken one of these apart I can say there were no u shaped shims in there. These shims must be used to fill the space, if one exists, because this mount is not directly connected to the birdcage rail. Others will know.
John McRae
30025

[Scott S.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott, I'm no expert either but having just taken one of these apart I can say there were no u shaped shims in there. These shims must be used to fill the space, if one exists, because this mount is not directly connected to the birdcage rail. Others will know.
John McRae
30025

John,
This car had considerable front end fiberglass repairs, from damage that occurred around 1971. I don't know if that putty between the bottom of the body and the top side of the birdcage is factory or the result of later repairs. I suppose it is possible that whoever repaired it back then didn't realize shims were supposed to be used, and just filled the space with that stuff that looks like putty or fiberglass panel adhesive.

[John H.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott -

The birdcage was bonded to the underbody first, then the cowl & dash subassembly (which included those riveted-on #1 body mount brackets) was bonded to the front of the birdcage and the floor pan; if there was then a gap between the bottom of the mount bracket and the top of the birdcage sill, it was stuff-shimmed. If there was no gap, it got no shims. The shims were to provide a solid joint later on when the #1 body mount bolts were torqued after Body Drop.

[Scott S.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott -

The birdcage was bonded to the underbody first, then the cowl & dash subassembly (which included those riveted-on #1 body mount brackets) was bonded to the front of the birdcage and the floor pan; if there was then a gap between the bottom of the mount bracket and the top of the birdcage sill, it was stuff-shimmed. If there was no gap, it got no shims. The shims were to provide a solid joint later on when the #1 body mount bolts were torqued after Body Drop.

John,

Thanks for the explanation.

We discovered a lot of front end fiberglass repairs when the paint was stripped, I'm not sure how to tell what was "original" and what might be evidence of later repair work in this case.

It looks like there WAS a gap between the bottom of the mount bracket and the top of the birdcage sill, and it was filled with body panel adhesive or some kind of "filler", instead of shims (you can see how some of it oozed out in one of the pictures above). Is that something that should be cleaned out and replaced with shims, or was that "filler" (or bonding adhesive?) put there by the factory, and I should leave well enough alone?

[John H.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

It looks like there WAS a gap between the bottom of the mount bracket and the top of the birdcage sill, and it was filled with body panel adhesive or some kind of "filler", instead of shims (you can see how some of it oozed out in one of the pictures above). Is that something that should be cleaned out and replaced with shims, or was that "filler" (or bonding adhesive?) put there by the factory, and I should leave well enough alone?

Scott -

If the stuff is hard and makes a solid joint, I'd leave it alone.

[Scott S.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott -

If the stuff is hard and makes a solid joint, I'd leave it alone.

Thanks John,

That's what I like to hear

[Robert K.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott,

Where did you find such a clear picture (2nd thumbnail) of the details? It is so much clearer than the AIM and appears to show all the same information (but you can see it!!)

Take care,

[Scott S.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott,

Where did you find such a clear picture (2nd thumbnail) of the details? It is so much clearer than the AIM and appears to show all the same information (but you can see it!!)

Take care,

Robert,

The second picture is from Paragon. If you go to the website and click on any of their "Body Mount" packages, the page containing the description and details will also have a link to "Instructions". That link is a PDF file that can be downloaded, saved and/or printed.

[John H.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Robert -

That area (and the U-shaped shim placement between the #1 mount body bracket and the birdcage sill) is shown in the Assembly Manual in section 1-Asm, on sheet G1 (for coupes) and on sheet G3 (for convertibles).

[Robert K.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott / John,

Thanks for the information. My copy of the AIM (from CA) is not very legible in a number of places and therefore I was questioning if there is a better source out there (electronic) to view these areas where there is quite a bit of detail or quite a bit of information on one page......

Take care,

[Scott S.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott / John,

Thanks for the information. My copy of the AIM (from CA) is not very legible in a number of places and therefore I was questioning if there is a better source out there (electronic) to view these areas where there is quite a bit of detail or quite a bit of information on one page......

Take care,

Robert,

Generally speaking, the older examples of these books (printed in the 1970s and 1980s) have somewhat better print quality. I also find a lot of year-to-year variation, where a specific AIM page is very clear in 1965 (for example), but looks terrible in the 1966 AIM, and then may look clear again in the '67 AIM.

For the page showing the No. 1 Body Mount, my 1963 AIM page is almost as clear as the Paragon drawing above. My 1964 AIM is very good for this particular page too. The 1965-1967 AIMs that I have all look about like picture #1 in my first post on the No. 1 Body Mount page.

For better (clearer) drawings, you might try one of the Illustrated Parts Books (the older, the better). A fair number of the AIM pages appear to be taken from the Illustrated Parts Books (or vice-versa). The problem with those pages is that the drawings are usually not year-specific, but cover a range of years (e.g., 1964-1967), so there is often some deciphering/translating involved to figure out exactly which parts (and part numbers) apply to your specific model year, and which do not.

[Robert K.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott,
Thanks for the explanation.......I appreciate the info.

Take care,

[Joe R.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Robert,

The second picture is from Paragon. If you go to the website and click on any of their "Body Mount" packages, the page containing the description and details will also have a link to "Instructions". That link is a PDF file that can be downloaded, saved and/or printed.

Scott,

I couldn't find it on Paragon's web site. How about a link?

Thanks,
Joe

[Scott S.]

Re: Question about Body Mount Shims -No "space" where AIM says "U" shaped Shims shoul

Scott,

I couldn't find it on Paragon's web site. How about a link?

Thanks,
Joe

Hi Joe,

Here is a link to the Paragon page for the coupe body mount kit:
https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-35...kit-coupe.aspx

On this same page, below the cartoon drawing of the man in red holding a wrench, is a link titled "Instruction Sheet". If you click on that link, it will take you to this pdf page:
https://www.paragoncorvette.com/down...tions/1462.pdf