TheBMan Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 I've seen this on other Monte's so I'm guessing it's somewhat common but it drives me nuts so I'll ask if anyone has a fix. I have two issues. 1) I can't get the trunk lid to center over the opening. The gap on the left is far larger than on the right. Any strategies for tweaking things? I've tried using the hinge-to-lid bolts with no luck. 2) The rear of the trunk lid sticks out too far (overhangs the rear trim) toward the rear of the car. I've adjusted the lid as far as possible toward the front of the car while keeping a reasonable gap at the front. Does anyone have any tips for these issues? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 First off, the fit & finish of these cars wasn't that great, even new. When you're closing the trunk, without actually latching it, do the gaps line up pretty good? Is the trunk square in the opening, gaps even on both sides? If so, you need to adjust the latch bolts because the final act of closing it is shifting it to the side. You can adjust side to side or vertical alignment with the upper or lower latch/receiver bolts. You can also slide the trunk side to side at the hinges, as it seems you have done. As far as front to rear, it looks like it lines up pretty good with the trunk opening ledge (but is a little hard to see). The quarter extensions are fixed, so no real adjustment there. Pretty much a square peg in a round hole at this point. If the car wasn't so nice, and was in the paint /bodywork phase, I'd say you could tweak that overhang of the trunk a bit. Any attempt to 'adjust' it now would likely damage the paint. Depends how brave you are though, tape it off real good and try to force it a little with a wood block and pressure applied at the correct points, but not for the faint of heart if you've never done collision work before. You could do more harm than good if not careful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Thanks @jft69z. I'm going to remove the latch and see how things line up without that involved. And I agree that there may be a way to tweak the deck lid but it's risky. Here's another picture from the other side. It's about the same as the other side but the angle is different here so it looks more pronounced. This drives me bonkers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leghome Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Where in Ohio are you Bryan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970mcss Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Near Defiance Ohio, near the border. I travel in that area years ago for business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 hour ago, TheBMan said: Here's another picture from the other side. It's about the same as the other side but the angle is different here so it looks more pronounced. This drives me bonkers. Yeah, it would bother me too. Looks like it needs a little 'persuasion' to get it to fit right. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Leghome said: Where in Ohio are you Bryan? Columbus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 22 minutes ago, jft69z said: Yeah, it would bother me too. Looks like it needs a little 'persuasion' to get it to fit right. "Persuasion" heh heh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Maybe aftermarket trunk lid??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72-CLASSIC_RIDE Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 23 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said: Maybe aftermarket trunk lid??? I ended up buying an aftermarket Trunk Lid to replace original rusted Lid and it did not fit correctly. The driver side horizontal fit closest to the rear window was raised slightly and tried everything. Ended up sending it back and even the aftermarket replacement came out the same way. The original I replaced never fit that way when it was on. Wondering if possibly just a poorly designed Mold the trunk lid stamped in? Doug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 hour ago, TheBMan said: "Persuasion" heh heh It's usually best if the owner doesn't see what it takes to make things fit properly sometimes, lol Go to 11 second mark... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Had you replaced the trunk weather stripping recently? Some of the aftermarket weather strip is too thick. If you thinreplaced it recently what brand did you use? rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 2 hours ago, Rob Peters said: Had you replaced the trunk weather stripping recently? Some of the aftermarket weather strip is too thick. If you thinreplaced it recently what brand did you use? rob @Rob Peters - I have not replaced the weather strip but was considering it because the weatherstrip that's on the car, while soft and in good condition, is very thin. With the deck lid closed and a light turned on and placed inside the trunk, you can clearly see light escaping all across the rear between the lid and body. That's with the deck lid closed so that its flush with the quarter panels across the top (horizontal). I was planning to replace with this weatherstrip. The website says it was designed from the original part. It's much taller and has a different shape than what I currently have on the car. https://www.steelerubber.com/trunk-weatherstrip-70-0774-84 Pictures of light showing through gap and weatherstrip attached here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 7 minutes ago, TheBMan said: @Rob Peters - I have not replaced the weather strip but was considering it because the weatherstrip that's on the car, while soft and in good condition, is very thin. With the deck lid closed and a light turned on and placed inside the trunk, you can clearly see light escaping all across the rear between the lid and body. That's with the deck lid closed so that its flush with the quarter panels across the top (horizontal). I was planning to replace with this weatherstrip. The website says it was designed from the original part. It's much taller and has a different shape than what I currently have on the car. https://www.steelerubber.com/trunk-weatherstrip-70-0774-84 Pictures of light showing through gap and weatherstrip attached here. I would then rule out the weather striping as an issue. I use Metro moulded for my car and am very happy with the fit and it is as close to original as I have seen. It would be interesting to see if you could somehow strap both of the hood hinges down in some way so you could lay the trunk lid on without the hinges involved and see how it would lay from up by the rear window and also the latch area. To me it looks like the trunk is jacked in some way because, as you know, you should not be able to see light from inside the trunk with it closed. rob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leghome Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 When I worked in a body shop we had a car with a similar deck lid problem. We had to put a shim on one of the deck lid bolts to get the back edge to sit in alignment with the quarters. I had a similar problem with my hood sitting high in front and I raised the front or lower back of the hinge to get the hood to align with my fenders. My mind is blank on how to apply that thought to the deck lid. I need to think on this and maybe it will come to me but no guarantees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 It looks pretty flat along both sides, and along the back window section in the first picture (from my chair at least), which would rule out shims to me. Looks like the problem is the contour on the drop off section needs a little tweak to get it to follow the tail light extension section lines a little better. Even if by chance it's an aftermarket lid, unless you're prepared to swap it out and repaint or try to bend this one into shape, there doesn't appear to be too many more regular adjustments left to correct what you have going on there (again, looking at it from a couple of pictures). You said it overhangs at the rear too, only way to correct that is push it towards the window and tighten the gap as you did, or roll that section in a little (not an easy solution either). The body line at the top of the drop off section of the lid, to the end of the quarters/extensions looks pretty good for the most part (right at the top of your circled area). Get more pics of the side & rear gaps, and horizontal plane interface between the lid and quarters along the side if you want. That may give a better idea how it fits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant MacPherson Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I don't have the fit problem but was getting exhaust smell inside, when I checked found the seal at the rear was not sealing. It appears that at some point the tail piece lip had been rolled down, it was fairly easy to pull it back into place to correct the seal problem. Doesn't help your fit problem but hopefully helps with seal choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid87 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 You can try to shim the corner of the quarter extension to get a better fit with the trunk lid but that gap is kind of large. What does the filler panel to trunk gap look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/29/2021 at 5:41 AM, Leghome said: When I worked in a body shop we had a car with a similar deck lid problem. We had to put a shim on one of the deck lid bolts to get the back edge to sit in alignment with the quarters. I had a similar problem with my hood sitting high in front and I raised the front or lower back of the hinge to get the hood to align with my fenders. My mind is blank on how to apply that thought to the deck lid. I need to think on this and maybe it will come to me but no guarantees @Leghome, thanks for the tip. I already installed a 1/16" shim in the rear bolt of the hinge and it helped with some of the alignment issues at the front of deck lid (horizontal leveling near the window) but not with the overhang centering (I didn't expect it to help with either of those). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/29/2021 at 6:34 AM, jft69z said: It looks pretty flat along both sides, and along the back window section in the first picture (from my chair at least), which would rule out shims to me. Looks like the problem is the contour on the drop off section needs a little tweak to get it to follow the tail light extension section lines a little better. Even if by chance it's an aftermarket lid, unless you're prepared to swap it out and repaint or try to bend this one into shape, there doesn't appear to be too many more regular adjustments left to correct what you have going on there (again, looking at it from a couple of pictures). You said it overhangs at the rear too, only way to correct that is push it towards the window and tighten the gap as you did, or roll that section in a little (not an easy solution either). The body line at the top of the drop off section of the lid, to the end of the quarters/extensions looks pretty good for the most part (right at the top of your circled area). Get more pics of the side & rear gaps, and horizontal plane interface between the lid and quarters along the side if you want. That may give a better idea how it fits. @jft69z, yes I agree, I've probably run out of adjustment options. I need to get creative and come up with a way to tweak it into shape. Again, risky. I've already pushed the lid toward the window as far as I'm comfortable doing. I have some ideas but I want to think it through and take my time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/29/2021 at 12:41 PM, Rancid87 said: You can try to shim the corner of the quarter extension to get a better fit with the trunk lid but that gap is kind of large. What does the filler panel to trunk gap look like? I don't think shimming the quarter extension is an option; those weren't intended to be an adjustment point. I think it would have a large gap and look odd. Thanks for the idea though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Sent you a PM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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