Ok, my motor is out for a rebuild and I want to take the opportunity to dress up/restore the front end. I could spray bomb what's accessible now, but I would like to be more thorough. My biggest fear is removing the front inner and outer fenders. I am envisioning a total nitemare trying to reinstall these and getting the gaps/body lines perfect as they are now. Am I being a total baby or are my concerns valid. This would obviously give me the opportunity to remove the front subframe for a proper restoration.

I can provide several helpful suggestions, but I may miss a few:

1) Painters tape on all edges.
2) Carefully note the fender shim stacks at all bolt locations and bag each stack separately with labels as to location.
3) Remove the inner and outer fenders as a unit.
4) A buddy would probably help but defer all adult beverage intake until after work is completed.
5) Do NOT take the opportunity to mess with the door locations while the fenders are off.

take lots of pictures and measure, measure, measure...and then measure again. not a very difficult job and you can do some suspension stuff if needed and replace the body mount bushings and rad support bushings...6 total.

Just a word of caution. I started out just like you with the engine out I'll just clean up a bit.... Famous last words.

With each part removed you may find a situation that requires more work. I am now in a full blown frame off restoration for that same reason.

I am glad I'm making things right and safe more importantly, but I would not have known most of this if I didn't go down the path you are headed.

The car is just a plain jane base model that someone put a 400 in. I intended for it to be a daily driver. I've already rewired the entire car, put all new body mounts in, new m22, etc. If I knew that I could get away with just removing the inner fenders to give me unfettered access to the frame rails I would do that, but I don't really think I want to tackle front fenders and have gap/alignment issues. But you are right, once those fenders come off I can see a floor pan replacement project not to far away.

Body Panel adjustments by IDjunk from HPP

Begin with the B pillar with weather stripping in place.(door glass fit adjustment is another critter entirely):

Bolt hinges to doors and snug. Center bolts within adjustment range.

Bolt door/hinge assembly to A pillar and snug. Center within adjustment range.

Carefully close door fully, with striker pin removed.

Loosen lower hinge to pillar or door to hinge bolts as needed to set gap evenly at the rockers, then retighten all.

Now set distance from door to quarter and horizontal tilt by loosening one hinge from pillar at a time and "walking it" so you didn't lose your door height. Go for about a quarter of an inch gap at the bottom and back of the door. Having help helps.

Now set the top to bottom tilt of the door. Loosen hinge to door bolts and adjust inward and outward as needed for a flush fit from top to bottom at the quarter (or rear door). Here again walk it to avoid losing height it's hard to raise the door with hinges snug.

At this point you should have similar gaps on each side between the windshield posts and the top front corners of the door skins. Your door should fit the quarter and rockers evenly.

Install and set the striker position now. Do not use the striker pin adjustment to pull the door up or down into place when latched. the pin's job is to be where the latch wants to meet, not the other way around. The pin must hit the latch dead center, and should not contact the latch anywhere but on the claws. Use the striker pin's shim pack to adjust how far it extends forward into the latch and avoid dragging. I prefer light oil to heavy grease, only inside the latch. No lubricant belongs on the striker pin or latch claws faces.

Tighten all door and hinge bolts. Still good? Moving on....

Place a fender and start all bolts.

The big rear top bolt facing upward is the first to tighten(Guys with cowl panels and exposed wipers may have to remove those for access). shim the height so that the major upper body line approximately lines up to the door and snug the bolt.

Next bolt is the big one by the master cylinder or heater, facing forward. Set the door to fender distance with the shims here then snug the bolt. You may have to loosen that top bolt again to let it move.

Now use a shim pack under the big bolt at the bottom rear of the fender if needed, to set the bottom of the fender level with the rocker when tight. Most importantly, match where the contour or molding there will line up. tighten.

At this point, confirm that your core support is centered:

Choose symmetrical reference points at the cowl such as first big fender bolt, then measure in an X pattern to a fixed point like a hole or contour on the core support. Alternatively, you could determine the exact center of the core support and just measure from those fender bolts to that mark. If you have a quarter inch or less of difference in the measurements from side to side, you shouldn't have big trouble. If the discrepancy is larger than that, it's possible your frame is bent but in most cases the core support mounts can be loosened at the frame and moved slightly, to "square up" the engine compartment. Sometimes you got to slot a hole a little here or there to allow adjustment.

Got that all square? Got all the bolts started? Wheel well bolts and fender brace bolts are all installed but not tight? OK, Lets move on:

Go back where you left off before measuring, and do what you can to fine tune the fender to door gap now. Hard to reach those hinge to pillar bolts with fenders on so hope you nailed em. Make adjustments, but never assume you have it licked until the bolts are all tight. Keep in mind that the rear top and bottom bolts "pinch" the fender a little, and can affect how far out it sticks in the middle. Be sure to carefully check for clearance along the front edge of the door opening and closing during gap adjustments, and bear in mind that GM was more concerned that the moldings line up than the actual panel edges, in many cases on the full framed cars.

Got happy door gaps now? Close easy and don't rub? Got all rubber bumpers and seals that support the hood in place? Cowl guys put it back on now, with the rubber.

OK, Lets grab the hood.

Remove the striker pin for now. Install the hood hinges to fenders, center them within the range adjustment and tighten. Not snug, tight.

Bolt hood to hinges, in the center of the mounting slots and tighten.

Carefully close hood, watch the back corners so they don't rub. If it is significantly off center at the back, you screwed up the hinge. You are urinating directly into the breeze until you get a good one with a good spring. Hard to fix'em.

Now that you see how the hood sits, open it and adjust the front to rear position by loosening the bolts and repositioning them in the hinge slots then tightening. You are not only adjusting the front to rear position of the hood, but also centering the hood's front to the rest of the car.

Does the hood lineup now(or how is the to grille header gap)? Cowl-having' guys can move the cowl. Got your front fender bolts at the core support loose? Make'em just finger tight, and pull the fender out as far as it goes.

OK lets put the striker back like it was and latch it.

Latch good now? Move the latch and or striker so that the aim is centered, if not. Just get it to close. Here again, just like on the door, we don't want the latch really pulling it one way or the other. we just want an easy click and secure latching. Don't mess with worn out latches unless you like wearing a hood.

If that's not working and it's way off, the core support needs to move in relation to the frame. Loosen the mounts there and slide it over then retighten. Don't be surprised if you have to slot a hole somewhere to get it just right. If everything is unbent, you should be able to use the side to side travel of just the fender front bolts to establish good hood side gaps now. Remember, all the factory rubber bumpers around the hood have a purpose here.

Work with those things until you can close it and have good side gaps, then move on to fine-tuning the latch tension. Use the adjustable stoppers to set the height of the hood corners, then adjust the striker pin length until suitable tension is generated to secure the hood and to pop it open easily. A little slam action should be required to close it.

Now it looks great but the back of the hood sticks up, right?

Well now that the doors, fenders and core support are in the right places, that's easy. If you have good hinges and springs, the hood hinge to fender bolts are where you adjust this.

The hood has to close at the same time as the hinges, to rest properly at the rear. Adjust the tilt, or clock position of the hinge in relation to the fender to fine-tune it. To lower the rear of the hood, begin by loosening the rear hinge bolt(s) and leaving the front tight. Now gently lift the hood past fully open and retighten. That moved the rear end of the hinge(and the pivot point) down. Better but not enough? You guessed it, leave the rear tight and loosen the front, over-open the hood again to pull the hinge front slot up against the front bolt and retighten while holding. You will know right quick if you are going the wrong way but you will also know when you found the sweet spot. Most old hinges and springs have too much slop and sometimes that requires a little push down by hand to fully seat the hood after closing. A few potholes do the same thing. Again remember all the stoppers and bumpers around the perimeter are what holds that heavy hood in place. If any of that is missing, it can adversely affect your overall fit. Also don't forget to tighten anything because loose threads rust fast!

I always backtrack during the process, particularly if any of the parts are replacements. If your render gaps change a little in one place when you adjust another, that's normal and that's why I say don't count your chickens until everything is tight and all the rubber is there. Anyone who follows this procedure and has further questions, Please feel free to inquire. Pictures are most helpful in these situations.

One note about door hinges... do not oil detent roller faces! Oil the pins and bushings, the detent roller spring contact points, and the roller itself but do not lube the roller face or detent bar. Friction is required for them to work properly, so just keep that part clean. If lubricated, the roller can skip over the detents and create flat spots, and this tends to saw off the end of the rollers pin overtime.

Thanks for all of that info ragu. I'm saving it for reference. I got a little carried away over the last four days and ended up removing everything except doors. Front subframe is off and suspension is off, rear end, leaf springs, gas tank, fuel line, brake lines. I did it by myself and I can tell you that I am going to be quite sore for a few days. Thanks again.

I did the same thing this winter. It takes a bit longer then expected to get it back together but I'm hoping mine is 75 % as nice as Dave's. Good luck.

I started the same way. Many months and several thousand dollars it was back together. Enjoy the ride!

I happy to calm you down help a friend. A friend sent it to me before I started to realigned my front clip. I removed everything except the doors and frame rail and his guide was helpful in reinstalling all the sheet metal.
Enjoy, it's always starts out simple repair and gets bigger, heck I started on the front clip, as I reassembled I was replacing items and repairing items, it's always this way starts small and always find more to do, it's part of the passion of owning a Firebird 1st gen.
My next project is to replace the Conv. Top lol