I recently purchased this 67 Camaro and noticed the panels are not aligned. Should they be? I looked at pics of other 67 camaros for sale and some are aligned and some are not... Is this a major issue in terms of
frame integrity?
Here is the driver's side.


Here is the passenger side.


Just some general pics.

 

This has nothing to do with frame integrity but possibbly frame fitment. If the body was removed from the subframe it possible it was not squared up correctly. More than likely its just body panel fitment and whomever put the panels on did not take the time to fit and shim to line up the panels. It can still be done.

 

Thank you dynarider33. Good to hear. Do you know +/- how much it would cost to have the panels aligned? Know of any good shops in San Antonio Tx?

 

The factory alignments where not very good. A good body man can do a lot better then the factory did. You might find someone that will adjust your door or fenders to make them fit a little better but these gaps need to be fixed before the car is painted. Like I said even with 100% GM parts the gaps are not great. Add in the doors where most likely reskinned and fenders could be aftermarket and there is a lot of gringing and welding to get the gaps right. Most of your higher end body shops are not going to take on a pannel alignment without you getting the car repainted. Its is a lot of headaches and they know in the end you will not be happy with it.

 

As Gorn said you will not find a body shop to do it,if you want it done correctly go to ace hardware store pick up a whole bunch of fender shims deferent sizes ( they have them) get you self a 24 pack and one friend not two,only one, it never work with two, it turns into a party, drink slowly okay, start loosening up the front fenders working back towards doors and rears apply or remove shims as needed.
The doors have a lot of play when the hinges are loose, most of the times you can just move them up or down to align with out any shims, the only time you would add shims to the doors is if you want them to come out a bit.
Have fun
Its a very easy fix.

 

You also have to look at the big picture. As a whole, your car looks very nice, and you can't let some of the little things bother you. Some of the things that may bother you, others won't even notice. Work to make the gaps more presentable if it will make you feel better, but you can go nuts if you try to make it perfect. Also, depending on what is making the body gaps off, getting to "perfect" might not be attainable without redoing the whole body.

 

Thank you all for good sound non-biased advice. I may look around at some of the muscle car / hot rod shops in town and see what they will charge. In terms of my body work experience, I have none which is probably why I did not pick up on this prior to purchase and in terms of mechanical experience I know just enough to be dangerous... That being said I may attend a local hot rod club here in town called Gear Grinders to try and network with respect to reputable shops as well. Tough having a passion for muscle cars when your profession has nothing to do with the automotive industry. Many trials and errors, albeit this issue seems trivial, it seems to be the first thing folks notice "hey man nice car but those panels are off and you paid how much???" Thanks again.

 

in my opinion its nothing worse then lines not lining up especially on a light color car such as yours,
they stick out real bad, good luck

 

By all means bring your car to a shop. You could do it yourself, but with no experience of any kind, it is likely you are going to damage the paint and be dollars behind.