I just can’t leave well enough alone. Ever since my car (68 xr7) was painted in 2004, it has bugged me that the driver side door didn’t line up exactly with the edge of the fender, so this afternoon I decided to try to tweak it. The very first thing I managed to do was somehow break whatever nut type fastener is attached to the back of the fender bolt at the bottom rear edge of the fender, just ahead of the front edge of the door. Now the bolt is loose allowing me to pull the bottom of the fender outward nicely in line with the door, but I have no way to get the bolt out and I fear I’ve just created yet another source of rattling to drive me crazy while I drive to the office tomorrow morning. My question is, how do you get to the back of the bolt to try to remove the nut? Am I going to have to pull the door off as a punishment for my meddling?
Remove the fender. You might be able to get to it by pulling the bottom of the fender out far enough to reach it with vice grips.
Take a piece of wood in a wedge shape and pry the bottom of the fender out some to gain access. It is a caged nut that clips into the cowl/rocker panel. Take a large screwdriver or chisel and remove it from the slot. If your lucky you can pop it out vs knocking it into the rocker panel void. Install a new nut and your back in business. WCCC has them:
http://www.cougarpartscatalog.com/359613-sk.html
Thanks, I’ll have at it tonight.