Body Position when installing a one piece front end on a 61?

History:    I purchased a 61 that was in a front end accident many years ago.   The accident removed almost everything from the fire wall forward, and the past owner removed the rest.   He gave the engine and trans to his friend who went through the windshield.   The state gave it a new VIN because that was lost in the accident also.    So what I have is everything from the firewall back, the frame and front axel.

The question:    I purchased a one piece front end and am trying to figure out how to get it grafted in the right location.    I thought that I would bolt the front end to the frame and use the door seams as a guide, which should give me the best result.  So I’m using the frame as a jig for the body!    The problem is that I can’t seem to figure out what holds the front end to the frame.    So I purchased a restoration book hoping to find what holds the weight of the front end to the frame.  I didn’t find my answer, so I talked to a couple restoration shops and have received two conflicting answers; one being that the radiator support holds the weight, and the other being that the side and inner fender braces are the ones that hold the weight.   Looking at the pictures in the restoration book, I don’t see any strong braces from the radiator support to the body.   The inner and side fender braces don’t seem like much either.   So can someone tell me what’s attaching the front body to the frame.  Picture would be great if possible.

Thanks
Dan  

Dan, the truth of the matter is that both of the answers are correct, or at least half correct.  The core support, which houses the radiator, is the primary support piece of the nose of your car.  This attachment is shimed and bolted to the forward tang of the third arm of your steering mechanism, which bolts to the front crossmember of your frame.  The core support also bolts to the inner skirts of your fenders, which are bonded to the fenders at the hood ledge.  The rear edge of the inner skirts also bolt to the brackets that are attached to your firewall.  So, when "mocking up" the front end of your car, the first step should be to attach known, good inner fender skirts to the firewall via the system of bolts.  The forward end of the inner skirts will have the core support bolted to them, which will in turn be bolted (via two carriage bolts) to the frame, through the third arm of your steering system.  With the inner skirts in place, lay your new front end over the inner skirts and line it up.  Mock it up without any adhesive at this point, and adjust the shims below the core support for the best fit of the inner skirts to the hood surround, and the hood surround / lower fenders to the door openings.  You'll spend a day with the mock-ups, adjustments, trimming, adding 'glass, and generally fussing with it until it's ready for the bonding step.  Now for some advice you must remember:  Do not bond anything until you have all the fiberglass in place with the hood closed and lined up with the new pieces.  At this time, with everything looking correct and lined up like it should be, draw some "witness marks" throughout the assembly so you can quickly replicate the placement of these parts while you have adhesive on your mud board starting to cure.  It's best to have a helper helping, and to do the adhesive in steps, because you probably won't have the time to do it all in one, fell swoop.  Godd luck to you.