I do recall reading in the DC chassis manual that the tolerances for building a body on the assembly line back then could be as much as 3/4" off and still it would have been sold to the public. I think this was in the section where they talked about tire fitment and getting the biggest slicks possible under a car. It's not like today where robots are welding these things together and the tolerances have to be tight in order for the automated machines to turn out a consistent product. That's one reason for the gobs and gobs of white seam sealer around the inner rear fenderwells and trunk floor seams. I've scraped that stuff off back there only to reveal some pretty good sized gaps from the factory.
