Conv. door gap
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
From: Bernardsville New Jersey
Conv. door gap
My body is back on and the car sits nice and level with all new cushions and shims. The door gap is a bit off though, even after an extra shim at the rearmost body mount. If not clear on the pictures, the upper gap is approx. 7/16" and the bottom approx. 1/4" Both sides are very similar. A couple of questions...1) do all the body mounts have to be undone...or loosened...in order to remove a shim at the rear of the sill (which I am assuming may help)? 2) would the steering box have to be disconnected to make the adjustment? 3) is this amount of gap not unusual and I'm obsessing? Thanks
Last edited by drlou; Aug 10, 2012 at 08:23 AM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 838
Likes: 132
From: Clayton NortCacklackie
I just went through this for the same reason as you are fighting with. To get to the shims under the sill you will have to lift the body enough to stick you fingers in there to get the shims. To get this height you will have to remove the front and rear bumpers, undo all of the body mounts and disconnect the steering wheel shaft from the rag joint. I would recommend instead of trying to remove shims from the sill and add shims to the last body mount to try and close that gap. JMO..
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,474
Likes: 16
From: Houston Texas
St. Jude Donor '10-'12-'13
I have a similar issue. The previous owner or two did the body off restoration. I was thinking door hinge. I guess I should examine the shims and body alignment too?
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,596
Likes: 8
From: Grosse Ile MI
I just went through this for the same reason as you are fighting with. To get to the shims under the sill you will have to lift the body enough to stick you fingers in there to get the shims. To get this height you will have to remove the front and rear bumpers, undo all of the body mounts and disconnect the steering wheel shaft from the rag joint. I would recommend instead of trying to remove shims from the sill and add shims to the last body mount to try and close that gap. JMO..
And that amount of gap at the top is too great, so you're not obsessing
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 38,897
Likes: 1,926
From: Washington Michigan
Those door-to-quarter gaps should be parallel from the top to the bottom, and are definitely excessive at the top; add more shims to the #4 mounts on both sides to close them up and make them uniform. 
Racer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 461
Likes: 0
door gap
I am the original owner of a 63 swc and can tell you that the door gaps on original factory installations were awful! Mine range from no gap (just clears) to `1/2 inch on same door! Let it go! The only way to alter these lousy fits is to work on the fiberglas body (or door) and is not what was shipped from the factory! I doubt if early (or late) shipments are any better! Good luck Abe G
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
From: Bernardsville New Jersey
Would removing a shim at the mount at the rear of the sill(kick-up) have a similar effect as adding a shim to the rearmost mount? If I need to add more than 1 to the rear I would prefer to distribute the change among more than 1 location. In addition, does tightening down the body mount bolt have any appreciable effect on the final result? Thanks
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,513
Likes: 34
From: columbus ohio
i am with abe. i think your photos look fine. then again i am not a perfectionist. i would find something else to worry about or fix and just
enjoy driving the vehicle. all these cars should be driven, and they
will get nicks here and there. jmho jim
enjoy driving the vehicle. all these cars should be driven, and they
will get nicks here and there. jmho jim
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