[C1] Door alignment - shimming tricks??
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,633
Likes: 95
From: Brisbane Queensland
Door alignment - shimming tricks??
Haven't been on for a while, haven't worked on the car for a while but did a bit yesterday.
Put the doors back on after some body work and body off chassis and the left door kicks out a bit at the rear bottom edge by about 3/16 or maybe even less. The front top/bottom aligns nicely with the profile of the front guard the rear of the door lines up nicely at the top in height and with the profile of the rear guard and the door gaps a pretty uniform all round. I've tried adjusting hinge position and it does fix the kick out but just moved the problem elsewhere, my question is can I adjust this kick out at the bottom with shim placement/thickness adjustment? Should I leave the body to chassis bolts lose, fix the door and then re-shim?
Put the doors back on after some body work and body off chassis and the left door kicks out a bit at the rear bottom edge by about 3/16 or maybe even less. The front top/bottom aligns nicely with the profile of the front guard the rear of the door lines up nicely at the top in height and with the profile of the rear guard and the door gaps a pretty uniform all round. I've tried adjusting hinge position and it does fix the kick out but just moved the problem elsewhere, my question is can I adjust this kick out at the bottom with shim placement/thickness adjustment? Should I leave the body to chassis bolts lose, fix the door and then re-shim?
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 58,061
Likes: 7,146
Army
There was a thread on here a few months back about this same issue and a ton of owners had the same problem, I won't say its a factory defect but, everything on these later C1s is a compromise and to get other areas of the door to fit nicely, the bottom rear edge fit was usually off a bit -- you can see some of that in this pic of my car. Not unusual at all and I think you can work your azz off an not make it much better without body/fiberglass work.
Just my opinion...
Just my opinion...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; Oct 17, 2016 at 07:46 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,747
Likes: 192
From: nj
Right behind the door on the pass side, there is a dip in the forward quarter just behind the door that may be contributing. If that area is flat it is because it was flattened with filler. Not sure if the dip extends down that far to the door corner.
Reveals not every car was produced with lasers and equal skill set. These cars are individuals.
I set the door in place, shim and use whatever means to keep it in place. then begin to gradually tighten the door to hinge bolts and hinge to pillar bolts. sometimes I actually weave a web of para cord tied to makeshift framework, ceiling or weights. Easier to reset the doors once you get it right once as the hinge to pillar bolts can be torqued and taken out of the equation. Then play with glassing the panels parallel and level when needed.
Reveals not every car was produced with lasers and equal skill set. These cars are individuals.
I set the door in place, shim and use whatever means to keep it in place. then begin to gradually tighten the door to hinge bolts and hinge to pillar bolts. sometimes I actually weave a web of para cord tied to makeshift framework, ceiling or weights. Easier to reset the doors once you get it right once as the hinge to pillar bolts can be torqued and taken out of the equation. Then play with glassing the panels parallel and level when needed.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 17,571
Likes: 3,461
From: Fresno California
The left door on my '61 is out a bit just as described....my car has never been apart. No previous damage in that area, either. I have seen many other C1's with an identical looking door. The only one who notices it is me. At this point, I'm not concerned about it. These cars are much cruder than my 'steel' cars. No big deal...........
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,727
Likes: 907
From: Warminster PA
The left door on my '61 is out a bit just as described....my car has never been apart. No previous damage in that area, either. I have seen many other C1's with an identical looking door. The only one who notices it is me. At this point, I'm not concerned about it. These cars are much cruder than my 'steel' cars. No big deal...........
The doors on my 60 kick out a bit at the bottom - car has never been apart.
My 58 on the other hand has doors that align perfectly - most likely due to the body work being done to correct the kick out. When it was judged a couple weeks back the exterior judge mentioned that the bottom of the doors should kick out a bit........
Tom
