1961 Door Gap
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Cruising
Joined: Jul 2016
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1961 Door Gap
Hello,
I have a 1961 I recently purchased and am starting to fix a few things on it. The door gap at the back of the passenger door opens up to about 3/8" at the top and doesn't look great so I would like to close that gap a little. Doing a search on the forum, it appears I may be able to shim the body behind the door to help close the gap. I have attached pics and want some opinions if shimming may help, and also, where to shim exactly.
Thanks,
Jon
I have a 1961 I recently purchased and am starting to fix a few things on it. The door gap at the back of the passenger door opens up to about 3/8" at the top and doesn't look great so I would like to close that gap a little. Doing a search on the forum, it appears I may be able to shim the body behind the door to help close the gap. I have attached pics and want some opinions if shimming may help, and also, where to shim exactly.
Thanks,
Jon
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Wow, that's wide! Looks more like 1/2". What is the gap on the other side? Pic?
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Shimming will probably help. The bolt you need is down in the right rear fender well. Looking underneath the car, you'll see the bolt coming through the body where it bolts up to the rear crossmember. Remove the bolt and jack the body up on that side and install shims between the frame and body. Be gentle. You might find some rust in the frame causing it to sag.
Last edited by Geralds57; Jan 15, 2017 at 10:18 PM.
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Check the body mount in the rear of the passenger compartment
make user it is not crushed or damaged
you can shim the rear body mount and the rear passenger mount to adjust your gap
careful as it may change your trunk gap
What does the other side look like
make user it is not crushed or damaged
you can shim the rear body mount and the rear passenger mount to adjust your gap
careful as it may change your trunk gap
What does the other side look like
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You don't want to close it up too much.
Have someone drive your car down a road with some longish bumps like drainage channels or uneven pavement (not potholes), while you sit in the passenger seat and look at that door gap change going through those bumps.
Doug
Have someone drive your car down a road with some longish bumps like drainage channels or uneven pavement (not potholes), while you sit in the passenger seat and look at that door gap change going through those bumps.
Doug
