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IF after shimming, etc and the other 3 corners fit correctly and the bottom back still sticks out "I" would not hesitate to build the body up to match the door. problem is that your paint looks good, so I would probably live with it (unless I couldn't....)
Bill
I'm too ****, Bill!
it would always bother me that I made my cars body less symmetrical. Call it a personality flaw. That and the fact that the easiest way to fix this is to reshape the door profile.
That door needs a lot of adjustment, even the ridge on the side of the car (that outlines the cove) does not line up with the ridge on the door at top. Just having all the bonding strips does not mean the car has ever been in an accident. If you know for sure body has never been off frame and never body work then I would loosen all door mounting bolts and try to bring door into original position. Yes, it may stick out a little at the back bottom but not that much. When you removed the door panel, were there small quarter size pads that were glue over each of the 6 bolt holes on door. If not, then someone has been in there for some reason.
To answer the questions asked, it was a rare occurrence that we would see a perfectly flush fit door at BG because the professional restorers (who actually do most of these level cars) knew that we would expect to see this bump-out. IF the car being judged did have two flush fitting doors we would make a notation on the judging sheets to let the owner know that it was not typical, but no point deduct because this might have been one of the few cars where the doors fit smoothly. Generally, the cars with flush fitting doors had other "over restored" aspects that off set any point deducts due to the lacking bump-out factory finish and neither would significantly impact it's award level.
To the OP, if it is sticking out at the bottom only, I would just live with it. If is sticks out this far all the way up, I would take a close look at the door latch at the rear door jamb, lightly loosen the three phillips screws after marking your original position, and lightly tap the latch inward with a rubber mallet to see if there is any remaining space to move the latch inward which would pull your door in a bit. This will take you some time to adjust both inward as well as upward and possible rocking the latch back or forward in order to facilitate the catch. Go slow and take note of what you have already tried and just narrow it down. It won't be perfect, but it should be out roughly half of the door lip. Right now you have the entire lip showing along with additional space. One other point. always be aware of what's going on at the front of the door. You don't want to pinch it and chip your paint. Good luck.
Panama58 thanks for helping OP and honestly answering my judging question. I have talked to several folks over the years that had perfectly aligned doors on original cars before going through professional body off restorations. Fearing overall over restoration issues when judged, RH rear door bump out was faked into the restoration. I have two perfectly fitting doors and I did not want to fake a misalignment just to avoid deduct. Silly issue unless these bump outs keep you awake at night.
it would always bother me that I made my cars body less symmetrical. Call it a personality flaw. That and the fact that the easiest way to fix this is to reshape the door profile.
really (and i'm not being sarcastic...) ???? please explain how you would do that as the door consists of a skin and a frame
corvette aren't necessarily very 'symmetrical'... if done right it would be virtually un-noticeable
Bill
really (and i'm not being sarcastic...) ???? please explain how you would do that as the door consists of a skin and a frame
corvette aren't necessarily very 'symmetrical'... if done right it would be virtually un-noticeable
Bill
i would never accuse you of sarcasm!!!
Trying to correct that much error by building out the body would be problematic. That door appears twisted as it is aligned at three points and off at the fourth (I would need to verify the true misalignment in person). The real way to fix it is to separate the skin from the shell adjust the shell and rebond the skin in the appropriate position. This is how we used to “fix” all sorts of issues with kit car bodies back in the day.
Trying to correct that much error by building out the body would be problematic. That door appears twisted as it is aligned at three points and off at the fourth (I would need to verify the true misalignment in person). The real way to fix it is to separate the skin from the shell adjust the shell and rebond the skin in the appropriate position. This is how we used to “fix” all sorts of issues with kit car bodies back in the day.
there is not a whole lot to work with, but if there is a will there is a way (although it's not always the best way....and "I" know that well....)
Bill
Have you checked for door hinge pin wear? hold the door open about an inch away from closed and lift up. A little play at the hinge can move the door quite a bit at its furthest edge. I would make sure that was perfect before attempting any adjustments.
The door in question clearly needs adjusted - but everything is a compromise....
Every 61/62 car I've seen, and most earlier C1s, has a "bump out" at the bottom of the passenger door....its very typical...
If you shim the hinges, you will change the plane at the front edge of the doors only. The latch catch holds the door at some plane at the rear fender. . Body shim (twist) is what causes the bottom of the doors to pop out. It's a long drawn out process, but can be corrected with the correct body to frame shim. They don't have to be that way. The hinge post has to be exactly parallel to the latching jamb. What you're seeing on the cars that have one side popping out at the bottom is that the drivers side hinge piller (shim) is high, the drivers side latch jamb is low, and the opposite on the other side of the car. A "twist" is created making the passenger door suck in tight at the bottom on the passenger side, and the drivers door to pop out, while the tops of the doors remained aligned with the top of the rear fenders (the catch is holding that alignment). The easy fix is to bondo up the fender to meet the door. The right fix is to shim the body correctly.
Last edited by mike coletta; 08-21-2018 at 04:52 PM.
The easiest fix is to ignore it and enjoy it. I just finished the full restoration of my hard top and I am in the process of aligning the windows to the vertical weather strip. I have the door panels off and in the process of moving the window glass frame guiding channels. I am having a tough time with it. I can not imaging trying to straighten the door to correct the bump as it seems like a major project. Maybe if you are a body work professional it will be a piece of cake. But for an amateur like me, I do not know.
This is my thought. I just came from my garage working on the window and took a good look at the car, what a beautiful lady. Even with its driver side bump it looks majestic. I truly believe that nobody will notice. I take her even with a small blemish.
I'm ashamed to admit that even though I was somewhat aware of the "factory gap" at the bottom of the driver's door on these cars, I have never really looked that closely at my own '62. This thread made me go out in the garage and really look hard at it . . . and I guess my findings are that mine definitely has a gap there (the passenger side is completely flush), but it also appears to be "better than most". Guess I'll go back to not letting it bother me.
I'm ashamed to admit that even though I was somewhat aware of the "factory gap" at the bottom of the driver's door on these cars, I have never really looked that closely at my own '62. This thread made me go out in the garage and really look hard at it . . . and I guess my findings are that mine definitely has a gap there (the passenger side is completely flush), but it also appears to be "better than most". Guess I'll go back to not letting it bother me.
Wow..thought I was lookin at a pic of mine.. I feel much better knowing this is a common issue and feelin better about it already.
I just looked at your pictures more carefully. Can you post a picture from the side showing all three gaps?
i think you can get at least half of that out by moving the door latch post in and slightly up.
not trying to 'preach to the choir', but moving the door by simply moving the latch post without adjusting the hinges is not a good idea. the latch is not meant to bear weight
Bill
Definitely do it correctly, my point was simply if the rear of the door comes up slightly and in a little more I think it would eliminate half the misalignment at least. What I don’t know is how that affects the bottom gap, hence the picture request.
Funny that all the miss alignments are on the drivers side, the passenger side is Ok. There most be a logical explanation, probably Mike Coletta's statements above is the reason.
So if you see a vette of this vintage with a perfectly aligned doors it is not a factory original it has been tampered with to make it perfect , it will get NCRS points off for not original.
I just looked at your pictures more carefully. Can you post a picture from the side showing all three gaps?
i think you can get at least half of that out by moving the door latch post in and slightly up.
Hi Factoid, Sorry for the delay..here are the 3 pics of the gaps..the good news just got back from a short cruise around the neighborhood and it sure was fun..door bump or not. ;
)
08-20-2018, 03:55 PM
