stingry

For those who have (and now are) been folowing my issue with the passenger door. I had a passenger door that rubbed at the front top edge and rear middle and was also too low at the top rear. I could not adjust the door position to get the door to sit right. The door gap was terrible. I replaced the bushings and pins of the hinges several months ago and aligned the door as best I could. On the weekend I attacked the door and ended up having to do the following to get it right.

1. Remove two shims from #4 body mount (and repair it while I was there).
2. Slot the door holes where it bolts to the hinges so that the door could move back more.
3. Adjust the stiker position so the door was sitting right.
4. Adjust the guide pin (shim it up) so the door did not move up/down as it closed.
5. SAND OFF 1/8"-3/16" off the rear edge of the door and touch up the edge.

Both doors now have the same gaps and they open like a brand new car.

Here are the before and after pictures.
Rear edge Before


Rear After


Front Edge Before


Front edge After


Here is my weapon of choice . Looks bubba but it did not chip the paint. It sanded the rear edge of the door perfect. I used 220 grit sandpaper. It was a little slow but it was a safe way to take of material a little a time.


It is a pretty scarey thing to attack a prefectly good paint job with a sander. By slowly working up and down the rear edge of the door it was hardly noticeable. I used some 220 and 400 wet and and dry on a sanding block after the big sander to smooth the fibreglass and prep for paint. I then wiped down and degreasd the doo edge. I used a rouch up bottle of paint I had made up and went down the rear edge. I am going to wet sand it in a week and repeat the process 2-3 times so it does not look noticeable. With one coat the average person would not even know.

I even got my door trim in and aligned the window to the hardtop.

Now I can finally start going to the car show circuit!

Pete

cosmicvette

Hiya!

I am very impressed at your persistence, and the good result you obtained.

Your car looks very good, what are the wheels, are they Torque Thrust II's? I love the way they show-off the brakes.

cosmicvette

rihwoods

When I had my Vette blocked/painted in 1987, they glassed in door gaps and recut them on both sides. Neat trick.

Edit:Good job,by the way.

stingry

Cosmic,

The TTIIs are 17 x 8. I always wanted a set of dragways for my Kingswood when I was kid but could never afford them. I actually priced them when I was back in Oz a few months ago. I think the TTIIs look better and they were half the price of the dragways.

I had to fix the door before it started to do more damage. It was rubbing on the back edge of the door. Plus the fact that my wife almost broke some nails trying to open the door.

Now it is great.

Pete

stingry

I am going to tidy up the the top back edge on both sides once I repaint it. I wanted to get all the alignment/mechanical stuff out of the way before I tackled the paint.

Pete

NHvette

Looking 100% better. Good Job !!!

stingry

Thanks Dave. Everyones moral support gave me the motivation to get the job done.

When does the body go back on your car?

Pete