door alignment question
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
From: West Branch MI
door alignment question
Hi all,
Just another question pertaining to our '80. The driver's door has unever gaps front and back and the bottom rear of the door seems to be "in" too far. The door also doesn't stay open via the spring when it's opened. Does this sound to you guys like something a corvette shop should be able to align, or is there some other issues I'm dealing with?
Thanks, as always!!!
Just another question pertaining to our '80. The driver's door has unever gaps front and back and the bottom rear of the door seems to be "in" too far. The door also doesn't stay open via the spring when it's opened. Does this sound to you guys like something a corvette shop should be able to align, or is there some other issues I'm dealing with?
Thanks, as always!!!
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,706
Likes: 298
From: Concord VA, U.S.A.
St. Jude Donor '05 thru '26
As far as the door staying open, a new door spring should fix that problem. I know fit and finish of the panels were never perfect on these cars, so I'm not sure about the gap at the bottom of the door.
Instructor
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 221
Likes: 1
From: Albuquerque New Mexico
Yes a good corvette shop should be able to align the door. Or do it your self if so inclined.
You can get shims that mount between the body and the door hinge. It appears that the lower door hinge could be shimmed to correct the alignment.
The door hinges where they mount to the body are slotted so the door can be adjusted forward or back and where they mount to the door are slotted so the door can be adjusted up and down.
You can get shims that mount between the body and the door hinge. It appears that the lower door hinge could be shimmed to correct the alignment.
The door hinges where they mount to the body are slotted so the door can be adjusted forward or back and where they mount to the door are slotted so the door can be adjusted up and down.
8th Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Middlebury Center Pennsylvania
Door fit
Hi. You have a very nice looking car there. I had an 81' for several years that I drove. This car, new, had terrible fitting body panels on it. The passenger's side dog leg stuck out from the inside of the door approx. 3/4 of an inch. This car had never been hit either. There's a good possibility some shimming and adjusting might help your car, but I know for a fact that some of these cars were just never lined up right at the factory. Good luck with your car and hope things go well.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 624
Likes: 1
From: Melbourne, Fla. 6 months- New Middletown, Ohio 6 months
I had just the opposite problem on my 71. The door was in too far on the front top and out too far on the bottom front and rear. Turns out I had two shims in the body side of the lower hinge which I put into the top hinge position and this fixed it. Check your hinges. If you have any caulk where the hinge lays against the post you may have to remove it to see the shim. You can tell if you have shims installed because the hinge should lay flat against the post it is bolted to. If you see what appears to be a thin ~30 thousands plate between the hinge and the post it is probably a shim. Check all your hinges and you should see a difference if there are any shims. Bottom hinges are easy to work on, tops are a little tougher to get at. If you want to remove a shim you need to remove the two upper bollts on the hinge and just loosen the lowers. Your door alignment will probably change when you add or remove shims and the verticle position of your window glass will change also so if you are not comfortable with aligning doors and windows I would recommend taking the car to a good body shop.
Good luck on the problem.
Good luck on the problem.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
Shim the lower hinge. Might have to remove shims in the upper hinge. You want the lower rear corner to move out to the fender line. Top corner will usually come in a little as the bottom comes out.
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