Hi everyone, so my passenger side door closes to where it will lock, but it wont turn off the door ajar light, and the gaps look terrible and it sags. It is somewhat the same but a little better on the driver side. The gaps are off and it sags a touch but not as bad. I took pictures of the pins and the gap on the passenger side as well as the pins on the driver side. Is it that they just need new bushings or is it something else? 71 conv.

 

My suggestion: Grab the door at the rearward edge and pull up on it. Is there movement up and down? If so, the hinge pins need replaced or at least the bushings. Many times the bushings wear but the pins will be okay.
Put your hands at top and bottom of the rearward door edge and pull/push to see if there is movement in and out. If so, the rivets that hold the hinge bolt plate inside the door may need attention which unfortunately requires door removal. Dave

 

So i tried to do both of them, and neither gave me any movement that I could tell, anything else I should be checking?

 

How does the convertible top frame fit when you pull it up to latch it ? Do you have to pull hard forward to latch it ? Now , next question . How solid is your frame ? Does it have rust out at the frame under the rear of the doors ? Was the car on lift lately with the top down ? The reason for these questions is that the frame could be weak and sagged when lifted . Did you just buy the car this way or did it just happen ? It would help if we had more information on the history of this car .

 

It fits well, doesn't ever seem like i have to give it too much force ever. The frame is rusty, it was a northern car. But it doesn't seem weak or have holes etc. I would rate it solid. The car was jacked up 2x recently so that I could flush the radiator and i had the top down when I did that. I did buy the car like this, I'll randomly get it to close correctly when i shut it, but can never seem to purposefully replicate it.

 

I can 'say' for a fact that the pins in your hinges are replacements. They are too long...which does not mean anything but just that....and somebody has been in this area before...and if they used longer pins...what else did they do.

I need more information...such as IF you can get the door to close all the way...regardless of how much effort it takes to do so. I would like a photo of it when it is completely closed.

IF you can..take one photo like you did showing the gap at the top of the door..and then another a few feet back...down on one knee and looking straight at the door gap so I can see the gap from top to bottom.

Get down on one knee and look at the top flat surface of the door by the handle...then when slowly closing the door...look at the end of the door at the top in relation to the top of your quarter panel and see when the door begins to go into the striker bolt...does the door go UP or DOWN.

Also...if your door gap at the front fender looks good and consistent...but the rear gap is all messed up..I would possibly look at the #4 body mount inside the rear wheel well and see what it looks like.


And I would agree...when raising and supporting your Corvette...due to being a convertible...CARE should be taken in where you position your jack and support stands so you do not have a problem in potential frame issues. I can easily prove it to you on how much flex your frame has...or can have if incorrectly supported. And these issues can occur regardless if the top is up or down. The convertible top does not have enough integrity to maintain anything when it comes to the body panels.

DUB

 

Heres some more pictures. I sort of figured the pins weren't original too. I don't think I can get it to close all the way without just absolutely slamming it, which im afraid of cracking something, doesn't seem worth it to me.
The door pin hits the striker bolt and moves up, it looks like it hits the very bottom left and tries to move up and then just stops.

Looking at the front and back of the car it looks like it tilts slightly to the driver side. It looks like the hood doesn't go down all the way to that side, and the windshield wiper door wont close all the way. ( just found that out recently after opening them for a friend to see how they work). Again it looks like it closes fine on the passenger side not the driver. Could this all be connected to the car leaning?

 

What does the #4 body mount behind the rear wheel look like? These can rust through the metal bracket and as a result drop the rear which would open the top door gap. The rubber mount should be sitting on top of the bracket maybe with some shims on top of the rubber.

 

I'm guessing these aren't looking good. I also have air shocks (didn't put them in) and I decided to try and put some air into it and see what happens. I can hear the air escaping from the passenger side one only, not sure if this means anything for my problem, but I figure more info the better.
Thanks in advance

 

As DUB said, the hinge pins have been changed, and since you have no play in the door, I would think the bronze bushings were replaced too. The longer pin isn't a big deal. GM never sold the pins separately, they were only ever available as part of a new hinge from GM. Because of that, the only pin available from the aftermarket for many years, was one that was the right diameter, but longer than the original. Up to about 8-10 years ago, if you bought new pins from a Corvette vendor, you got ones that were about an inch to long.

Your #4 mount on the body, looks like it is rusted or broken. If I'm seeing things correctly, the front portion of the box mount is missing. I say this because it looks to me that you have the ends of the two rivets that hold the front of the mount, but nothing attached to them?

Your 71 should have an alignment pin on the top rear of each door, and a matching female alignment receiver on each lock pillar. Are these alignment parts in place on your car? If not, this is contributing to your problems.

If the alignment pieces are there, but badly worn, especially the brass inserts in the female receivers, that will also effect the alignment of your doors. The brass inserts are not available separately. You have to buy the receivers as a complete assembly, to get new brass inserts, and they're not cheap at about $85 each. But they were put there by GM, to help prevent the problem you have. Below are the pin and receiver used on all 70-75 convertible doors.





I'd say that you need to check the condition of the #4 mounts more closely, check for shims in the #4 mounts, check to see if the door alignment pieces are in place and if they are in good condition. I would also pull the access covers inside of the rear wheel wells and get a good look at the #3 mounts, and maybe check your frame and rocker panels more closely for signs of rust.

 

THANK YOU for the photos. PERFECT!

Really need to get the door to close all teh way. And then take another photo when that has been done.

IF your door is moving when you are closing it as I believe you responded to..and NOT knowing if you have the guides that 'gbvette62' posted photos of.

I know you responded to how the door is moving UP when you go to close it...but when it is doing this....is the top of the door NOW no longer flush with the top of the quarter panel???

OR...when it is being closed and going UP...is the top of the door NOW flush with the top of the quarter panel?

Your response does make a difference in what to do next.


IF the door is flush with the quarter panel BEFORE you contact the striker bolt...do this.

I would be loosening up the striker bolt (as long as the ring in the center of the shaft is not spinning). If the ring on the shaft of the striker bolt has lost the rubber behind it...then that striker bolt is USELESS. If the striker bolt is OK..I would adjust it to get the door to close and then we can take it from there.

That previous comment is under the assumption that the wedged guide is set correctly. Often times I remove the guide pin on the door and get the door set on the striker bolt and then adjust the guides. Often times I can look at the guides and see excessive wear.

The condition of the number 4 body mount gusset plate has seen better days. I just needed to see it..and it does need repair...but it does not show any signs of sagging due to the metal being completely gone and the fiberglass pocket that this gusset cover is broken...which yours DOES NOT show signs of.

I do agree about the number 3 body mount area. This area is well known for problems due to rust.

DUB

 

So i attempted this morning to get it to close, and no matter how i pushed on it, I can't get it to close. I pulled the female receiving part and tried to re-position it, which did nothing, but the brass insert seems to be fine, and it slips on nicely when it wasn't attached to anything and I just physically put it on the male end.
I also tried closing it without that pin, and it didn't close correctly either.
When the door moves up after making contact, it becomes higher than the quarter panel.
It seems to me that the top front of the door gap is too large and that the door is sitting too far towards to back, but on the bottom half it is very narrow near the front and actually seems to sit lower.
Thank you all for your time and help

 

DO NOT worry about your front door gap.

Knowing that when you go to close the door it raises up...correct? AND if you have the wedge shaped pin off the door...then it is time to take a TORX socket and loosen your striker bolt that your latch catches on.

BUT..as I wrote...you have to look at your striker bolt and make sure the steel ring is still intact and can not spin due to the rubber under it is gone.

Once you get the striker bolt loose and lower it just a little bit...snug it up can test your door while watching the levelness of it to the quarter panel when closing it.

DUB

 

Sorry was out of town for the weekend, the door does raise up once it gets in contact, yes. I tested the steel ring and it does spin and the rubber is all on one side it looks like. So based on DUB's previous post I figure that means I need a whole new striker bolt?
Just one question, why would the metal spinning cause me problems with the bolt and the door?

 

Okay...you asked.
How can a person expect to get a door...that is supposed to be TRUE and on good bushings so it does not move up and down... and latch onto the striker bolt that has the loose ring and causes the latch to NOT be secure when closed. OR act up when trying to close the door due to the spinning ring is hanging down and the latch is trying to pick it up and latch over the spinning ring?

Think of the ring on the striker bolt being like a key ring...and then you slide a pencil through the key ring. There is a lot of play in they key ring due to the circumference of the pencil being so small in relationship to the inner circumference of the key ring. SO....if your ring on your striker bolt is sloppy and spins easily and is dropping down due to no rubber...it needs to be replaced. JUST because you can grab this ring on the striker bolt and manually rotate it...does not mean it is worn out.....but it is the beginning of the end and it will not get any better.

I know it seems that this would not matter...but it does.

DUB

 

that makes sense, thank you for taking the time to explain it as i was quite curious. I will go and pick up a new striker bolt and get it on there soon, and update if it was a success. Thank you so much DUB and to everyone else who replied to help me with this issue.

 

well the striker bolt was replaced and the door closes the exact same way as before. I tried taking out the receiving end of the pin, and nothing changed. Not sure where to go now.

 

I'm not an expert with this but I did wonder one question about what he said.
Is there any chance that because he has air shocks and the passenger side is leaking, that one side has a stiff air shock and the other is way down.
Could this be enough of a twisting force to tweak the body enough to mess up the alignment of the door?

jim

 

OK...so when you close the door with the NEW striker bolt....does the door want to go up like before??? NEED TO KNOW THIS!!!!!!

I need to know if your striker bolt has the ability to move up down in and out??? It should.

AND...if your door is STILL going UP when you close it in relation to your quarter panel....CAN the striker bolt be lowered an NOT worry about the witness marks on where it WAS located previously.

AND....if you take off the new striker bolt...and close the door and watch the back of the door to your quarter panel...your door should be perfectly LEVEL with the quarter with NOTHING such as the guide to change it swinging motion. Make sure that this is OK.

Let me know...because either I have missed something or did not ask something to get an answer.



Possible but doubtful..the body would have to be 'tweaked' quite a bit.

DUB

 

it doesn't want to go up as much when i shut it now, it goes slightly up, and the door rests i'd say about 1/4 inch higher than the quarter panel. I did try to lower the striker bolt and move it into several different positions and it didn't seem to change much.
I took off the striker bolt and closed it and it acted the same way, then i tried it without the guide pin receiver, and still nothing, it still sits a little higher maybe an 1/8 of an inch and just seems like it can't close any further.

The car does lean to the driver side a touch but you have to be down at eye level with the nose of the car to tell.