Adjusting the Doors
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 238
Likes: 1
From: Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Adjusting the Doors
I have a 1980 coupe and the passenger door is a little close and I think it will start hitting soon. The picture probably doesn't look that bad, but it's very very close. The driver's door is about twice the space and looks natural.
How do you adjust the door to give it more space?
How do you adjust the door to give it more space?
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,226
Likes: 643
From: Orange County Ca
I think your door is simular to my 69, so you have to pull the door panel off and the cover over the hinges. If you just need to move the door rearward 1/16" or 1/8" use a contrasting color of spray paint to cover the hinge bolts so that you can see how much you move the door.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,107
Likes: 14
From: Lancaster PA
do not loosen all of the hinge bolts at the same time or you will have a mess to realign. If the door must go towards the back a small amount first loosen the bottom bolts and using a padded floor jack lift the rear of the door a small amount. Then tighten the lower bolts. The door should now be a little too high at the rear. So now with the jack under the rear of the door, loosen the top hinge bolts and then let the rear of the door down a bit. When the rear of the door is at the right height to align with the rear 1/4 panel and the front and rear gaps are where you want them you are finished.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 238
Likes: 1
From: Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Thanks for the help!
So to make it clear, I must take the door panel off to ge to the bolts? I've never done this before, so I want to make sure I do it right.
Does anyone have any pictures of it being done?
It doesn't sound hard, but I've heard you could screw the alignment up if you do it wrong!
So to make it clear, I must take the door panel off to ge to the bolts? I've never done this before, so I want to make sure I do it right.
Does anyone have any pictures of it being done?
It doesn't sound hard, but I've heard you could screw the alignment up if you do it wrong!
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 4
From: May help you? You can sure as hell try!
Looks like the door is sagging due to worn hinge bushings. Lift up on the door while it's slightly open and if it moves, your hinge bushings and pins are worn. Don't adjust anything until you fix that. You'll just be band-aiding the problem.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 663
Likes: 0
From: Honolulu Hawaii
Originally Posted by LemansBlue68
Looks like the door is sagging due to worn hinge bushings. Lift up on the door while it's slightly open and if it moves, your hinge bushings and pins are worn. Don't adjust anything until you fix that. You'll just be band-aiding the problem.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,226
Likes: 643
From: Orange County Ca
Yes, you have to remove the door panel to get to the bolts on the door side of the hinge (the easy side to work on). All the above comments sound correct. Be careful, and only move a small amount. The paint on the leading edge of the door will chip real easily.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
Likes: 10
From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
Originally Posted by LemansBlue68
Looks like the door is sagging due to worn hinge bushings. Lift up on the door while it's slightly open and if it moves, your hinge bushings and pins are worn. Don't adjust anything until you fix that. You'll just be band-aiding the problem.
Fix the bushings first, then worry about the door alignment. I wrecked a driver-side door latch by having bad bushings...that thing is NOT fun to replace.
Last edited by I'm Batman; Feb 18, 2006 at 11:10 PM.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 4
From: May help you? You can sure as hell try!
Originally Posted by glenkov48
Yes, you have to remove the door panel to get to the bolts on the door side of the hinge (the easy side to work on). All the above comments sound correct. Be careful, and only move a small amount. The paint on the leading edge of the door will chip real easily.