Where do you adjust to raise or lower the rear of the doors,from the doors or behind the kick panels?? Only need to lower one doors rear edge about 1/8" .

 

John,

There are actually 3 ways. In order of ease they are.

1. Pivot the door on the hinges. For 1/8" of an inch this is easy. Remove the door panel and then get access to the hinge bolts that are INSIDE the front of the door (not on the pillar) and whilst supporting the door loosen the bottom bolts. Slightly push down on the door and tighten them. If this is enought then leave it alone. If you need more loosne the top and do the same. BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR FRONT DOOR GAP BEFORE CLOSING THE DOOR. Any adjustment to the door may cause it to rub on the fender. Check it before you close it.

2. Adjust body shims. The two rear mounting bolts have shims. You can remove the shims and shim the rear of the car so it lfts up. The door will stay where it is, the body will move. Hard to remove those bolts as they will be rusty. This is hard as one of the mounts is behind the access panel in front of the rear wheel. Not an easy job but the CORRECT way to align stuff IF your door an dhinges are in the right place.

3. Adjust the PILLAR POST door hinge position DOWN. This will bring the door STRAIGHT down. This side of the hinge requires you remove parts of the dash and kickpanels to access them. Not very accessible, a last resort.

Also check that your hinge pins/bushings are not worn. If the bushings in you hinge are worn the back will easily be down 1/8" of an inch. Similar process to 1. Mark hinge position inside door with a scribe or some paint. Remove door from hinge. Replace hinge bolts and bushings. Then reinstall door on hinges and adjust as necessary.

Way you can tell that bushings are worn is to pull up on the door when it is almost closed. Does the door move or the whole car? If the door moves up and down your bushings are worn. If the whole car moves (ie door is not loose) then you are really strong and the bushings are fine. Since your door is high it probably has good bushings and just needs to be adjusted.

While you are in there replace the door hinge spring. It is very accessible with the door off. new springs make a big difference.

If you have any questions Im me.

Pete

 

Just went through this on my 78...a pain in the rear. All of the prior suggestions are right on the money! It's a lot easier if you have a helper too. Best of luck to you!

 

Thanks , i just replaced all the body mounts and played around there but my drivers door is just between 1/16& 1/8" to high. couldnt seem to get it right with the body mounts so think i will try the door .