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I have a 78 S/A in pretty good shape body wise EXCEPT the right door. Left door gaps are almost perfect ( that front fender is the only body repairs done on the car a long time ago, and it is very straight).
Right side gaps are as shown in the two pics, with the real issue being the front top is .32" and the front bottom is .089, according to my Harbor Freight tool! In and out alignment is very good, nothing I would be concerned about. There is no door striker in place and the car is sitting on all four wheels, And there is one shim under the right front body mount. If I remove that shim will this get more even top to bottom? Do I try and play around with the radiator core support to lift the front up a bit ( it is already 1/2" to 3/4" higher than on the left side, measured at the headlight)? Or is there something easier, like fill the gap and file it down evenly? I've been playing with this for awhile and can't get it right. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
I would NOT mess with ANY of your body mount shims or radiator support area.
Not knowing if this car has been in an accident (assuming it had due to repairs on the other side.... and they did not fix on this side when it was damaged)...or has been jacked up and jack stand placed right under the door gap area where the door and fender meet can create stress areas and cause this to break loose or weaken...and thus..throw off the body gaps.
I can not see in your photos but at the bottom edge of the door...is the bottom edge is FLUSH with the fender. It looks like the door needs to come up on the hinges. If it comes straight up on the hinges..the numbers will get better and the rear numbers will get better also.
Dub, this side has not seen any repairs, all original. I can't say if it's been up on jack stands for any length of time under the door. The dour is a little further out than the fender at the bottom but I will give it a shot at lifting the door straight up. That definitely will make things better. Will see how it works out. Thanks.
Dub, this side has not seen any repairs, all original. I can't say if it's been up on jack stands for any length of time under the door. The dour is a little further out than the fender at the bottom but I will give it a shot at lifting the door straight up. That definitely will make things better. Will see how it works out. Thanks.
HOW MUCH further out is the door at the bottom fender.
AND..is the door out at the bottom of the quarter panel at the rear????
Dub, managed to move the door a good bit. Here are pics with the new numbers. The door is flush with the front fender from top to bottom and the bottom of the door is even with the top bottom of the front fender.
In the back, the top of the door is even with the top of the qtr panel and the bottom of the qtr panel. Back of the door is flush with side of qtr panel at the top but it is sitting about 1/4" inside the edge of the qtr panel at the bottm. It looks like the actual tail pc of the panel ( the last 8 inches that goes around the wheel well and to the bottom of the panel is not bonded in as tight as the one on the other side of the car. Maybe I just need to cut the bond loose and tighten it up. Everything else seems to be good, just still a little large in the gap at the front top, but it's way better than it was. And of course now my eye goes right to it. Seems to be just irregularities of the fiberglass rather than the panels now. Thanks Jim
IF you look at your FIRST photos you posted...and LOOK at the pinstripes on the door and front fender and you can see that the door was lower.
ALSO...look a the TOP EDGE of the door in relation to the top edge of your top hood surround panel that meets with it at the top...and in your FIRST photo...the door is low...in your SECOND photo. The door has been raised and the top of the door is much closer to the top hood surround top edge.
What you can do and try is ONE BY ONE....with ALL of the 8 bolts that hold the door to the hinges are TIGHT. Take ONE out at a time and LOOK at the slot in the door...and see if that slot WOULD ALLOW you to go up further. Put it back in and tighten it. Repeat on another bolt. AND what you may find is there may be a slot or two that is stopping you going up further. That is when I remove the door and take a die grinder to the slot and open it up that little bit...and what that will allow is the door to be set at the front correctly..and allowed to sag and get the rear as good as it can...and then tighten it all back up.
ALSO...if there was previous damage on the other side that was repaired...your birdcage could have been 'racked' in the accident and cause this lower quarter panel to door fit issue. And if you stop and look at it and think about it....the 'racking' of the birdcage can be so slight that no damage is going to jump out at you...because 1/16" movement can equate to 1/4" when it is transferred out some distance. More than likely at the cowl is where it is at.
Dub, the door did go up quite a bit and I think your idea of taking one bolt off at a time might be just what is needed. It seemed that I managed to muscle the door up so that the surround and the door were even, but by the time I tightened it all up, it had sagged. I will do as you suggested and see what happens. I also noticd that I have just the slightest movement from the hinge when all is tight and I pull up on the door. Not a lot, just like the little play you get with a wheel bearing. That might have more effect on the back edge of the door when I get there. If I understand correctly, I need to get the front as close to perfect as I can without regard to the back, once that's done then I move to the rear. And right you are about the damage from the other side. The birdcage does appear to have been repaired so maybe things did get a bit racked. But the panel is not bonded as close to the inner fender as it is on the other side. I will deal with that after I get the front OK. Thanks.again for taking the time on this. Jim
Dub, the door did go up quite a bit and I think your idea of taking one bolt off at a time might be just what is needed. It seemed that I managed to muscle the door up so that the surround and the door were even, but by the time I tightened it all up, it had sagged. I will do as you suggested and see what happens. I also noticd that I have just the slightest movement from the hinge when all is tight and I pull up on the door. Not a lot, just like the little play you get with a wheel bearing. That might have more effect on the back edge of the door when I get there. If I understand correctly, I need to get the front as close to perfect as I can without regard to the back, once that's done then I move to the rear. And right you are about the damage from the other side. The birdcage does appear to have been repaired so maybe things did get a bit racked. But the panel is not bonded as close to the inner fender as it is on the other side. I will deal with that after I get the front OK. Thanks.again for taking the time on this. Jim
YES..you want to get the front correct...but when dropping the door if needed to correct the rear..then that can effect the gaps at the front. SO it is a combination of the two and pick the lesser of two evils in this scenario. Trying to get the gaps a perfect when the car has been hit is sometimes just not going to happen and be perfect.
Make SURE that your door striker bolts is GOOD...and by that I mean the stainless steel ring that has a rubber ring under it is solid and the stainless steel ring that is what your latch actually contacts and grabs is NOT loose and spinning. IF it is it needs to be replaced.
AS for the movement in the door....that is hinge bushings. And sometimes it is possible to loosen all of the bolts but ONE in ONE hinge and then apply pressure on the door and then tighten the bolt in the other hinge and it puts them in a slight bind with each other and it takes out the minor play you have. THIS METHOD is only a temporary fix...and in time...the bushing will wear out more and the movement will begin again.
OK, the saga continues. I did as you suggested by removing one bolt at a time and discovered that a lot of the bolts were at their max travel. By closing the door and removing all of the bolts that were maxed out I was able to lift the door up so that the top of the door and hood surround were flush. And the gaps were much better front and back, top and bottom. Hopefully over the holiday weekend I will get time to lengthen the slots where needed and that will get me where I want to be. While I have the door off I'll lpick up some bushings, because we all know, while you're there, you might as well. I appreciate your help and give me a shout if you ever get down here to the Lowcountry. Thanks,Jim
And as I know you will do...mark the amount that your need to die grind out so the slots are as big as you need. AND...IF you do the bushings...due to the bushing being tight again...DO NOT be surprised that the door may not fit the same....and the slotted holes that were not opened up may need to now be done the same and those that you did.
AND if you are not aware...watch out for the upper hinge pin. Sometimes the round head need to be ground flat so it looks like a 'D'..and then spun into place when you go to set the pin. Grinding the head this little bit DOE SNOT drastically effect its strength...and I spin it so the flat side of the 'D' is to the rear.
IF you choose not to do this...the you have to remove the upper hinge.
05-21-2016, 10:44 AM
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