Fitting doors to body
01-13-2018, 11:48 PM
#1
Racer
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Member Since: Jan 2017
Location: Somers, MT
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C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified 2020
C2 of Year Finalist (stock) 2019
Fitting doors to body
Hi Dub and others...
My c2 coupe body is completely stripped down and all old weather stripping has been removed. My body man and I are discussing how to go about fitting the doors to the body.
Is the concensus that the best way to go about this process is to temporarily attach the weatherstripping to the body and then fit the doors? Then remove all rubber and doors for paint? Are there easier ways to do this?
Thx,
Garth
My c2 coupe body is completely stripped down and all old weather stripping has been removed. My body man and I are discussing how to go about fitting the doors to the body.
Is the concensus that the best way to go about this process is to temporarily attach the weatherstripping to the body and then fit the doors? Then remove all rubber and doors for paint? Are there easier ways to do this?
Thx,
Garth
01-14-2018, 04:53 PM
#2
Race Director
Garth,
For what it is worth:
I get the doors fitted with NO w/strips.
I verify that ALL of the solid aluminum rivets that are used to hold the steel inner structure to the fiberglass shell are GOOD and NO movement in the door is felt while the doors are on the car currently
The reason for this is...you can get the door to fit PERFECTLY with no w/strips in place...but often times due to the density of the aftermarket w/strips...IF there is any movement in the rivets at the hinge access opening in the door or at the bottom of the door....you door can move when you close it with the new w/strips in them.
And...as like I stated...due to the new w/strips often times being dense...the density of the w/strip can cause for the upper outer top corner of the door to push out.
IF you have to play around with adding or removing the shims at the door to get it spaced out and flush.. What I do is if the body is bare fiberglass...I apply tape on the surface of the door and body and use some modeling clay and make a hot dog piece and put it on the door and close the door. Then I open the door and see how much crush I have. I use the tape to protect the raw fiberglass from getting any oils from the modeling clay.
This is so I am not either trying to compress the new w/strips too much or still have an air gap that the w/strip can not seal.....thus...causing be to install some custom rubber shims made out of plate rubber. OR....building out on the actual door shell itself.
I also verify that the rivets that hold the metal plate at the back of the door where your latch mechanism hinges are GOOD also.
SO...depending on how well the car is still holding up structurally...may require you so set your door little bit inward and not flush withe for the fenders...BUT...not so far in that while you do this testing you see that you fear the door hitting the body. Because....even though you may not feel any movement in the rivets...you can still have enough slight movement and flex that when the w/strips are installed....and the density of the w/strips is actually pushing out a little bit on that area and thus....makes your door flush.
On the coupes it seems to me to always be the top area that is a nightmare to try to get it cooperate. And I have had to preform surgery on the new w/strips to get them to not be so dense so I am not fighting with that dynamic. Because I have had some Corvettes that were in my shop for paint jobs and the door w/strips are super soft and that is not because they were old and have taken shape...but literally they are different and I re-used them because the new ones were all jacked up and fighting them to get them to actually seal and have the door look good when it was shut.
SO...YES...you might install them to take that potential variable out of the equation when you go to final assembly.....but when I do install them and have an issue...I know I can go in and start to take out shims to draw the door in a bit. How you choose to handle this with your body guy..is entirely up to you. Looking for perfection in this are a can take a lot of effort an time....depending on the car and parts.
DUB
For what it is worth:
I get the doors fitted with NO w/strips.
I verify that ALL of the solid aluminum rivets that are used to hold the steel inner structure to the fiberglass shell are GOOD and NO movement in the door is felt while the doors are on the car currently
The reason for this is...you can get the door to fit PERFECTLY with no w/strips in place...but often times due to the density of the aftermarket w/strips...IF there is any movement in the rivets at the hinge access opening in the door or at the bottom of the door....you door can move when you close it with the new w/strips in them.
And...as like I stated...due to the new w/strips often times being dense...the density of the w/strip can cause for the upper outer top corner of the door to push out.
IF you have to play around with adding or removing the shims at the door to get it spaced out and flush.. What I do is if the body is bare fiberglass...I apply tape on the surface of the door and body and use some modeling clay and make a hot dog piece and put it on the door and close the door. Then I open the door and see how much crush I have. I use the tape to protect the raw fiberglass from getting any oils from the modeling clay.
This is so I am not either trying to compress the new w/strips too much or still have an air gap that the w/strip can not seal.....thus...causing be to install some custom rubber shims made out of plate rubber. OR....building out on the actual door shell itself.
I also verify that the rivets that hold the metal plate at the back of the door where your latch mechanism hinges are GOOD also.
SO...depending on how well the car is still holding up structurally...may require you so set your door little bit inward and not flush withe for the fenders...BUT...not so far in that while you do this testing you see that you fear the door hitting the body. Because....even though you may not feel any movement in the rivets...you can still have enough slight movement and flex that when the w/strips are installed....and the density of the w/strips is actually pushing out a little bit on that area and thus....makes your door flush.
On the coupes it seems to me to always be the top area that is a nightmare to try to get it cooperate. And I have had to preform surgery on the new w/strips to get them to not be so dense so I am not fighting with that dynamic. Because I have had some Corvettes that were in my shop for paint jobs and the door w/strips are super soft and that is not because they were old and have taken shape...but literally they are different and I re-used them because the new ones were all jacked up and fighting them to get them to actually seal and have the door look good when it was shut.
SO...YES...you might install them to take that potential variable out of the equation when you go to final assembly.....but when I do install them and have an issue...I know I can go in and start to take out shims to draw the door in a bit. How you choose to handle this with your body guy..is entirely up to you. Looking for perfection in this are a can take a lot of effort an time....depending on the car and parts.
DUB
01-15-2018, 04:10 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
I will add to Dub's comments. When I redid my 66 coupe I found that it was important to install the hard rubber weatherstrip that is at the top of the door opening on the body. This is a very hard rubber that doesn't compress to anything. If you put this in place it will set and help you set where the top of the door will be as you want this to be tight when you close the door but not so tight you end up forcing the door closed. This is a good time also to make sure those small holes aren't stripped and or not at the correct location for the new weather strip. Better to address these things now than once it is painted.
Fitting mid-year coupe doors is no easy task. The first two things I look at when I see a mid-year coupe is how well the doors line up all around the door opening and how well the front headlight buckets fit. Those two items make or break a paint job on these cars. Good luck if you get frustrated just walk away the car will be there when you are ready to come back to it.
Fitting mid-year coupe doors is no easy task. The first two things I look at when I see a mid-year coupe is how well the doors line up all around the door opening and how well the front headlight buckets fit. Those two items make or break a paint job on these cars. Good luck if you get frustrated just walk away the car will be there when you are ready to come back to it.