Door alignment

[barnett468 418]

58 minutes ago, mwye0627 said:

Please explain...

Nobody can tell for certain if his door is "bending into shape" when he closes it unless they are there to check it in person. Therefore, your comment is a guess, and not necessarily what is actually happening.

[mwye0627 44]

5 hours ago, barnett468 said:

Nobody can tell for certain if his door is "bending into shape" when he closes it unless they are there to check it in person. Therefore, your comment is a guess, and not necessarily what is actually happening.

Both of the hinges at the front of the door are "Hard Points" which cannot move.   The upper rear point of the door is obviously hard against the seal, since it IS in the correct position and remains in the correct position, it is NOT moving relative to closing the door. Therefore, the ONLY obvious conclusion is that if moving the striker further in and the door appears to be correctly aligned now, is that the door is in "torsion" and is being sprung when the door is closed against the striker. The top rear of the door did NOT move further in, because it is already compressing the seal as much as it possibly can...  Simple Geometry, Simple Mechanics, Simple Deduction...   Next possible explanation???

[JET 445 43]

Wow, so much debate and so much bad information, all he needed to do was adjust the hinges. The reason body shop guys and assembly line workers bash and bend things is because they need to get it out the door as quickly as possible and get onto the next car but 50 years later that is never the best solution. Take the striker off, adjust the door and refit the striker ,simple, easy.

[mustangstofear 608]

WOW !!!!!!!! hard to believe someone  actually understands  how to adjust a door LOL. I Actually caught one of my guys who was  trying to get the  door to go down in the back , by dropping the  striker. 

[barnett468 418]

10 hours ago, mwye0627 said:

Both of the hinges at the front of the door are "Hard Points" which cannot move.   The upper rear point of the door is obviously hard against the seal, since it IS in the correct position and remains in the correct position, it is NOT moving relative to closing the door. Therefore, the ONLY obvious conclusion is that if moving the striker further in and the door appears to be correctly aligned now, is that the door is in "torsion" and is being sprung when the door is closed against the striker. The top rear of the door did NOT move further in, because it is already compressing the seal as much as it possibly can...  Simple Geometry, Simple Mechanics, Simple Deduction...   Next possible explanation???

I don't need to explain anything further regarding panel alignment, and your simple deduction is still a simple assumption, it's really that simple.

Obviously the upper rear part of the door "may" be "hard against the body", but again, one would have to be there to inspect it to be certain, unless the op removes the door rubber completely and tries it.

I have been doing this for 45 years and have won 1st place at MCA judged shows with cars i restored and have sold some I restored for world record prices at the Barrett Jackson Auction in Scottsdale. I also worked on some cars for Steve Davis at his request whom has been the president of Barrett Jackson for decades now, so it would appear that I know how to align body panels well enough, but thank you for your attempt to explain to me how it works.

[barnett468 418]

11 hours ago, JET 445 said:

The reason body shop guys and assembly line workers bash and bend things is because they need to get it out the door as quickly as possible and get onto the next car...

That is definitely not always the case.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

6 hours ago, JET 445 said:

Wow, so much debate and so much bad information, all he needed to do was adjust the hinges. The reason body shop guys and assembly line workers bash and bend things is because they need to get it out the door as quickly as possible and get onto the next car but 50 years later that is never the best solution. Take the striker off, adjust the door and refit the striker ,simple, easy.

Yes ,i was simply explaning how the factory did it when it could not be adjusted . 

69 -70 is not the easiest of the doors to adjust ,the front door post is not flat ,it tapers inward at the front so the slightest adjustment one direction can change another fitting point . The biggest problem i have found with 69 -70 is the sloted holes in the door do not slot far enough and need to somtimes be slotted mor to get full travel inward ,especially the bottom area when the door bottom will not go in far enough the meet flush with the rocker

[RPM 1,190]

On 8/30/2019 at 8:13 AM, Ridge Runner said:

The biggest problem i have found with 69 -70 is the sloted holes in the door do not slot far enough and need to somtimes be slotted mor to get full travel inward ,especially the bottom area when the door bottom will not go in far enough the meet flush with the rocker

Yep. I learned this trick some time ago, which works great. 

Let's be nice to each other.

[mustangstofear 608]

Sometimes slotting the door  isn't  enough,  sometimes you have to shave the hinge itself to get the door  to go in further. 

[RPM 1,190]

10 hours ago, mustangstofear said:

Sometimes slotting the door  isn't  enough,  sometimes you have to shave the hinge itself to get the door  to go in further. 

On the hinge mating surface? Yikes!

[Notams 0]

So adding another factor to this discussion. I am in the process now of adjusting my doors. Reading everyone's suggestions with interest. I came across some instructions somewhere on the interwebs that said in order to adjust the doors correctly, they need to be done at their normal weight (ie, the weight they would be with windows, soundproofing, panels and speakers installed). They recommended putting weights in the doors if you did not have everything installed yet to approximate the actual weight they will be at.

Does that sound correct?

Also, I have not installed any of the seals yet. Should this be done before any adjustments?

Do you guys use any type of spacers

[aslanefe 333]

23 minutes ago, Notams said:

So adding another factor to this discussion. I am in the process now of adjusting my doors. Reading everyone's suggestions with interest. I came across some instructions somewhere on the interwebs that said in order to adjust the doors correctly, they need to be done at their normal weight (ie, the weight they would be with windows, soundproofing, panels and speakers installed). They recommended putting weights in the doors if you did not have everything installed yet to approximate the actual weight they will be at.

Does that sound correct?

Also, I have not installed any of the seals yet. Should this be done before any adjustments?

Do you guys use any type of spacers

I adjust mine with mirror,  glass, regulator, speaker if it has  etc installed, without door panel, striker and door seal installed. But install the small rubber bumpers at the aft of the door. Use paint sticks to measure the gap. You can put weights instead of installing the glass etc. I made a door holder that attaches to my small floor jack which helps me install and adjust the doors without help.

[mustangstofear 608]

6 hours ago, RPM said:

On the hinge mating surface? Yikes!

No, on the edge. Sometimes the inner skin touches the edge of the hinge.

[Mach1 Driver 560]

2 hours ago, aslanefe said:

 I made a door holder that attaches to my small floor jack which helps me install and adjust the doors without help.

Could you show us a picture of your door holder please?

[aslanefe 333]

12 hours ago, Mach1 Driver said:

Could you show us a picture of your door holder please?

Hope OP does not mind.

It attaches in place of the jack pad. Made with parts from a swing set and a piece of square tubing. Door sits on the 2x4 so the edge of it does not get damaged. I also put some padding on the wood before I put the door on it. If you balance the door, it does not tip over. Use the bungee chords to squeeze/hold the door between posts after I load the door with the hinged posts down. I install/adjust doors alone with it.

[69RavenConv 286]

Clever. I could have used one of those.

[Midlife 814]

I have a picnic table and two benches.  The bench is made of 2 pieces of redwood, with a groove down the middle.  If you place the door on the groove, you can maneuver the bench/door to the car.  With a car on a lift, adjust the lift so that the height matches the door on the bench.  I was able to mate both doors, align them perfectly in about 1.5 hours total time. Similar in concept to Aslanfe.