QuestionHaving a heck of a time getting the front doors properly aligned. Put in new hinge pins. The book states that the hinge to door bolts adjust forward and rearward and the scrws on the hinge to pillar are loosened to adjust up and down and in and out. Do you ge some up and down along with some in and out with each movement of the door or is there a way to get only in or out and only up or down.
Any tips greatly appreiated.
Bob Blankenship 828-497-9709
AnswerThis is one of the longest, most frustrating jobs in old car restoration; hanging the doors!
The shop manual ignores the fact that as the cars get older, there is inevitable wear in the holes and screws, so that any of the bolts will allow motion in both the intended direction and at right angles to that direction.
The only way to adjust the door for proper fit is to support the door on an easily adjusted floor jack, so you can lift and lower the door easily without having to make major moves of your jack.
Put a 4X4 on the jack saddle so you don't mar the underside of the door, and position the jack so that the door is supported near it's center of gravity so that it doesn't fight you as you adjust it.
Remove the door striker from the "B" pillar, so you can swing the door closed without having to fight with the latch - you adjust the latch later anyway.
Set all the screws just slightly tighter than finger tight, and bump the door the way you want it to move with a soft rubber hammer or your knee, adjusting one of the 4 "hinge to door" or "hinge to body" locations at a time.
Start with the upper hinge to body bolts, and set the door to the right height and at the right inner/outer position, and tighten those bolts a little bit snug. Then adjust the bottom hinge to body bolts for the right in/out position, and snug those bolts. Next, adjust the front/back distance at the top door to hinge bolts, trying not to either lift or lower the door while you do that. Then adjust the lower door to hinge bolts to level the door (so that you have the same gap along the top edge of the door to body from front to back of the door.)
Next, go back and repeat all the adjustments in the same order, correcting one thing at a time - it is a long, painstaking process for us amateurs, but if you stick at it long enough, maybe by the 20th time, you will have a good alignment.
Sorry there are no tricks to make it easy. I took a factory tour many years ago, and the way the pros did it was to tighten all the bolts fairly tight and then whack the door into position with a carpet covered 4X4 - they seemed to know just how tight to make the bolts so they could still move the door and yet it would stay put for them as they adjusted other positions. They also knew just where to whack it and how hard, to make it move without damaging the finish. I don't think us amateurs have a chance to develop those skills, we just have to take baby steps, but it can be done! Keep trying - and good luck.
Dick
