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Door adjustment

Master Gunner

Accelerati Rapidus Maximus
FBBO Gold Member
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Location
Frost Bite Falls, Mn
Friend of mine asked for help adjusting the doors on his 73 SSP, but I've never done this with the fenders on the car, and don't really want to take the front end off just to adjust the doors.
Ideas or advice please.

Mark
 
Hinges are good, I've adjusted doors before, just not with the fenders on the car.

Mark
Well, you do it pretty much the same way only it's harder to get to the bolts and you have to be more careful. I replaced both doors on a 69 road runner a couple of years ago by myself using a hoist and flat straps. It was a RPITA but it would have been even more of a RPITA to pull the fenders off.
 
Know what needs to be adjusted? Is it sagging, tilted vertically top/bottom, or needing fore/aft adjusting? Could be the fender might need adjusting anyway if those were putzed with or off the car. Sag or tilt is easier to adjust (accessing those bolts) than moving door forward or back. Those bolts can require some head scratching to access. Can get lost doing this going from bad to worse. You may know all this so pardon me. Don’t loosen the bolts too much allowing the door to stay put using some elbow grease to move it. Be generous just in case with masking tape along the door/fender edges and anywhere you’ll be accessing with wrenches near paint. Remove tape to see result and reapply if needing more adjusting.
 
Feel free to throw stuff out there. The problem with the door is it is too far back, almost rubbing on the quarter panel. The whole door needs to go forward a 1/8 to 1/4 inch, there is plenty of gap between the door and the fender. The way I learned how to do this was adjust the door to the 1/4 panel, then adjust the fender to the door. I guess I'm looking for an easier way to do this than the way I think I'm going to have to.

Mark
 
I swapped all the door hinges on my 73 Satellite and adjusted them with this. The front fenders have never been off the car. This is what these wrenches are made for.

s-l1600.jpg
 
Yup....the way to install doors is without the fenders on it.....but I hope you don't have to move the doors 1/4". If you do, that means the doors are already shutting against the quarters. I've done quite a few doors over the years and most was with the fenders off. LOTS easier!
 
Sounds right, ya know what adjustment is needed and the SOP. Well, on my ’63 Plymouth I have a luxury your buds car may not have. There are access panels in the fender wells that can be removed easily opening up the innards behind the fender. Maybe one of our talented fellow members might chime in with an idea or nifty tools to use for the job.
 
Sounds right, ya know what adjustment is needed and the SOP. Well, on my ’63 Plymouth I have a luxury your buds car may not have. There are access panels in the fender wells that can be removed easily opening up the innards behind the fender. Maybe one of our talented fellow members might chime in with an idea or nifty tools to use for the job.
Had to remove the glove box on the 69 road runner to access the passenger side upper. The box was dry as a bone and falling apart and needed replacing anyways so it wasn't surgically removed....
 
Had to remove the glove box on the 69 road runner to access the passenger side upper. The box was dry as a bone and falling apart and needed replacing anyways so it wasn't surgically removed....
In all my years never saw a tool quite like RustT Plymouths has! But had an inkling someone here would enter in with a tool for da job. Awesome hey.
 
In all my years never saw a tool quite like RustT Plymouths has! But had an inkling someone here would enter in with a tool for da job. Awesome hey.
He needs to post a demo vid now lol Hey, he's only about 11 hrs away from Gunner.....:D
 
He needs to post a demo vid now lol Hey, he's only about 11 hrs away from Gunner.....:D
No doubt and maybe make some money from ads.
 
Where pray tell did you get that wrench?

the Snap-on truck

Yes and Pops even has a couple that came from the MAC truck. And I know one is metric. And with all the different ones he bought years ago, sometimes you still couldn't find one to work. And it looks like they're still expensive, but they pay for themselves pretty quick in a body shop.
 
I’m not familiar with 73’s, but are u able to remove the inner fender splash shields to allow easier access to the hinge bolts….
 
Last edited:
Door hinge bolts are normally accessible from the inside by removing the kick panels.
 

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Glad I don't do door removal/installation much anymore lol. I was 69 when I did that road runner and used 'conventional' tools and it wasn't too bad to get to the bolts but I vowed not to ever do it again! I installed the doors on my 66 Belvedere within the past year but the fenders were off and the doors are lighter than stock plus there's no side impact protection beams in them either. I know the E body got those things in 1970 (freaking heavy doors!) and I'm guessing the rest of the line up got them too. Anyways, I just stuck a door on and latched it closed, picked up the front of the door a bit with a wood wedge and snugged up the top hinge and worked them from there.
 
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