I have a really big gap between the driver door and front fender--more at the top than at the bottom. The gap at the back of the door is decent and pretty even. I can't think of anything that I could do to improve this very much. The gap between the fender and cowl suggests that I could move the fender back a little, but then the gap at the bottom of the door would get skinny. I'd have to raise the front of the fender a lot to make the gap even. Am I missing something, or is this just the way things are?
Door Gaps
- Thread starter FEQMA
- Start date
If you are fitting things with the car on jack stands stop now.
Jerry Hall
Well-Known Member
In the days these cars were new there were all different thicknesses of body shims. You make one thing fit and it's going to change something else, so you will have to realign and adjust the whole front clip. Just takes time and patience.
Get the weight supported properly so the front end isn't sagging
Jerry Hall
Well-Known Member
Your rear door gap actually looks tight at the top and wide at the bottom. Align your doors with the rear body, and work your way forward. As two have already stated, get the car weight correctly balanced. Preferably on its tires and wheels on a level surface.
Lefty71
Well-Known Member
Im not a body guy at all, but that looks like a hinge problem. The back of your door looks beautiful to me, but the front looks like the whole door is dropped down on the rocker, and the top bush is wallowed out. Of course, unless the boys are right and you have the front sagging on stands, how can we know what damage has been done to the frame rails in the past?? Everything from the firewall forward is designed to fold up in a wreck.....
- Local time
- 3:32 PM
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2008
- Messages
- 25,529
- Reaction score
- 78,571
- Location
- South Jersey USA
I always start with the door parallel to the rocker, matched up to whatever body lines on the quarter
- Local time
- 3:32 PM
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2008
- Messages
- 25,529
- Reaction score
- 78,571
- Location
- South Jersey USA
looks to me you just have to raise the front of the fender a little
- Local time
- 3:32 PM
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2008
- Messages
- 25,529
- Reaction score
- 78,571
- Location
- South Jersey USA
there is also an ear, with a hole, on the side of the cowl.......
a stud under the top rear of the fender sits in the hole....... if there is a shim there, remove it....... putting a nut on the stud will pull the rear of the fender down, which may be your issue (rear of fender a tad too high)..... you can also tap the ear down if it's holding things up
this stud/nut is critical to the whole thing
a stud under the top rear of the fender sits in the hole....... if there is a shim there, remove it....... putting a nut on the stud will pull the rear of the fender down, which may be your issue (rear of fender a tad too high)..... you can also tap the ear down if it's holding things up
this stud/nut is critical to the whole thing
Similar threads
