Door skin advice
- Thread starter Robking
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I like the door fitting without any latch in place.....there are 2 rubber bumpers that contact the jamb and set the depth........ i never use the latch to pull or lift the door into place
- Local time
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oh yeah.... this
the door gets lined up to the quarter and rocker.......its the very first thing i do on any build
and the gap along the bottom is often larger than the others, i've seen some as big as 7/16.......use the top of the quarter and the body lines to set the height
That front flange area is obviously damaged. At this stage I'd be inclined to cut a slice in the corner, tap the flange in and weld it back up
That does sound easier than trying to beat it back to the right shape. I'll have a look that!
Exactly - particularly if you possess minimal metal beating skill and tools. Slicing and dicing can yield very good results if done patiently.
I've read this article a couple of times, good example of that, they make the top of the door and the quarter line up perfect while keeping the gaps consistent.
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/how-to-aligning-mopar-body-panels/
Sorry just now getting back to this. Thanks again to everyone for their help.
After I spent a little more time trying to decide exactly where to slice/dice, I realized where the damage had been done to the door shell and was able to pretty effectively coax it back to shape with hammer/dolly (actually proud of that, slowly learning metal bumping). Once I hung the shell again, I was pretty happy with the results.
I have since put the shell on and hammered the edges (that also went surprisingly well, rubber coated dolly is a must), and have hung the door to check fit/gaps and tweak positioning before tacking it.
Before I tack things down though, my one concern is the alignment of the mounting tabs for the window track. I put a bolt through the hole at the front of the door to help keep things aligned, but this is how the tabs on the rear want to line up.
The door seems almost perfect in this position, if I tweak it to make these align better I feel like I'm making the door fit worse (warping it front to back). I did test fit the cap screw that goes through there to the window track, and it does have some room to move front to back, but as you can see I loose a good 1/8" of adjustability. Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of how well they were aligned before I removed the original door. At this point there's not a lot I can do other than try to grind these out a little. Curious if anyone else has dealt with this.
Thanks as always, couldn't do this without FBBO.
After I spent a little more time trying to decide exactly where to slice/dice, I realized where the damage had been done to the door shell and was able to pretty effectively coax it back to shape with hammer/dolly (actually proud of that, slowly learning metal bumping). Once I hung the shell again, I was pretty happy with the results.
I have since put the shell on and hammered the edges (that also went surprisingly well, rubber coated dolly is a must), and have hung the door to check fit/gaps and tweak positioning before tacking it.
Before I tack things down though, my one concern is the alignment of the mounting tabs for the window track. I put a bolt through the hole at the front of the door to help keep things aligned, but this is how the tabs on the rear want to line up.
The door seems almost perfect in this position, if I tweak it to make these align better I feel like I'm making the door fit worse (warping it front to back). I did test fit the cap screw that goes through there to the window track, and it does have some room to move front to back, but as you can see I loose a good 1/8" of adjustability. Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of how well they were aligned before I removed the original door. At this point there's not a lot I can do other than try to grind these out a little. Curious if anyone else has dealt with this.
Thanks as always, couldn't do this without FBBO.
I don't think these are supposed to be pinched together. On my 69RR these are spread about 1/4" apart. I think for the wing window bracket to fit in between. The guy doing my metal work welded them together in one door and I had a bitch of a time cutting them apart.
slimt
Well-Known Member
Looking good. Now that you have the door shell lined up. You should be able to adjust the post hinge so it moves the door back to the quarter. Then the fender to the door. It does not need much. The upper gap by the window was never perfect new.
Wow, welded them together? Just checked, the tab that goes between them is about 90 thousandths. I can easily push them apart thankfully. I wish I had gotten a better picture of that gap before I cut the old skin off.
Haha, yes it is! Welded up the hole and moved it back to 68 position. Have to admit, they moved it for a reason, you have to contort yourself to get to the 68 position.
Bigger issue I still have is that I have a 69 latch. I think I can rig something to use that latch versus trying to find a 68.
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