Loosen which bolts/hinges to raise door a smitchens?

[Dibbons]

Rebuilt the hinges a while ago and got lucky with the passenger door of my '72 SSP which now closes perfectly. However, we need still to raise the drivers door on the latch end a little bit.

I have been afraid to mess with it for fear of damaging the paint, but since I dinged the door again in the garage, now would be a good time to take care of it.

My two questions:

A) I noticed on the driver's door the little cylinder that the door latches onto is loose, rattling, and I can spin it around freely with my finger (see foto 1). However, on the passenger door the little cylinder seems to be rather tight, I can move it around using a little pressure, but no way will it spin freely (see foto 2). Almost seems (and looks) like on the passenger side it has a rubber coating on the inside. What's up with that?

B) I just can't remember to raise the door a tad if I need to loosen the bolts holding the hinges to the door or the bolts holding the hinges to the body (see fotos 3 & 4) or all of 'em. How do I proceed? Thank you.

 

[Ron H]

A view of the door closed might inform more; having adjusted doors it can be tricky as you have a bunch of adjustments that can happen if you start loosening bolts or too much. Doors can sag over years and then the door latch on the door can smack into the post that results in the door rising up a bit to meet the post. Almost always the driver's door is the issue since it get's used the most. A check of the latch in the door is good to make sure it's secure and in good shape. Other possibility is the hinges have become worn causing sagging that would need refurbishing or new hinge. I'd do adjusting with a helper and study the alignment of the door fore-aft and up and down. Messing with it can also result in the position of the door when it's fully shut so watch for that. In my experience be patient and know what the result can be if loosening the bolts. If you have a shop manual it may tell you what adjustments to make. I'd start with the door, not the body bolts. Just crack them slightly loose so you can, with some force, move the position of the door and also mark any movement with a pen at the bolt unless you see the movement (paint removed or metal). Hard to tell you all this here; but study which bolts will cause the direction of the door to move if this makes sense. It looks as though there is no adjustment on the posts (not sure as mine are different that are adjustable). In any case if you see that some door adjusting is needed; only crack the bolts to permit moving the door with some elbow grease...if you loosen too much ya likely got some serious readjusting to do.

 

[Lee Robinson]

A view of the door closed might inform more; having adjusted doors it can be tricky as you have a bunch of adjustments that can happen if you start loosening bolts or too much. Doors can sag over years and then the door latch on the door can smack into the post that results in the door rising up a bit to meet the post. Almost always the driver's door is the issue since it get's used the most. A check of the latch in the door is good to make sure it's secure and in good shape. Other possibility is the hinges have become worn causing sagging that would need refurbishing or new hinge. I'd do adjusting with a helper and study the alignment of the door fore-aft and up and down. Messing with it can also result in the position of the door when it's fully shut so watch for that. In my experience be patient and know what the result can be if loosening the bolts. If you have a shop manual it may tell you what adjustments to make. I'd start with the door, not the body bolts. Just crack them slightly loose so you can, with some force, move the position of the door and also mark any movement with a pen at the bolt unless you see the movement (paint removed or metal). Hard to tell you all this here; but study which bolts will cause the direction of the door to move if this makes sense. It looks as though there is no adjustment on the posts (not sure as mine are different that are adjustable). In any case if you see that some door adjusting is needed; only crack the bolts to permit moving the door with some elbow grease...if you loosen too much ya likely got some serious readjusting to do.

 

[Lee Robinson]

I concur with above post. If the door moves up and down when open,
it is most likely that your hinges need to be rebuilt. If it is tight when opened the likely cause of the droop is misalignment in the hinges. If the front top of the door is level with the top of fender you will need to loosen
bottom hinge and maybe one or two bolts at the top. Leave at least one
top bolt tight or you will loose everything. It may also help to remove
striker from jamb and align the door to the 1/4 panel. When door is adjusted, re-install striker to match the alignment of door. It is helpful
to have a helper when doing this. Door alignment is usually a pain in the
***. If door is raised you may have to do a readjustment at bottom of fender to get door and fender gap right.

 

[Ron H]

yeah...lol, or maybe not, this job is carefully "sequential" in my experience as you have so many directions the door can go from bad to worse if you don't take your time. When I was futzing around with my door (due to new lattice sealing that was off spec) the post came loose after many door closings to adjust and damaged my door latch. Ended up finding a replacement latch luckily for cheap that ended my woes...