Doors and body lines

[Akjoatmon]

Hello,
I thought I might ask advice before doing something too crazy. I am trying to line up my doors and front fenders with the top of the rear quarters. Both my doors are pretty much square between the pillars, but both doors are low compared to the top of the rear quarters (maybe 1/8”). The rear quarters and B pillars are original, new body mounts and the A pillars and front clip not yet welded in yet, so I haves options. I could raise the A pillars beyond the recommended door measurements, try to increase the range of the A pillars upward adjustment or try jacking up the rear body mounts with shims? All of these seem a little crazy. My other question would be should the top of the rear quarters from the taillight to the door and rear of the front fenders make a straight/level line? Thanks

 

[DirtDonk]

Is the bottom gap between the door and rocker panel also square? If not, you could shim the lower hinge and get the rear up a bit.
But if it’s already square all the way around, raising the door and increasing the lower gap might be your only option.
But are you saying the front of the door lines up with the fender? If so, you might have to raise the door anyway, then shim the fender up to match.

Got any pictures you can share?

 

[Akjoatmon]

The lower door to rocker is square, but the gap is tight. As far as the door to fender that depends on my question about how level the rear quarter, door and front fender so be. A level line from the top of the rear quarter puts the front fender quite high. I wish I could copy and paste a photo but it doesn’t seem to work.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, this forum will not allow direct uploading of photos to the discussion if you’re not a contributor.
For $12 a year though, it’s not a bad deal for being able to troubleshoot problems.
However, in the meantime, you can upload them to an image hosting site and then post the link to them. Or you can even use your forum “garage“ and “gallery“ functions here.
In a pinch you can also email them to me and I can post them up.
Which reminds me. I was going to do that in another discussion and haven’t done it yet.

 

[Akjoatmon]

However I really don’t know how high the front fender should be. I could adjust the front fender and hood so the top body line was level, but I would need to raise the door. If there was a slight angle between the door and the front fender, ie. raise the back body mounts, then the front of the door and fender would be closer.

 

[DirtDonk]

The bed rail line is flat to the door top, but the fender is a wildcard sometimes.
You can use the body molding line as your straight line though. Should be equal all the way across.
Since the lower gap is tight, my choice would be to raise the doo. And then see how the front corner matches.

 

[DirtDonk]

There have been several discussions over the past few months that had some great input from member James Roney about just how to square up things like the windshield frame, cowl area, A-pillars, and front fenders. I don’t have a link to those discussions, but you might be able to find them.
Maybe James will pop in and lead us to those discussions as well.
Or add something more pertinent to your specific questions.

 

[m_m70]

The lower door to rocker is square, but the gap is tight.

I'd raise the door. If you plan on using any weather stripping it will help.


This helped me out. You may already have it but it may help someone else.........



and this....

 

[Akjoatmon]

First I want to thank everyone for their assistance.

As I mentioned my doors each needed to come up a bit to line up with the bed rail but I was at the limit off my upward adjustment of the hinges at the a pillers. So today I decided to compare my aftermarket A pillars to the originals and sure enough the adjustment holds on the aftermarket pillars are 3/16 to a 1/4 lower than the originals as measured from the shoulder that hits the cowl and limits your ability to move the pillar higher. So I ether need to enlarge the adjustment holes, cut away that shoulder or I may try to salvage the originals. Fun stuff.

 

[DirtDonk]

We’ll go figure. Yet another body panel imported misfit.
I know even Ford wasn’t all that careful with fit and finish on Broncos either. But at least they got it together most of the time.

 

[1buckeyefan1]

It's wise to seek advice before making any major adjustments to your vehicle. Ensuring that your doors and body lines align properly is essential for both aesthetics and functionality. While your options may seem a bit daunting, taking the time to carefully consider each one can lead to the best outcome.

Is it me or does this post smell like a AI bot? I checked the previous 4 posts and they have spam links, etc.

 

[m_m70]

Is it me or does this post smell like a AI bot? I checked the previous 4 posts and they have spam links, etc.

yeah I looked at the last posts that were posted by Blaketincef and while the subject was about lift, Blaketincef posted links to a Chinese elevator (lift) company.......so not a real person.