Fixing a mis-aligned door opening - could this work?

[landshark99]

I just acquired my 69 recently and the previous owner replaced most of the panels (awesome) so no rust. However there is a major fitment issue with the passenger door.

I have messed around with it some and as the PO used some shims on the lower hinge to get the door to close I increased them a bit more to allow it to close easier... the problem is its still not closing properly or anywhere close to it. There is a huge gap at the rear of the door from top to bottom and it binds some at the window hinge/door hinge area if i try to align it properly. basically the door hangs too low near the latch. I dont think shimming will solve this problem as I have almost 1/4" of shims on the lower hinge.

I have been thinking on how to solve this issue and have an idea. I was thinking of taking the fender off, loosening the front passenger body mount and using a highlift jack or bottle jack with a metal plate/rod to open the top of the passenger side door opening a bit. I dont think it needs much, maybe less than 1/4" to spread it open. I believe this would solve the door fitment issue and one other problem, the window hinge leak. The front hinge isn't closing on the rubber seal that sandwiches between it..

has anyone attempted this? if i leave the top on and loosen things up this theoretically should work, i was thinking of using the cage inside the bronco so the rear door post doesn't crease...

My handy dandy illustration...

The yellow arrow is the opening i want to increase, the circle is the window hinge seal that isn't sandwiched and the other arrow is the movement the door needs to make to properly close and be aligned.. basically the top hinge needs to go forward.

Thoughts?

 

[Devin]

Landshark, my thought was actually using shims on both of the hinges, not just the bottom one. That was going to be my next attempt.

Also, I rebuilt the door hinges on this thing some time back, and I often wondered (after this door problem presented itself) if perhaps I didn't get the bronze inserts aligned properly. I did drill the holes out in an actual drill press, but they could be positioned wrong. Might be something to check.

The other thing that came to mind was that prior to sandblasting this thing, right after I did all of the panel, posts, striker, and floor replacements, the passenger side door was actually lining up better than the drivers side door. However, at that time, I just had the body basically sitting on top of the 2" lift blocks - the body bolts were just put in hand tight. After sandblasting and painting, I assembled the body bolts tight and the passenger door wasn't lining up like it was. It could just be an issue of shimming a body mount.

Just some thoughts. Best of luck.

 

[landshark99]

you know what, the body mount thing had crossed my mind as well.. i dont want to torque the body anymore than i need to.. might be a good idea to start there and see what happens. i might try playing with the body mount right at that door to see what happens..

i know what you mean about the hinges.. i rebuilt mine on the 76 the same way.. i noticed my drivers door is slightly out of whack because of one of the pins..

I was thinking of borrowing some new lift off hinges and see how things aligned on the 69. I will definitely try that before going crazy.

I'm going to finally get it in my garage here soon and play around a bit but will post up ideas in the mean time.. options are good

Landshark, my thought was actually using shims on both of the hinges, not just the bottom one. That was going to be my next attempt.

Also, I rebuilt the door hinges on this thing some time back, and I often wondered (after this door problem presented itself) if perhaps I didn't get the bronze inserts aligned properly. I did drill the holes out in an actual drill press, but they could be positioned wrong. Might be something to check.

The other thing that came to mind was that prior to sandblasting this thing, right after I did all of the panel, posts, striker, and floor replacements, the passenger side door was actually lining up better than the drivers side door. However, at that time, I just had the body basically sitting on top of the 2" lift blocks - the body bolts were just put in hand tight. After sandblasting and painting, I assembled the body bolts tight and the passenger door wasn't lining up like it was. It could just be an issue of shimming a body mount.

Just some thoughts. Best of luck.

 

[Burkulater]

I was going to get the sleeves to repair my passenger door hinge but looks like I may just pick up new hinges now,

Thanks for the tip

As for your problem are you sure the striker was installed at the correct spot

 

[ol gray mare]

My 70 was rolled when I got. It had a similar issue with the drivers door. I used a highlift jack between the rear door post and the cowl/front door post. I put 2X4's on each contact point of the jack to spread the load and avoid crinkling the posts. Measure and add pressure as needed. Be careful not to go too far, cuz it could be pretty difficult to bend it back.