Wood door post alignment jig?

[akforsyth]

Sorry but I have no other way of describing it! Once again I lay in bed thinking about my Bronco and how I’m going to solve a problem. This problem is that once I began tearing into the body it became evident that the PO wasn’t worried about things being square or true. He replaced the kick panels with 1/16 sheet steel and welded everything together (and damn could he weld!). Problem is nothing was square and the door/striker posts are so rotten there was no strength behind them to hold the doors up! I took a butt load of measurements, but soon realized that left and right were drastically different and none were even close to the diagram floating around of the door opening measurements.

That got me thinking tonight as to how I could correct this the easiest. Knowing that the door posts are crucial I am going to have to figure this out. Somewhere in the back of my brain I remember seeing a picture of someone building a body. I think it was one of the reproduction body builders. They had wood “jigs” that that had placed in the door openings and they were using this as a starting point for the alignment.

I am curious if anyone has a set of these that they have used. Interested in hearing if this was worthwhile or not. Also hoping that if it is, someone could trace out the jigs and mail them! I would be more than willing to pay for time, shipping, and expertise!

Cheers!

 

[Rustytruck]

starting from something repaired but not right is really tough. You need a good Bronco to measure from. if you made door jigs you have to deal with Factory part measurement and reproduction parts that are not quite like originals. hopefully you can recruit a nearby Bronco owner to help you. I always though you could make a 1/4 inch plywood backing plate jig to locate the door jamb pieces.

 

[1970 Palmer]

I agree that you are going to be dealing with a lot of different issues all at the same time as Rustytruck pointed out.

I think a fixture is a good idea to hold the multiple pieces during parts fitment.

First Cleeco's are your friend. I mostly use the 1/8" (copper colored) size. It's easy to fill the 1/8" diameter holes when your done with a MIG spot weld.

Since your going to need to work around this proposed fixture, I think you would be better off building it out of 1" square tubing. If you triangulate the fixture between the hinge mounting and the striker mounting it would be very strong, yet easy to work around.

I would also want some temporary structure between the tail gate strikers and the cowl. Again, if triangulated, it becomes very strong.

 

[akforsyth]

Thanks guys. I realize that it’s going to be a lot more work than initially thought but I don’t let that discourage me. I am just waiting for the electrician to run the new 100A service to my shop and I plan on bracing the crap out of the tub. It will all be triangulated and will include braving the dash.

The reason I though of wood instead of metal is in case it draws a bit during welding. It wouldn’t be much but there is a possibility of it not being as accurate given I am no where near a pro welder! From what I am finding in my body, the rear tub has never been touched and is still square so I’m hoping I can work off if it toward the front.

Clecos, vice grips and sheet metal screws have been procured in ridiculous numbers!

I was surfing facebook today and saw that Shannon’s Broncos uses something like what I was picturing, but a little more purpose built for building bodies from scratch. I stole a pic from his page to kinda illustrate it here. He really does build sone sweet looking bodies!

 

[Rustytruck]

building fixture and jigs is great as long as your always using the same parts and suppliers. it gets complicated when you mix old and new parts that just look the same but do not actually measure the same. Shannons Bronco is easier to fixture because all the parts are from the same era. you struggle with the first couple of tubs and build fixtures as you go and adjust them until the doors and tailgate fit properly and go from there. unfortunately the body part vendors come and go and the distributors take whoever is supplying this month. I would have liked to see how Ford fixtured the Bronco and each sub assembly. i doubt they stacked it together like lincoln logs working from the pan out like most of us have to do.

 

[Madgyver]

Best way is mock up parts with the doors that will used on finished vehicle. start with a baseline and screw parts together. hang the doors on and find where adjustments are needed. it's a lot of work but it's that simple. all doors are not created equally.

 

[jmhend]

Best way is mock up parts with the doors that will used on finished vehicle. start with a baseline and screw parts together. hang the doors on and find where adjustments are needed. it's a lot of work but it's that simple. all doors are not created equally.

X2...That is so true