Door alignment problem on 29 CCPU

[wrndln]

I am reassembling the cab on my 29 CCPU after the welding and bodywork were done. The wood from Classic Wood in NC left much to be desired. I had to do a lot of trimming in a number of spots and adding some wood. Most of the wood fitting is done now after a lot of work. I am at a place where I am reinstalling the doors. The problem I have is the passenger side door has a 1/16” gap at the bottom where it appears there should be about 1/4” overlap for the door to the sheetmetal panel behind the door. I am attaching a picture of the gap. It is a little difficult to see in the picture. The top of the door has 1/4” overlap, which appears correct. The door opening on the cab is 28 1/2” at the top and the bottom. The door width at the top and bottom is 29”. This would indicate there should be 1/4” door overlap on each side. The overlap on the hinge side is about ½” at the bottom. The second picture shows the 1/2” overlap from the inner edge of the masking tape and the opening. I seems that the only way to make the door fit is to bend the lower hinge on the door or A pillar (maybe both) and maybe the middle hinge. BTW, the driver side door is only slightly better aligned, as the lower part of the door and the sheetmetal are even (no gap), but no overlap like there should be. Any help would be appreciated.
Rusty Nelson

 

[Lawrie]

are you using the repo panels , if so , I had to do a LOT of work on getting the doors to fit ,the A pillar had to be reprofiled to fit the curve of the door, plus a lot of other adjusting, let me know if you want to know more.
Lawrie

 

[wrndln]

Everything is original.
Rusty

 

[Hitman]

Is the cab bolted down to the frame?

 

[wrndln]

The cab is not bolted to the frame, but I plan to do that. I don't see how bolting it to the frame would affect the location of the door at the bottom since the cab opening is correct at 28 1/2". It seems the bottom hinge needs to be bent a little to the rear to move the door to the rear at the bottom.

Rusty

 

[Hitman]

I agree that hinge adjustments will likely get you closer to the solution, we cannot say for sure until it’s on the frame and adjusted. Shimming and bolting onto the frame account for a decent portion of the adjustment. I have a 29 closed cab truck, final fitting to the chassis accounted for a lot of misalignment.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Rusty, have you measured diagonally to see if the door opening is square with the door? I am assuming the belt moulding aligns correctly. My notes show the opening from cowl jamb to the rear panel return (-where it nails to the Jamb Qtr. Lock Pillar wood) is 28¼".

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I agree that hinge adjustments will likely get you closer to the solution, we cannot say for sure until it’s on the frame and adjusted. Shimming and bolting onto the frame account for a decent portion of the adjustment. I have a 29 closed cab truck, final fitting to the chassis accounted for a lot of misalignment.

Think about this though, all of the bodies were assembled first and then set onto a chassis. There was not any fitting or shimming done after the body was bolted to the frame.

 

[rotorwrench]

Ford and the subcontractors had wonderful jigs to aid in body assembly. I'm sure that they all fit well due to the precision of those jigs. Any extra work to fit things together was not condoned for any length of time.

After they have been well used with little repairs here and there over time then all bets are off for a quick assembly.

 

[Hitman]

Think about this though, all of the bodies were assembled first and then set onto a chassis. There was not any fitting or shimming done after the body was bolted to the frame.

At a factory with factory ensured quality control for panel stamping, wood manufacturing and other things, with body jigs and all brand new parts. These haven't been factory assembled since mid-1930.

 

[nkaminar]

Without the factory jigs it is difficult to get things aligned. However it will help to bolt it to the frame. It may be different for a pickup, but for my Fordor I was able to align the hood and the doors by adjusting the number of rubber pads between the frame and the body. First thing I did after the body came off was to make sure the frame was straight. It was.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

At a factory with factory ensured quality control for panel stamping, wood manufacturing and other things, with body jigs and all brand new parts. These haven't been factory assembled since mid-1930.

Without the factory jigs it is difficult to get things aligned. However it will help to bolt it to the frame. It may be different for a pickup, but for my Fordor I was able to align the hood and the doors by adjusting the number of rubber pads between the frame and the body. First thing I did after the body came off was to make sure the frame was straight. It was.

Now boys, all a jig does is speed-up the assembly process. Think about this, ...the first one had to be assembled without a jig, -and therefore we generally don't use a jig. Matter of fact, we often re-wood orphan car bodies where there is not a kit nor any prints to even fabricate a fixture to assemble from. What we have found over the years is most coachwork is very similar between marques.

In the case of a CCPU, you only need a flat surface. It doesn't need to be a frame, and sometimes it is better if it is not a frame. Use a string method strung diagonally to level the boards like in the first picture below. Then work off of that. We always work off of sheetmetal dimensions and not wood dimensions. The sheetmetal is what it is, but the wood can be adjusted or fabricated to it accordingly. Don't ever get caught up in believing that it takes a jig to make it perfect. IMHO, it just takes patience.


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[Hitman]

That's correct that jigs were used to speed up the assembly process while removing the trial and error that we go through as non-factory restorers. They were also used to quickly identify and eliminate improperly manufactured parts that would have slowed the manufacturing down or affected the assembly. Assembling the OP's cab with a jig would have quickly identified the issue. Of course, factory jigs don't exist anymore.

Yes, these cabs can be assembled on a flat surface, without the frame. I did mine that way, and it mounted perfectly once I assembled it to the restored chassis. I took my cab further apart than the one you showed in your pictures, and assembled it off of the sheetmetal, with no adjustments to the wood when I assembled mine.

Most (not all) concrete floors have imperfections, low spots, high spots, and are slopped to drain out a door. As a result you can't automatically assume they're flat and suitable for assembly of the cab. I recommend a frame that is verified for straightness and alignment. Preferably the one it's going to eventually be mated to. That serves as the ideal base to fit the cab to and correct the issues. Even though manufactured homes are factory built, they still require adjustments on site to get level.

I'd suspect the issue here, or where I'd start, is the wood across the top of the doors. The pieces that tie the front header to the back header/panel piece. Make sure they're the correct length. The next thing I'd check are the hinges on the cowl and door for straightness. Are your cab corner panels new reproductions or originals? There are well known issues with the Howell's cab corners, a nice start, but need adjustment to fit. I'd fit the cab to the frame, unbolt the wood pieces across the tops of the doors that I mention above, then bolt the cab to the frame on the body blocks. Check the door opening on the cab for squareness.

Let us know how it goes. Don't be afraid to ask for measurements from others that have done this before and have examples to measure.