36 coupe door alignment question

L

lodown2003

Member
does anyone out there have any tricks on how to align the pass door to the body,so the accent lines line up to the body. door sags toward the rear.do you think by installing the latch abd striker assy it would bring this up. . want to get every thing lined up before paint. door hinges look in good shape. this is driving me nuts.
 
You are going to have to place a shim under the cowl near the rear most body mount hole. This will allow the door post to raise to the proper angle so your door fits. You will need to loosen the body bolts in the area enough to slide the appropriate rubber bisquit in there.
 
roadster is right, you are going to have to shim it like they do the model a's, rubber shim between the frame and body, its trial and error till you get the right combinations of shims
 
A couple of things to check before you start shimming.

Is the bottom of the door, where the hinge is welded solid? Any weakness here will allow the door to sag.

Same question for the bottom of the cowl where the hinge is screwed to the body.

The top hinge and body are usuall "solid" but it's worth checking.

If the space around the front edge of the door to the body varies it could indicate the source of sagging or if the body mounting surfaces have been stressed/bent causing mis-alighment. Picture a 50 pound kid using the door for a swing.

If everything is solid, loosen the bottom 3 screws, tap a flat bladed screwdriver (better to try a thin putty knife) behind the bottom hinge and check the alignment.
 
Loosen chassis bolts along that side: cowl front, cowl along where front of door meets chassis... that is where to put shim, and maybe the next body bolt toward the rear from the front door post. Then lift body slightly to insert shim at bolt nearest front door post. Then tighten the FRONT most cowl bolt first to raise the back of the door. If not enough, add more shim. When alignment is what you want, then tighten up the door post and remaining chassis bolts. Remember to tighten the front first as that forces the back of the door to pivot up into alignment.
Hope this helps.
Keep working,
Al
 
Hold up on the shimming bit .Hold the handle down and close the door up to touching the stricker plate Now check the gap along the front of the door to the cowl.it should be even from top to bottom .likely it is wide at the top and or tight at the bottom.if it is either it is a hinge adjustments that are needed .Take Toms advice and adjust the door from the hinges .Let us know the gaps then I can give some fast cuts.Johnny.
 
lodown-

This may not be a major problem and possibly can be fixed in seconds. In many cases Ford used off-set dovetails to align the doors with body accent lines. This was done during production. A case in point is my '35 coupe. The body has never been separated from the frame nor has it undergone major body damaged. Both doors align perfectly with the body and close like a refrigerator. Here is the important part, it has factory installed off-set dovetails. If you remove the dovetails and replaced them with the normal, garden-variety type of dovetails, the doors will no longer align. If you get a chance check Ford's "Automotive Hardware and Trimming Supplies" book it shows pictures and part numbers for off-set dovetails. Now the "bad" news. To the best of my knowledge, no one is reproducing these off-set dovetails so, you may need to be creative.

At any rate, I would definitely begin by changing the dovetails before I would start pulling things apart and start shimming the body.

Tom
 
What flathead fan is saying is right, because once you start lifting the cowl you can start to make all of your front sheet metal begin to lose alignment( this could also correct the alignment if the front is out), but remember everything you do affects other areas as well. Ford 1 said it above, it is trial and error to get the right combination that your car needs. Are you positive there is no wear in the hinge pins. Check this by lifting hard on the door when it is nearly closed, if you have the door wide open the pins are now at right angles to the rest of the hinge and this could take up any slack in the hinge.
 
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