Door Post Reveal

mountinpie

mountinpie

Member
Ok, I'm confused on the doors of this '30 Tudor. I'm fitting the body, doors, etc. to start thinking about paint, but having trouble with the reveals between the doors and post. My understanding is that I need to get those right first, then shim the body as needed to adjust the door alignment, belt, etc. Once that's done, I can move to the hood. I'd rather not bend hinges, etc. but I want to get it right.

On the driver's side, the reveal is a consistent 3/16-1/4" from top to bottom, but the back of the door is too low when compared to the belt line. My thought is to let the reveal alone and shim under the cowl post to raise the back of the door.

On the passenger side, I'm getting a little over 1/4" on the top, but pinching down to about 1/8" or less at the bottom (see attached pic). The good or bad news on this side is that the belt line looks good when the door is closed.

Any thoughts on how to get the passenger door reveal consistent? How big should the reveal be in the first place? Maybe I need to close all reveals to about 1/8" by adding shims to the hinges on both doors?
 

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first you need to make the door fit the door post with a good gap. by bending the hinges if needed. than you start shimming the body to fit the rear of the door.
 
Pass side loosen cowl mounting bolts, install shims rising the front of the cowl. Drivers side more of the same except cowl and mounts back to rear of door, all equally. Before you get to far along install your hood and due it all at the same time! Your frame may be bent, alot of threads on that. Right down what you add and or remove so you could go back the way it was before you start. Be prepared for a work out ��
 
Thanks Hammer, but my understanding was that shimming the cowl would only "tilt" the back of the door up/down and not adjust the gap between the door and the post?
 
mountinpie you are correct. to make the door fit the cowl ( door post ) you need to bend the hinges once you get that lined up with a good gap then you can start shim the body,
 
Could bending the hinges result in binding doors? If so, how do I prevent that? If bending the hinges is necessary, what's the best way to do it? Sorry for all of the questions, I just want to get it right. Thanks!
 
depending on how far off you are. sometimes I have to remove the hinge and bend it in a press. or if they are not to bad I have a tool just for bending the hinges. you can try a small deep well socket put a wire though it and put in the hinge and close the door.
 
jw hash said:
depending on how far off you are. sometimes I have to remove the hinge and bend it in a press. or if they are not to bad I have a tool just for bending the hinges. you can try a small deep well socket put a wire though it and put in the hinge and close the door.
Click to expand...

My 29 Tudor hinges are so tough that if I tried this, it would bend the door or A pillar.
I do have a bent hinge on the right because it looks like someone let the wind whip it wide open.:eek:
 
When you stated reveal I was thinking belt line and I didn't look closely at your picture. I have since taken your picture and turned it right side up zooming in on the gap. It looks to me that the area on the cowl, under the hinge, the material has grown grown into the gap. This maybe from past cowl repair? If you remove the lower hinge pin, I wonder if your door will move and get you more of a gap? A 1/16th here and there soon adds up. If the cowl was damaged in the past, maybe the hinge was also damaged? Good luck and keep us posted on your progess!
 
The hinges that attach to the post appear to curve toward the rear of the car which leaves a gap between the door panel and the hinge. Would flipping that half of the hinge resolve this problem? It may also resolve the problem with the large gap between the door and the post. If these are supposed to curve toward the rear, do I bend the hinge at this existing bend, basically straightening it out? Thanks!
 

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OK, so based on what I'm seeing, the hinges are installed correctly, I just need to bend all six of them to close the gap between the door and the post. That gap should be about 1/16"?
 
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