Question about '36 body/frame shim

[Scott/Mn]

I have been following the posts about shimming to get the old Ford body and doors to fit correctly. My '36 coupe has all new body and frame bolts courtesy of Roy Nacewicz. The passenger door fits perfectly. The driver door opens and closes well, but the lower door gap near the running board is a little tight which causes a little paint wear when the car is driven. Is there any way to open this up a little? If so where do I put the shims? The upper door gap is fine. Thanks in advance.

 

[johnny]

Is your prob.with the bottom of the door too close to the running board Or the rear lower part of the door too close to the quater?

 

[richard crow]

how is the gap between the cowl & the front of the door is it wide or close

 

[Scott/Mn]

The problem is that the rear lower part of the door is too close to the quarterpanel. The rest of the door gap is fine; the gap between the front of the door and the cowl is symmetrical. I'm wondering if I should shim up the tail section of the coupe slightly-there are two bolts way in the back. Scott

 

[johnny]

Shimming will not help .If you could move the complete door ahead a little that would help .I would bet that either the lower rear corner of the door has been fixed [patched]or the Quater hsa been messed with to loose the gap in the lower rear coner. John.

 

[jerry grayson]

Could be factory fit!! Automobile makers in 1936 were not as concerned with door gap then as they are now. JMO

 

[Scott/Mn]

The car has no patch panels, also has the original floor. Like Jerry says I might be too much of a perfectionist, but it seemed to be better before I put in the new bolts . I will play around with it a little and add to this thread if I can improve the door fit. Thanks for the comments. Scott

 

[Scott/Mn]

I loosened all the body bolts on the left side of the car, and gently lifted with a floor jack. Drove a wedged shim made from a 3M sanding block into the space foreward the rear body mount and tightened the bolts. This improved the driver lower door fit by about 1/8", still not perfect. As others have said on this forum, body shimming is trial and error.