door adjustment

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Abodysrule

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I have a '67 dart. My driver door is slightly too low in the rear, but otherwise gaps are good, lines are good. I just want to raise the rear of the door upward a few mm, not in or out. Do I loosen the top hinge only to adjust this, and if so, pillar or door half? I don't want to loosen any bolts I don't have to, it is a minor adjustment, but important as the door is too low at the back end. Passenger door is perfect. These are new hinges, got the car painted recently, just need this last adjustment.

Thanks all.
 
FSM recommends moving the striker post up to achieve a slight lift to the door. I’d suggest trying this before loosening the bolts from inside the car and moving the top hinge

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If its only a few millimetres Id have a crack at the striker as Cal said, once you loosen the hinge ( at the body ) you are committed...sometimes its not that fun
 
You can bend it back up carefully.

Block of wood under rear corner of door frame, 1" x 4" wood on top of the rocker panel, remove your sill plate first so you don't bend it.

6' long pry bar and carefully lift the rear of the door up, checking the fit as you go. Need to be careful not to bend the outter door skin or door frame, or the rocker panel pry point area.

This basically bends the door frame hinge area back up to spec. Have done on multiple vehicles where the doors have sagged over time, minor adjustment.
 
Cal Tonsley said:
FSM recommends moving the striker post up to achieve a slight lift to the door. I’d suggest trying this before loosening the bolts from inside the car and moving the top hinge.

View attachment 1715537733
View attachment 1715537732
Click to expand...
Maybe they meant to print "post" but it does read "plate". If weigh of the door is on the latch post the sheet metal post is in will crack. We've seen it many times.
"Lowering outer end of door moves lower part of door into door opening". Whut? LOL
I go at it with my carpenters hat on. The door closes aligned the jamb/opening before the hardware, in this case latch post, is installed. The big difference is the carpenter can adjust the jamb/opening. Our only adjustment is at the door hinges. Those bolts are challenge to access. The assembly line workers would hang/align the doors before the fenders were installed. We put much more attention and time into such details than they ever did. Good luck with it.
 
Thank you, but that is my issue, the latch mechanism is resting on the striker when closed, the door needs to be raised about 1/8". I don't want to rely on the latch/striker to hold the door in position, as it wears on the striker over time.
 
...I guess I never had a car with the striker lifting the door. The other side doesn't do this and thus closes much more smoothly and quietly. But you're right, the FSM says so right there....still I'd like to lift the rear corner of the door slightly. The door adjustment description in the FSM is not very clear, at least to me.
 
...actually that bit about the striker lifting the door is for Coronet models, that's a different striker, the Dart section doesn't say to do that..
 
George Jets said:
You can bend it back up carefully.

Block of wood under rear corner of door frame, 1" x 4" wood on top of the rocker panel, remove your sill plate first so you don't bend it.

6' long pry bar and carefully lift the rear of the door up, checking the fit as you go. Need to be careful not to bend the outter door skin or door frame, or the rocker panel pry point area.

This basically bends the door frame hinge area back up to spec. Have done on multiple vehicles where the doors have sagged over time, minor adjustment.
Click to expand...
 
Wow, I wouldn't have considered bending the sheet metal of the door to adjust it....
 
RedFish said:
Maybe they meant to print "post" but it does read "plate". If weigh of the door is on the latch post the sheet metal post is in will crack. We've seen it many times.
"Lowering outer end of door moves lower part of door into door opening". Whut? LOL
I go at it with my carpenters hat on. The door closes aligned the jamb/opening before the hardware, in this case latch post, is installed. The big difference is the carpenter can adjust the jamb/opening. Our only adjustment is at the door hinges. Those bolts are challenge to access. The assembly line workers would hang/align the doors before the fenders were installed. We put much more attention and time into such details than they ever did. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
 
Agreed, it is tricky. I actually aligned them perfectly before sending to the body shop. They readjusted this side when they were doing the body work, I suppose to make their lines easier to get aligned. They weren't as meticulous as me...and yes, you're right those bolts for the upper hinge inside the pillar are a beast!
 
George Jets said:
You can bend it back up carefully.

Block of wood under rear corner of door frame, 1" x 4" wood on top of the rocker panel, remove your sill plate first so you don't bend it.

6' long pry bar and carefully lift the rear of the door up, checking the fit as you go. Need to be careful not to bend the outter door skin or door frame, or the rocker panel pry point area.

This basically bends the door frame hinge area back up to spec. Have done on multiple vehicles where the doors have sagged over time, minor adjustment.
Click to expand...
 
I was pondering this bend the door strategy. Besides the obvious pitfalls you mention, it also would seem to be susceptible to the door resagging over time, i.e. the bends made simply unbend due to the door's weight and change in how the door hinge is held. Seems like this would work better when lowering a door, i.e. the metal is stretched rather than compressed, better tension to hold it in place. Not sure I'll try this technique, but I appreciate your creativity.
 
Agreed, you have to put yourself back in the '60's, perhaps we need to take LSD before reading it...

I would think for my particular situation, one would loosen the upper hinge bolts only on the pillar side leaf of the hinge, not the door side leaf. Lift the back end of the door up, then tighten the bolts. it may put a bit of tension on the hinges, but I think that is OK. This would seem to be the simplest solution, but I wanted to check with anyone who may have done it.
 
I loosened the bottom hinge bolts on the door and inserted a couple of shims under the hinge and tightened the bolts back up. I also had my drivers side door not aligning properly when trying to close the door. I would have to lift and close to stop the banging of the striker against the post.
 
Thanks Guys. My intuition was correct. I opened the door about half-way, carefully put a motorcycle jack under it, perfectly parallel with the bottom edge of the door. The jack has a rubber top so no way it'll scratch the paint. I raised the jack to just support the door. Put a piece of masking tape on the back edge of the door and measure distance to ground. I then loosened the 3 upper hinge bolts on the pillar side leaf of the hinge. Then I raised the jack a tad higher than needed, accounting for a bit a sag. This was about 3/8" total. Tighten the bolts. Release the jack - voila! All other alignments stayed "as is" this worked perfectly.
IMG_0631.jpg
 
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