Door alignment issues

[Andre68]

Im having trouble aligning my doors, iv'e searched the web but I seem to be a bit confused. I also have a manual which iv'e read but, again im not too sure.

I took the doors off a while ago to get it ready to paint, I also removed all the weather striping, i tried putting the doors back on, and at first i was having lots of trouble but then I read my manual and so from what i read I put a piece of wood and a jack under the door. unbolted the outside bolts on the upper and lower hinges, jacked it up then tightened the 2 bolts. the door is higher now, but the top comes in too much and the bottom sticks out too much.

I have the opposite issue on the other side.

if anyone can help me out that would be great!!

car is a 68 dodge dart

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Tape paint sticks to the body at the lower corners and the back corners. You may need to double them up. Set the door in place with hinges loose and no strikers.

When you are happy with the location tighten the hinges holding them firmly against the door and body. Two people are needed for this it's a lot easier. This is done with the fenders off.

Once the doors are on and tightened in place after some final adjustments . Then you can install the hood using a string line off the back of the door making the measurement the same on both sides at the front and rear of hood. Then install the fenders.

I had problems with the Duster below. I found the two doors were different lengths from new.I tried to make the gaps the same and thought it was the opening. My son found the door was short on the back lip on the passenger side. On that side the gaps are wider.

That said, measure your doors. The fenders need to be square with the front of the hood. so placement of the doors is critical for all panels to align correctly.

Some fall right into place. Some take a little finesse. This works for me on body reassembly. Have fun it get frustrating on some A-bodies 67-76 due to the straight lines involved. I always block sand and point the lines after the panels are installed.

 

[396 Signet]

Up & down is controlled by hinge to body bolts; in-out controlled by hinge to door bolts. Wood & jack will work or have a helper. Tightening the bolts with just enough friction to allow some movement can help. You did rebuild the hinges if needed?

 

[dodge71demon]

One thing to remember is that when you tighten the bolts it will change the alignment so you will have to figure out how to adjust for that

 

[1968FormulaS340]

Up & down is controlled by hinge to body bolts; in-out controlled by hinge to door bolts.

This is exactly what I was going to post. That's right on the money.


When adjusting I put all the bolts in but just work with two at a time (mostly when the situation allows).

For example: if you are doing "In/Out", all 4 bolts on the door are in but only the top and bottom bolts are tight enough to keep the door from moving.

Loosen the bottom bolt (on the door), rotate the bottom of the door in/out until it lines up with the rocker, then tighten it.

Now, loosen the top. Rotate the top of the door in/out until it lines up with the quarter.

This process may need to be repeated. Use this "Walking" method until things line up.

I like to remove the striker when adjusting a door, hood, or trunk lid. Others may not.

 

[trapster]

Did you by chance take off the front fenders ?

 

[1968FormulaS340]

You align to things that can't be moved. The door gets aligned to the 1/4 and rocker then the fender gets aligned to the door.

 

[cawley]

Those guys are all right. Start with aligning at the quarter & work your way front. Good luck

 

[1968FormulaS340]

One thing to remember, like Oldmanmopar, mentioned with his doors. These are old cars built with the technology of the time.

Production tolerances are nothing like they are now.

I can show you gaps and panel fit on both my wife's 73 Dart (original 90,000 mile car), and my 68 Barracuda (62,000 mile car), that would not be acceptable today, but were perfectly normal for the time.

The only way to get perfectly even and uniform gaps on an old a-body Mopar is to reshape by adding or removing metal.

 

[Andre68]

Cool thanks for all the replies!!!

So the hinges to the pillar control up and down. So that's the 3 bolts on each hinge correct? Or do I only tighten or loosen the 2 that are visible from the outside?

So the bolts to the door from the hinge control in and out? Because the tops to in and the bottom sticks out to much, is this controlled by how much I tighten each bolt? Or do I loosen all bolts to the door top and bottom, get the door where I want it and then tighten them all up? Thanks

 

[cawley]

I would do this with the fenders off it makes it so so much nicer to do & have a friend help if you can. I would start with aligning the door with the cowl & rocker. The bolts on the door control that with the in & out & with a little up & down.Then when you have it where you want it then align the door front to back. I try to align the door to the quarter so there is not any bigger gap than a 1/4 inch. Then you can align the fender to the door. It will take some time but you can get them pretty nice. Ive already spent days on aligning doors. If you have any ?s feel free to pm me good luck