hanging unloaded doors?

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cudascott

cudascott

It’s a sickness!
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Hey all,
I'm hanging the doors on my 67' FB barracuda and they are empty
and I have a few questions for those of you who have done it.
Do I need to leave them a little high to allow for the weight of the
hardware and window glass? If so how much? does anyone know
about how much all the hardware and glass would weigh? and what size gap would I expect to have at the bottom?
thanks Scott
 
It's true. The weight will pull them down a little bit. Without any latches close the door and apply several pounds of downward force to get an idea of flex.
 
I did apply a little down force on the top of the doors and they do go down but that is force in one spot the hardware would be spread out over the whole door. I guess I could just lay the hardware inside the doors close to where it would go? I do appreciate all the help
 
I wouldn't hang the doors without renewed hinges.
If the hinges are renewed there wont be enough movement to worry about.
 
why would you hang the doors without the hardware? cut in the jam's and paint all of the inside of the door and install all of the hardware and then adjust the door to be right, mask and paint the car,,,Yay no chance of scratching the paint and already aligned????
 
waggin said:
why would you hang the doors without the hardware? cut in the jam's and paint all of the inside of the door and install all of the hardware and then adjust the door to be right, mask and paint the car,,,Yay no chance of scratching the paint and already aligned????
Click to expand...
Sound advice.
 
waggin said:
why would you hang the doors without the hardware? cut in the jam's and paint all of the inside of the door and install all of the hardware and then adjust the door to be right, mask and paint the car,,,Yay no chance of scratching the paint and already aligned????
Click to expand...

The very first process should be aligning all sheet-metal (including adding or subtracting mettle to correct poor factory gaps).

That is, if you want a very nice car vs just a car with a new paint job.
 
X2,Doing the hinges as I post.Little differences,and the time spent now saves coin in the long run.
 
Here is my 2 cents,

Hang the doors, with new or re-firbished hinges, with latches add some weight to compensate for the windows, regulators etc.

Align the hood with the cowl, now the fun starts, align the fenders.

Spend the rest of the afternoon adjusting the doors and fenders.
 
I don't know how many of these folk have hung doors before but I will tell you from recent experience that hanging a unloaded door will not align properly once complete! The weight really isn't as much of an issue. The vent glass will be the real issue! I cut my doors in off the car bare and hung them after cutting in the jambs. Added the glass, regulator and other hardware. As soon as I adjusted the vent window frame and tightened the allen bolt inside the door and tried to shut the door it was all out of wack!! These doors are flemsy as hell without the allen bolt in place for the vent window frame!

Also be sure to have the car down on its suspension too! I had mine up on jackstands and that screwed the alignment up as soon as I removed the stands.
 
sireland67 said:
Align the hood with the cowl, now the fun starts, align the fenders.

Spend the rest of the afternoon adjusting the doors and fenders.
Click to expand...

Wrong! Doors first! They must be aligned to the quarters and rockers first. Then install the hood and align it with the cowl. Fenders come last. You would play hell adjusting the hinges on the doors with the fenders installed! All the gaps from the factory sucked anyway. Unless you are doing a custom job there is no point in fighting with the gaps. Get you a couple of large carpenters pencils and use them to get the gap for the quarter to door and door to rocker. That is real close to factory specs. Once these gaps are obtained then install the striker and adjust accordingly.

Ask me how I know or just look in my thread in my sig.
 
CUUDAK said:
Wrong! Doors first! They must be aligned to the quarters and rockers first. Then install the hood and align it with the cowl. Fenders come last. You would play hell adjusting the hinges on the doors with the fenders installed! All the gaps from the factory sucked anyway. Unless you are doing a custom job there is no point in fighting with the gaps. Get you a couple of large carpenters pencils and use them to get the gap for the quarter to door and door to rocker. That is real close to factory specs. Once these gaps are obtained then install the striker and adjust accordingly.

Ask me how I know or just look in my thread in my sig.
Click to expand...

Correct. The forgiveness is found at the cowl end radius where fender, door, and cowl, all come together. The models that have a header panel in front of the hood are the most fun. Getting all 4 lines around the hood very pretty will result in more difference in those 2 forgiveness areas left and right.
 
Awsome thanks for all the help with my questions And yes I want this car to be straight and not just throw a paint job on it, I have already hung all the sheetmetal for checking alignment and the gaps all look good hood is fantastic all the way around. Just wanted to know where to put the doors
for good after I cut everything in, mabye I should at least install the vent wing window? thanks again for all your guys help
 
I'm sure you'll get it better than the factory ever did. Body lines from rear to front first, then side glasses to weaterstrips front to rear. I've found that the quarter glass align was the most difficult. Best save that glass to glass match for last. Conquer those wind noises and/or water leaks before installing any interior trim. Happy moparing
 
cudascott said:
Hey all,
I'm hanging the doors on my 67' FB barracuda and they are empty
and I have a few questions for those of you who have done it.
Do I need to leave them a little high to allow for the weight of the
hardware and window glass? If so how much? does anyone know
about how much all the hardware and glass would weigh? and what size gap would I expect to have at the bottom?
thanks Scott
Click to expand...

Should be around 25LB or so.
 
It sounds crazy but there are legitimate reasons to hang and align empty door shells - before and after paint - including compensation for weight of the glass/hardware. There's a lot of extra weight with all the hardware and even with fresh hinges they will want to droop at the rear - albeit very slightly.

Examples: Empty shells are much easier to work with during a build mockup. I had to add material to a donor door edge in one spot to correct a gap issue where it meets the rear quarter and jamb that were also replaced. My car was also painted in pieces. The doors were later hung (empty) and the hardware re-installed - much easier than hanging and adjusting a fully loaded door. You may still have to make minor adjustment. With that being said, I didn't have to deal with quarter windows so your experience may be vastly different.
 
70duster440 your car is sweet! I rebuilt the hinges already with new bushings in the uppers and oversized pins in the lowers. I really appreciate all the help
 
I smell the burnt hair from over thinking in the post... Just hang the f'ing door and be done with it...
 
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