bj7 door alignment

[anthony7777]

i still have my rebuild engine and trans. out of my 1963 bj7, along with three boxes of new parts just waiting to be installed, the cars up on jack stands so i could do a small weld in patch on the right rear section of the frame a place that a p.o. had jacked up the car and left a ding in the inside lower corner that had some rust forming about 3-1/2" long, no big deal, i think ive mentioned before that the rear top of my passenger door is about 1/2" lower then the top of the right rear fender, ive shimmed the door hinges to raise it to be even but it just made the gaps around the door look like heck, the frame is very straight so i suspect the problem may involve the "A" pillar, any idea how to address this problem before plugging in sawsalls, cutting torches, air chisles, etc would be welcome.

 

[AUSMHLY]

Hi Anthony,

I believe panels should be fit when the car is resting on all four wheels. Maybe with the engine and trany in? Other should jump in on that guess.

A half inch is a lot. I would assume the sway line is off also?
Could you post a photo showing the door hung?

 

[GregW]

Hi Anthony,
I don't recall you mentioning the door being low, was that an issue when you bought the car? Adjusting the hinge pillar would have the same effect on the door gaps that shimming the hinge does. Are you sure the rear fender isn't too high? Try measuring from the outrigger inside the cockpit to the top of the fender on each side to see if it's the same. Couldn't hurt to do some diagonal measurements either.

 

[stevebn2bj7]

Were the sills replaced? If so, was the frame jigged properly?

 

[anthony7777]

ausmhly, yes the car should be sitting on all four wheels and have the engine and trans in place, i didnt want them in place yet in case some cutting and welding is needed, im going to make up a steel frame in the shape of a "t" that will be bolted to the two engine mounts and trans. mount then load it with weights to simulate the eng. trans. installed, gregw, il do those measurements next, steven2bj7, pictures will follow, its hard to see yet if the sills have been replaced since alot of the frame/chassis is still covered in that black rust proofing, wanted to remove it this morning but woke minutes ago to a nasty soar throat, thanks guys, ill be back with more.

 

[Randy Forbes]

... im going to make up a steel frame in the shape of a "t" that will be bolted to the two engine mounts and trans. mount then load it with weights to simulate the eng. trans.

Do you really feel that would be easier than to temporarily put the eng/trans back in the car; seems like a lot of extra work to me?

Personally, I feel it would be better to manipulate the door (or door skin only) to match the opening than to modify any of the pillars to match the door. Who's to say which is right and which is wrong?

 

[vette]

hello Anthony, If all else is good at other areas of the car then my first thought would be that the problem is localized at that right door and fender. But...you must make sure your fram is not bowed. Then again if your left door is not a problem then if it is the frame it might be atributable to something like a hard jolt to the right rear portion of the car which might have tweaked just the right rear frame. So check that stuff over real good.
Here is something I would tend to believe. If the frame has bowed because of the classic situation whereby the rear axle was pounding on its snubber pads a few too many times,... Then I believe the gap at the top area of the door to rear fender joint would be closed up alot. You do see this on some cars where the gap is closed up enough to chip the paint, etc. BUT!! If this is the mechanism of force that occured, I don't believe the fender would be pushed up higher. At least not by much. Just the gap would be closed up. To push the fender higher, you would need a force applied vertically almost right below where it is higher. Maybe in a situation where you ran off the road and landed on the crown of a ditch or on a large rock. So If neither of these mechanisms of force appear to have occured, I suspect that there is just pieces not mounted correctly. Make sure that there has not been some previous metal and body work that was aligned poorly. One such component that comes to mind is the rocker panel. After I had done some considerable work on my car, including a new latch pillar and near completion of the rear fender, i went to install the rocker panel and realized that I had put the latch pillar in too low. Here is the sequence of events that I believe at this point is the best way to get things where they belong. Hang the door, then the front fender, then match them exactly as you believe they belong. then the rocker, next the latch pillar and finally the rear fender. In your case, if everything is solid, and you find nothing else wrong, then I would try to gently hammer and dolly the door curviture to match the fender. Just open up the radius of the door curve alittle to raise the top edge.
---- Oh, one more point, make sure that the fender is not mounted too high on the shroud. And could the fender be tilted just alittle with its front upper most point tilted up.
Cheers.

 

[BlueRidge1]

Anthony,
If it is a 1/2 " lower than the top of the fender I would think it would not even close. Does the bottem of the door overlap the rocker panel? Have you removed or rased the latch on the rear post? How is the fit with the front fender? You may have to make adjustments to the front fender and you can make adjustments to the door hinges by tweaking them in a vise. Just a slight amount of either compressing the hinges or bending them out makes quite a difference. My door was out in the opposite direction and by moving the fender and compressing the hinge I accomplished acceptable results. Take into consideration that when you add the finishing plates the furflex and the interior it changes the fit a little. I thought I had mine fitting perfectly until I added all the finishing bits. Good Luck

Bob

 

[Ed Kaler]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Do you really feel that would be easier than to temporarily put the eng/trans back in the car; seems like a lot of extra work to me?[/QUOTE]

I am TOTALLY with Randy here, Anthoney!!!

Besides, you have to SPREAD your 'fake' weight out inorder to match the motor & tranny weight!!!

PITA. Put the lump in.



Ed

 

[anthony7777]

gents, this all great stuff, im looking at having to align the body panels on both the bj7 and the 100m, and very possibly a third healey (the deal is still in the works) so building my "t" weight frame may be worth the effort, i dont think distribution of the weight required will be at all a problem, i can use body building weights or wooden boxes filled with wet sand etc, ive still got this nasty cold and dont want to go into the shop yet to take pictures or measurements but will in another day or so, i did notice that on all healeys the front of the frame under about the area the toe boxes end takes a bit of an upward angle, if this piece of the frame is bent too far upward it would also give the door problem im having.

 

[vette]

Anthony, If I understand the parts of the frame that you are talking about I think you are refering to the front outriggers. They are manufactured with a taper to the outside point of attachment to the sills. But the top horizontal surface of these out riggers should be near straight. (no taper). If the outer point is bent up, you would see the bending in your inner sills, (behind the rockers). These sills should be straight across their top edge.