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Door alignment?

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Nunyas

Nunyas

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I've had my '76 B for almost 2 years now (2yrs in Feb). The entire time I've noticed the drivers door appears to be mis-aligned. I recall reading somewhere that it may be indicative of bad stuff. Anyhow, I took some pics of my car today and decided I'd get a good close up of the problem and ask you guys.

door15mj.jpg


I'm not sure if you see it clearly or not, but the bottom of the door does not flush up with the body of the car. The top seems ok. I also have to push down lightly on the door to be able to open it with ease. Pulling up on the door causes binding in the door lock and prevents me from pulling it open. Is this just a matter of realigning the hinges, or replacing hinge bushing? Or do you guys think there might be something more?
 
When the door's open & you grab it, can you wiggle it up & down - actually get movement that seems to be centered in the hinges?
 
Nunyas, Your striker and reciever plate do have some play in them. Loosen one or the other at a time and find your adjustment. You also may check to see that your door isn't hitting the sill somewhere that could be causing the porb. also. Good Luck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
I can move it, but it doesn't feel like there's any slack/slop in the hinges. In other words, I can move it up and down a bit, but I don't feel the hinge catch like you would feel if you were sliding something around on a loose bolt... make sense?
 
K...then its time to look at adjustment - that can be done at the hinges or striker...I'd start with the striker like suggested above.
 
I have the same condition on my passenger's side door. If you get it adjusted, I would like to hear your impression of the adjustments.
 
Both doors on SWMBO's '64 were mis-aligned thus. Those hinges are sooo over-engineer'd I'd be surprised if they are the culprits. Looks like yours is low and "out" at the striker from the photo, but not by much.
 
When the top gap is alot less than the bottom gap it's a sign of sagging in the car...but by looking at you rocker panels(particularly the seam) that look very good I don't think you have that problem...probably just miss alignment in the stricker/latch. You see alot of weird looking door gaps in MGA's as well....sometimes they look pretty scary.


On a side note I had a 73 Corvette Converitble and the whole frame which goes up the jam where the hinges mount rotted away....you had to lift and slam to close the door ...I only had the car a short time but it was sold to a good home and the entire frame replaced.
 
Jay: I just aligned my door this weekend. There was no blood, sweat, or tears involved. I think it was the most simple adjustment I've ever made on my 'B. The only tool I needed was a #3 philips head screw driver. A #2 might work, but the screws are clearly bigger than that and I didn't want to run the risk of stripping the heads. That said, using the correct size screw driver bit allowed me to get enough torque applied to break them free and slide them around.

I had my doubts at first, but as soon as I loosened the alignment and lock bits (on the car chassis, not the door) all it took was a small tap and I could move them to where I wanted. I did several test closings with the parts a bit loose, before tightening them down. I still had to do it a couple of times as it seems something shifted while I was tightening, but the process was super simple and pain free. A grand total of 5 screws were loosened and tightened. While I was at it I took the time to lube up the mechanism in the door. I can't express the joy I have from this small task. No more binding while opening the door and the thumb push now opens the door as if it were new, and the door even lines up with the body correctly now.

thanks to all that have replied to this thread. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Rob, Sounds like you got it done. So you adjusted the screws on the door jamb? The ones I pictured here? Did you try to move the striker?
 

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the striker... opposite side of the hinges. I'll try and get pics of the bits I adjusted tomorrow for clarification for ya, Jay.
 
Just where are the alignment bits on the chassis? Did you have the car supported when you moved the alighment? and does the door close higher or lower on the strike now?

Bruce /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
I moved the strike, and the "anti burst" plate (Moss #401-395 ... item 117). No chassis support was needed. 3 screws hold the strike and 2 screws hold the "anit burst" plate. Mine were positioned low and out, which explains why I had to push down lightly on the door to open it. I had to move the strike and the plate up and in to get my door to shut flush with the rest of the car's body.

Ya know, just by looking at those items they don't look like they're moveable, but once you loosen the screws you'll see that they are, and that they have a surprisingly large range of adjustment.
 
*AHEM*-- "Looks like yours is low and "out" at the striker from the photo, but not by much."

Good fer you, Nunyas. Shoulda been as easy as you described it. Should close like th' bedroom door. If anyone slams it shut, admonish 'em!
 
yeah... it closes like a dream now too... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I've always considered putting my foot in people's rears when they slam the door... it's not like the thing wieghs a hundred pounds or anything... sheesh... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
d'oh... I forgot to get pics while it was still light out... I'll get pics tomorrow during lunch and post them up ASAP.

sorry 'bout the brain fartage
 
here are the bits that I moved to bring the door into proper alignment... As you can see in the pic, I moved it quite a bit. The piece just above the serial plate was too far down and out, and the striker up top was too far out.
striker7gm.jpg


Side note: I always thought the paint job on my car was a bit of a hack job... after seeing that the catlytic converter decal was painted over (you can barely make it out in the picture above) I almost feel like I could have done a better job with a rattle can...
 
Don't feel bad Rob. Mine looks like someone cut a limb out of a pine tree and dipped it in house paint before smearing it all over the car. New paint is on the list but unfortunately it is low on the list. Thanks for the info on aligning the doors.
JC
 
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