8) The previous owner of my "new" '80 Elky did a job on the doors and the passenger door is misaligned. The gap at the front of the door is about 1/16" while the gap at the rear is about 1/2", and the problem it creates (besides being ugly) is the upper/rear portion of the window doesn't make full contact with the weatherstrip. The gap is visable and will ultimately let in rain, etc. Seems like it should be simple enough to realign the door with washers or the like at the hinges, but I have no experience in this area and would appreciate the benefit of your expertise.

PS: I just sold my 77, 305-2b, auto. My "new" '80 has the factory 3 on the floor and is a blast to drive.

8) Not a speck of rust.

That sounds like a lot of gap (1/2"). I don't recall seeing enough space around the doors of my 80 to account for that much room. Can you tell has it been wrecked?

Check the door hing pins possibly they are worn. There are no spacers (Shims) on my 80, 76 or the 72 at the door hinges. Have you loosened the hinges and tried to re-align the door? Also the striker is it worn really bad? You can get some new ones at an Auto Supply usually.

EP, The gap is actually 3/8". Loosen the hinges to re-align the door sounds like what I need to do. Does this mean the hinge or parts of the hinge allow a "slide" forward or rearward?

Yes, if the door is at or close to the correct height, start by loosening the bolts (slightly) that attach the hinge to the body...not the bolts that attach the hinge to the door. This is kinda a trial and error two man operation and some patience will be needed to get it where you want it.

Thanks Mike! This jewel has yet to see rain and I'd hate to see the interior wet because of what sounds like a simple fix.

Take the striker pin off before you start to loosen the hinge bolts. It'll just get in the way while you're adjusting the hinges. You can re-install it last .

:mrgreen:

Do you have to worry about losing any hardware when taking off the striker pin? Is there anything on the backside of the striker pin that may get lost in the body or door jam? I am going to have to do the same thing on my 72 Elk and do not want to screw the pooch by losing a piece of hardware.

Hey Guys,

Two things -

First, be careful with the striker. I have worked on many old cars where the threaded plate for the striker falls into the quarter after you remove it. If you are replacing it, thread out the old and remove it carefully. It is held in by a sheet metal "basket" which sometimes works loose and allows the plate to fall out. I have found it is better to gently remove the old and replace it with the new one. Sometimes the bang from closing the door as you are adjusting it is what makes it fall through. Leave the new one loose in the threaded plate to avoid a real pain in the arse when it falls into the abyss of your quarter panel.

Second - adjusting the door - Unless the car was involved in an accident and the cowl is bent, not allowing the adjustment needed to properly align the door, there should be enough adjustment in it to move it back without using shims. The easiest way I know of to adjust a door back without killing the alignment is as follows. Loosen all the bolts on one hinge at a time and then snug one up again (the easiest to get to for adjustment). This will hold the door temporarily in place without letting it drop. You may need ratchet box wrenches and / or extensions with flex-sockets to get to these. I believe the forward bolt is loosened through the fender / door gap and the back bolts from inside the open door gap. For getting bolts through the fender / door gap, put masking tape on the exterior door edge where you are squeezing in to avoid rubbing and chipping the paint at the door edge with the ratchet and extension. With someone holding the door at the back edge, loosen the bottom snugged bolt. Have the person holding the door lift up. With the upper hinge still snugged, the door will act as a pivot and the bottom hinge will be able to slip back on its adjustment. Snug the one bolt and repeat the same process on the top hinge, but letting the door drop. The bottom snugged hinge will act as the pivot in the opposite direction. This process lets you move the door one hinge at a time. If you loosen both hinges at once, the whole door drops and you are left with a lot more adjustment, time spent, etc. If I am not mistaken, there is also a spot weld on the top hinge that may also have to be broken loose. This process is repeated, making minor adjustments until the door is aligned front to rear, and then the body lines align from the back of door to the quarter panel. Then the door striker can be tightened to the right position.

Shims on door hinges should be avoided if possible as they do not allow the hinge to sit against the body / door properly. They allow some flex on a highly strained area and reduce the contact area, stressing the metal around the hinge. They also reduce the amount of thread on the bolts that are going into the door / cowl. 3/8 or 1/2" of shims could leave only a couple threads holding up your door and you may not even know it.

I would recommend getting a friend who has done this before to help as it is a potentially frustrating project for a "first-timer". Good luck and let us know how you make out . . .

Dan

Thanks Dan. Those are very detailed instructions. I will give it a try and let you know how it works out. Being a beginner on tinkering with older cars, I am sure that I will have alot more questions. Hope that I can get answers like this all the time.

Hey MadDog,

Glad I could help. You will find that the people on this forum have probably 'been there and done that', so the help you need is here or you will be referred to the right place.

I neglected to tell you the following:

When adjusting the hinges, you may find that it does not want to break loose while the door is in the open position. Have the friend (who is holding the door) close it as much as possible after loosening the one bolt, pull it up (or down, depending upon which hinge you are adjusting) and then open the door while holding pressure on it to snug up the bolts. You have to plaly a strange game of open - loosen - close - adjust - open - snug up the adjustment bolt - repeat until aligned. It takes some finessing, but you get the hang of it after a while.

If you get the door in the right position and the window still does not align, there is plenty of adjustment on the glass as well. If you wind up there after the door adjustment, we will do what we can on that subject - let us know.

Keep us posted.

Dan