71 cuda door does not line up..

[71fish]

ok.. here's the scoop. I just painted my gilled fenders & am now read to put the front-end back together. However, the passenger door does not line up properly as the drivers side does. It always was a tight fit before.. but since, it has now dropped down some.

Upon further inspection, I noticed that there were 2 body shims between the door and bottom hinge. The problem is that the door is extremley close where it closes next to the 1/4 panel. Big gap along the bottom and extremley close to the windshield chrome. It's almost as if the door needs to come out & towards the front (fender) but no shims can do that.

No cars I know of have shimms beneath the hinges. I think previous owner did not want to spring for new hinges. My only concern is that there seems to be no play in the door.. but just doesn't align properly. I think the top hing looks "slighty" bent.  

Any thoughts or experiences??

71fish

[torredcuda]

Loosen the hinge to cowl/door post bolts to adjust the door up and down,use the hinge to door bolts to adjust in and out alignment.Always align the door to the quarter panel and rocker first,getting a nice even gap,and then bolt on the fender and adjust it to the door.You should not need to use shims-save them for the Chevy frame cars,   unless the car has been hit or new panels were welded on out of place.The factory service manual should have directions also.

[b5blueaar]

71 fish,
did you get your door lined up?

[71fish]

torrred - Thanks for the reply.. mucxh appreciated!  
So, are you say that I need to loosed the hinge-to-car for up and down alignment. As you know.. there's 3 bolts, one that is threaded through from the rocker panel. How can these be adjusted?? It seems that they have a very static placement w/ no room for adjustment. Pls help me understand

I purchased "rebuilt hinges (all) on ebay.. they shoul;d be here 2day or 2morrow. I hope this helps, but pls explain how the hinge-to-car are adjusted. It looks as though they have can only be bolted in w/ no room for adjustment.  TIA

I'll not take the doors off until I get the rebuiilt hinges in.. so this will be my task this Mem day weekend!

71fish

[torredcuda]

There`s quite a bit of adjustment,loosen two bolts from outside and the third from inside behind the kick panel.The adjusment is in the holes in the cowl not in the hinges them selves,you`ll see when you loosen everything up.same goes for the doors,loosen the two bolts and adjust up/down-in/out.Get your height(rocker gap and top edge to quarter) and quarter gap close first and then adjust top and bottom in and out.You may have to go back and forth a few times to get it right.You may also need to give them a rap to free `em up as there is usually seam sealer around then to prevent leaks.

[71fish]

torredcuda - Thanks. I didn't know that.. prob becasue I've never replace the door on a cuda before. So when you say cowl.. I think of in fron of the windshield.

..or are you saying the threaded bolt from inside the kick panel has the adjustment. and it's never the hinge to door that has the adjustment.. it's always the body to hinge.. correct??

How do I move the door towards the front or fender.. it's too close to 1/4 panel. Anyway I should be getting the hinges today.. so I can play 2morrow. Any other tips are much appreciated..   you've already helped a ton.
.
71fish

[torredcuda]

The cowl is the section from below the windshield where the wipers are,down the firewall and out to both sides behind the rear of the front fender where the door hinges bolt on.There is adjustment in the hinge to cowl bolts AND the hinge to door bolts.Reread my previuos posts as I hope I explained it OK(english was my worst subject in school,give me algbra any day over pronouns,topic sentences etc.)Do not adjust the door to the fender,adjust the door to the rocker and quarter panel then adjust the fender to the door.Anymore questions just ask,I`m glad to help.  

[b5blueaar]

71fish,
the bolts that torred is referring to do not adjust the door themselves. You must loosen all the bolts (both from outside the body and from inside behind the kick panel) and then you must manually move the door to where you want it and then tighten the bolts to keep it there. Best done with a strong buddy to help move and hold the door or hang the door on adjustable straps from the garage ceiling.  Just turning the bolt does not make an adjustment (I thought from reading your post that you may think the door will move when you turn the bolt behind the kick panel).
I agree with tor, align the door to the rocker panel and rear quarter panel, then move the front fender to the door.
There is one more adjustment. On the rear door post, the striker post that the door latch grabs (round post with large head)  can be moved up and down and in and out. As the door closes, this striker will align the back of the door according to where it is set. You may have to move this to get your door to be flush with the rear quarter (in and out) when latched. If you remove this striker post while aligning the door, then the door will be truly aligned and not dependent on the striker post to "lift the door" as it closes like it often does with worn hinges. Once the door is properly aligned you can put the striker post back on, and it will not affect the door position (alingment) as it closes, but it will determine how far in the door is when latched.

[torredcuda]

Good call b5,I forgot to mention the striker which definitly has an effect on how the door lines up.I take it right off also and line up the door first,then position the striker to the latch.A misadjusted striker will prevent the door from opening and closing smoothly.