Yeah. I just finished gapping my doors. The in-out adjustment I had to do with the by-guess-by-God method until I liked it, then clamped the door in the hole and tightened the door tang bolts thru the window, like Sam and Joe. Took awhile, but with patience and enough beer, all things are possible.

 

Are you talking about the hinge connecting to the door, or the hinge to the pillar near the kick panel? With the door closed, you can't adjust the one on the pillar? What adjustment is there on the door hinge? Shims?

 

Ed,
With the bolts tight on the frame end of your hinge at the kick panel side, loosen the six bolts in the door, well still snug but loose enough you can manipulate the door. I removed the door stricker when I did mine so I could moved the door freely while closed. Close the door carefully and slide the door into the position you want. I hung a rachet on the upper middle bolt before I closed the door. Again this is if your alone. Once you get the door positioned holding in place with your right hand reach thru and tighten the bolt. Carefully open the door and tighten the bottom middle bolt and others. If the tail of the door needs to move up or down I did that by loosening the frame bolts and lifting the door and retightening. So far it is the only method I have tried that makes my door fit the same as the driver. May not be the prescribed method from the manual but it worked for me. Good luck...

 

OK Joe, I see what you are saying about the up and down adjustment. But what about the initial problem you were talking about with the door not even touching the door seal at the top? What did you do about that? Jag

 

that took care of it completely.

 

the passenger door always sat lower than the driver and I could never figure out why. Once I removed the stricker and loosen the bolts with the door shut it allowed me to lift the door into the proper position and snug the bolts to keep it into position.

 

I had the same problem as Joe on my 53, however there was not enough movement in the hinge pocket to move it up enough. I took the hinge off and took them to a machinest and had him elongate the holes on the door end to allow the door to be moved higher in the opening. Worked like a champ. This was not the original door or hinges. Joe

 

Hi guys, as always these posts are informative and I've been experiancing the same problems, I do not have any weather seals installed at this stage of the game. I'm using an original door on the driver side that doesn't fit properly and does needs to be pulled in at the top,I will be trying the knee method or possably one of the other methods if need be. My problem is I can't get the door high enough to close the gap at the top of the door or line up the inside with the lines of the dash. The passenger side is from a custom cab that fits very well, nice gaps but on the outside just above the door handle that gentle roll does not match that of the cab this is also a problem with the origanal door. Any suggestions on that? I have also installed new hinges that I just recieved from Mid Fifty. Thanks John

 

Try removing the latch striker and close the door, have a helper loosen the hinge bolts under the inspection covers on the inside of the door. Place a block of wood on the running board under the center of the door as a fulcrum and use a 5-6' long 2x4 under the bottom of the door to lift and hold the door into place. Once it is in place so the gap is even all around and everything lines up have the helper tighten the bolts on the hinges. Once the door in hanging properly, reinstall and adjust the latch.

 

John,
My door was so wacked I thought it needed to be bent to ever get it to close properly but it did not. I thought I had tried everything to get it adjusted with little success. Glad I didn't bend it because that would have really screwed it up. Try as discussed in these threads, removing the latch gives you room to move the door around and lift it into the proper position with the door closed. Seems like when the door is lifted into the prroper position it goes in at the top at least mine did.Would be easier if you had a second set of hands to work from inside the truck. Bend it as a last resort.

 

and if you are in the state I am, I just remove the running board and use my jack with a piece of 2x4/2x6 on it to lift the door up. (lightly)..

Sam

 

I used the 2x4 lever to reset my doors after I took them off to install the power windows and electric locks. Those doors are HEAVY! My wife tightened the bolts inside while I checked the fit. I was able to kinda sit on the 2x4 which left my hands free to manipulate the door into position, took less than 5 minutes.

 

Thanks guys, all great advice, I'll try using the floor jack method seeing as I don't have any floor boards yet. I'm still puzzled about the passenger side door though because the gaps all around the door are fairly even,about 3/16ths of on inch, infact at the knee knocker section of the door, it is touching just below the windshield post and the top front verticle corner for about 6 inches, this I can remedy with a grinder and welder as well as the rounded section at the knee knocker section mentioned above. My question now is the rolled section of the door that is a few inches north of the door handle does not match that of the body,the inside of the door lines up perfectly with the dash and the gaps from the inside look good as well and to me it does look as if the door needs any more adjusting, is this a common trait for the fitment of these doors. Please bare with me I some times have a hard time explanning myself and I tend to be a little bit picky at times. John

 

Realize these trucks were mostly assembled by hand at different factories around the country, perfect fit was not high on the priority list for what was a working vehicle, so parts fitting when mixing vehicles is even more of a crapshoot. I suspect there was some bodywork done on that side someplace in it's history. Trace a template off the door edge and the door frame, check them against the other side to get an indication of where the differences lie. If the variation isn't more than an 1/8" or so, a skim coat of putty and sanding with a very long board across the frame and door may be the solution. If it's the door edge that's lower, I saw Charlie tweaking the fit using a slide hammer with an L hook on Am Hot rod a number of times.
How do your rear doors fit? Mine are tight enough in the center that they nearly rub, yet the gap is average on the outsides.
Being a jeweler I am EXTREMELY picky! I have to keep reminding myself of what I'm working on...

 

56panelford -

I have a 56 and just finished this excercise myself. I had small gaps at exactly the same places you describe. I ground them to the right gap and welded the skin and backing flange back together. I did notice that when I cut that knee-knocker section to the same gap dimension as the other areas, it looked too big. I had to add more weld and regap it smaller so it looked right. My gaps are .150 and .120 at the knee knocker.

I used the floor jack method (with running boards off) and it worked very well as I was doing this alone. I also used carpenter's clamps to fudge the door around in the hole and hold its position. The I could go around thru the other door and tighten things up.

One thing I did to help refitting the doors (they have been off a few times) was to mark the hinges as to their location (upper or lower, passenger or driver), then drill two 1/8" holes thru each hinge flange into the door jamb so they would go back in the same place. That way, the in/out (tilt) orientation was fitted and I only had to re-establish the up/down and fore/aft in the hole to gap the door. Saved a lot of time.

As to the fitment of the door "hip" just above the handle, I noticed the same mismatch of the contour - worse on the passenger side than the other. I plan to handle it the way AX described.