I have hung both my doors on my 1958 Ford F100. I did so without the glass and weatherstrip. I also did so without the latches. I have a good space all the way around both doors but they seem to bind when reaching the closed position and spring back about 1/4 to 1/2 inches.

I am at a loss as to what else to do. I had totally removed doors and hinges in restoration. I put the hinges on with the hing pin head on top.

Could I have put them on upside down? Would it be that the hinges are not square to one another so they oppose each other as they are closed all the way?

I was expecting them to close all the way with no binding?

Any suggestions?

 

Just a thought. But the 1/4 to 1/2 " spring back would make me think that with out the door seals in place you may need to space the hinge out that 1/4 to 1/2 " before you tighten down hinge bolts.
Maybe you still have the old door seals? Cut some short section of it and tape them in place as temp. spacers.
Like I said. Just a thought.
My last frame off was a bear also. I even scribed the hinges before removing the doors so I new exactly where they were . Still had to reset the doors a few times.
Good luck.

 

Wow, that is a bit of a stumper? I assume the doors are not hitting anywhere. Was there any play in the hinges? Did you replace the pins or add bushings?

I'll think about this a bit. The only theory I have right now is you have the hinges such that they are one hinge from each door and maybe the wear is causing the hinges to oppose each other, but I have to admit my brain is having trouble figuring out how they would oppose each other.

Are the bolts the original ones? Do you have any bolt head interference? are the bolts near the center of the slots? i.e do you have the door too close to the cab? If that was true the gaps would be awful.

A couple of pictures showing the door gaps and how the hinges look would help.

 

It sounds like your hinges are not on the same plane by your description. It is the usual cause anyway. And especially with frame off and door off or rust repair at the hinge pockets. You may want to loosen the adjust bolts on one hinge while the other is tight, then close the door a few times and then tighten the loosened hinge. The bind is normally at the front of the door frame where the hinges attach and is a result of the door frame twist at some point in its travel towards closed. Others bind towards open, but same problem. The loosened hinge will move just before the door frame can twist and that will tell you if that is the problem. Be thankful it is not a hardtop (nightmare) car. I hope this helps you.
Jon

Oh, a flat spot in the pin will do the same thing but will act different with lube in pin.

 

The doors are not hitting anywhere. There was no significant play in any of the hinges. The bolts are near the center of the slots. I don't think I have them too close as you said the gaps would be awful.

I don't have any images on the web so if I can get them posted somewhere I will post them. At least I think that is the way this form works ???

 

That makes sense. I will give that a try. I would need to loosen the bolts on the door as well or should I leave those tight?

 

I also think this is a good idea and easy to try. The door bolts would not change the plane so I would leave them tight.

 

You can post them on your website and just let us know when they are there.

 

 

 

Here is one more photo. See my gallery for more.

 

 

 

 

The gap on the top half of the door looks too small, or at least smaller than mine, especially near the door handle. Is the gap in the front of the door (especially where the curved part is where the mirror goes) a little big? The little spring back is likely not a big deal and will not be noticeable when the weather stripping and latches are installed. However I would still try CIAF's suggestion. Mine did not do that, the door would actually close too far without the weather stripping.

BTW, the truck is looking GREAT.