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I have aligned my 48 Ford truck doors multiple times. They work well but each side has the door sticking our from the cab 4mm to 5mm. Friends have said it's not that bad but it will not suit me. I'm looking for suggestions on how to fix. Can I use bondo to build up the cab to meet the door smoothly? Should I try to build up by welding? Can I weld any type of filler to the cab and grind down. Need answers and leaving it as is will not do. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Looks very nice the margin is even is that latched on the strike plate? Is weather seal in stalled? How does it line up with the body line above the handle? Did you repair the cab corner because it looks real good at the lower door
I've adjusted the strickers. Yes, weather strip installed. Aligns nice toward the front of the door. alignment is off a bit over the door handle. Can get it to go higher at the top. I used a 2X4 & hammer to get this far. Also read and tried some of the alignment procedures in the service manual.
I may have found an answer. What if I open the doors and take a cut-off wheel down the inside of the door. This should give me a gap to press the door face back into alignment with the cab and the weld the closed gap.
The doors were badly aligned when I bought the truck. I've done a lot of aligning, twisting and hammering to get this far. I can't recall if the seals made any difference quite honestly. I guess I could pull them off but what good would that do me? I do intend to remove before painting but who knows how long that will be.
I may have found an answer. What if I open the doors and take a cut-off wheel down the inside of the door. This should give me a gap to press the door face back into alignment with the cab and the weld the closed gap.
There's no way I would personally do that, no matter how badly misaligned it may be. Where do you stop with the cut-off wheel? At the base of the window opening? At the bottom corner of the door? Or do you take that cut you're describing all the way across the bottom to the front lower corner of the door? Then when you weld that cut back together, how can you not guarantee that a weld may "swell" the door in certain places or warp the whole thing? Honest opinion--you've done very well to get it to align that closely. My truck has never been disassembled or wrecked that I know about, and my doors don't fit as good as that picture. I'd bet 20 bucks your doors weren't that well aligned when it rolled off the assembly line 68 years ago. Plus, you said that you plan on removing the doors someday for paint. The process necessary to remove those door pins and replace them is not a gentle one. It requires a BFH and a lot of beating and banging or drilling. My point is you could work your tail off trying to get them perfect, then remove those doors, install new pins, and be right back at square one.
There's no way I would personally do that, no matter how badly misaligned it may be. Where do you stop with the cut-off wheel? At the base of the window opening? At the bottom corner of the door? Or do you take that cut you're describing all the way across the bottom to the front lower corner of the door? Then when you weld that cut back together, how can you not guarantee that a weld may "swell" the door in certain places or warp the whole thing? Honest opinion--you've done very well to get it to align that closely. My truck has never been disassembled or wrecked that I know about, and my doors don't fit as good as that picture. I'd bet 20 bucks your doors weren't that well aligned when it rolled off the assembly line 68 years ago. Plus, you said that you plan on removing the doors someday for paint. The process necessary to remove those door pins and replace them is not a gentle one. It requires a BFH and a lot of beating and banging or drilling. My point is you could work your tail off trying to get them perfect, then remove those doors, install new pins, and be right back at square one.
I worked part time in a body shop to pay off the bodywork on my '34 sedan in 1953 and 54.The way the owner did it in those days to place a 2x4 in the jamb and push really hard on the top or bottom of the door to correct the back edge. I can't remember how he did the hinge edge.
If the door itself is not physically hitting the cab somewhere, or the hinges binding.....the only thing that could be holding the door out is the rubber. Remove all of it and you should be able to adjust the door anywhere you want.
Problem is, when you put it back in, the door won't close or it will be out of adjustment again. The repro rubber is just not the same as the original. Very frustrating....
From your picture that doesn't look too bad. I assume that the striker is adjusted all the way inboard? I agree with Scott about the rubber bumpers. If they are old the durometer would be much harder. Again based only on your picture you need a softer bumper or shave them back a bit. But just enough so that the door doesn't rattle on bumps. You may also have to get the striker to move inboard somehow. Or you might want to try welding some metal onto the strike inboard face where the latch outboard face contacts it. You don't need much but you don't want to compromise closing efforts either.
But if that doesn't work for you and you were very clear it won't then start with the following.
1) Remove strike plate, can you push door flush? If yes then open strike plate holes and move farther in. If not see #2
2) Remove bumpers, try closing again. Did that work? If yes shave bumper and see step #1. If not, yep step #3.
3) Remove weather seal and check if it will go flush now. If so try and find a thinner (peal and stick type?) seal and go back to #1. If not then ..wait for it... see #4
4) Now that you have ruled out all accessories binding I'm guessing you have a metal to metal contact. If so see what is hitting and by how much. If it is only one spot and you have clearance everywhere else you may be able to shave (Remove or section out) that spot and then see #1. If you hit in many spots then see #A
A) surgery is required and I have done it several ways. The easy way is to drill the spot welds from the outer skin to B-pillar and push out the skin until you are satisfied with it and weld the spots back up. Next way but not an option for me would be to weld an 1/8" or so piece of TIG rod to the outer edge of the jamb, prime and them fill with a kitty hair type of filler (stronger then basic filler) sand smooth, top with glazing paddy, sand and paint. Last option (never ever) is to just fill with BONDO right over the jamb and door, sand smooth, cut door gap with a hack saw blade. Clean up extra BONDO from inner door edge and sand jamb smooth and never tell a sole about it.
Now door gap widths is an entirely different process but mainly weld, grind, add metal and or all 3 until the gap is 1/4" (bare metal) all around and that should net you about a 3/16" gap once painted.
11-08-2016, 09:40 AM
