I painted my 79 f150, so now am starting to put it back together. I took off both doors and hinges so I could paint the jambs, hinges, etc. I just spent 3 hours trying to get the passenger side door adjusted, using my engine hoist as a lift. What a fight !. I give up for tonite, it has literally wore me out. Has anyone out there ever done this , if so, whats the tips for getting the door/hinge alignment back right and do it in less than a months time ? The door hinge bolts on the cab post are a BEAR to access for adjustment after the door is hung. Hindsight is 20/20, I sure wished I had drilled small .010 undersized roll pins in all the hinges as alignment dowels before I removed them. rats

 

Maybe you should stabilize the door by using a floor jack as well. It may prevent the door from shifting around.

You do know about the adjustable door pin in the door jamb opposite of the hinges, right?

 

Are you talking about the strike latch pin that the latch catches on ? If so , I havent been able to get the door to close that close yet, it is still wanting to hit the fender. I am going to give it a rest on ny day, will tackle it again this weekend, hopefully I will figure it out, thanks for the reply

 

We've all been there done this at one time or another .go slow ,don't ding the paint ,get a helper
Afloor jack with block of wood under the door is okay as long as you have some one to hold and steadyit so it doesn't slip off and ruin your paint

First, did you remove the hinges from the door also ? when painting? if so it could take awhile.

I don't remeber 79's ,but can you remove the inner fender well to get to the hinge bolts from in there?
There was a special hinge wrench that was shaped like an "S" years ago.

But if your hitting the fender as your closing you need to move the hinges towards the back of the truck .


But also you may need to move the hinges out /in on the door itself.
When you get the door to pass the fender without hitting ,take the striker on the latch side out but mark it's location before removing

This will alow you to close the door slowily to see where you need to move the door to fit the gaps in the opening and the seal on the door

Wish we were there to help but !

Happy new year!

Rich

 

Thanks Rich for the reply. Yep, I removed the hinges from the door too. I removed them so I would not have any spot on the truck where I couldnt get the base/clear. I am using a sling on my engine hoist and a floor jack to keep the door stable. Oh, I WISH I had put roll pins for dowels thru all the hinges BEFORE I removed them, hard lesson to learn now,

 

Update : this is just for anyones reading that might get in to the door / hinge replacement on a 79. With the help of my wife, a sling on my engine hoist, and a lot of patience, we got both doors back on yesterday. Being a beginner/ restorer, it took 4 hours per door to get the hinges and doors back on , and to have all the margins adjusted right on each door. By the time I got to the second door I got the hang of it. First, I put masking tape on all the fender /door/sill edges before I started to prevent paint chips.
I found that to save time on a 79, mount the lower hinge on the cab post first, put all 3 bolts in, just finger tight, and pull the hinge UP and to the rear of the cab as far as it will go. Put the upper hinge on, finger tight bolts only, and measure vertically the distance center to center on the bolt holes in the door so they will mate to the door. Then, while keeping them reasonably plumb, tighten one lower bolt only on each hinge. With that done, sling the door from a hoist, with helper stabilizing, and put the 3 bolts in each hinge on the door. Tighten two only, finger tighten the remaining one.. Ease down the hoist, with helper holding the door, unsling it, and while watching your margin at the fender , let your helper close the door VERY SLOWLY to see where the margins are hitting. Then reopen the door, hook sling back , and while keeping the weight of the door on the hoist, slightly loosen the one tight bolt on either cab post side hinge, and with the helper holding the door , ease down on the lift slightly, move the door /hinges, the direction the margins indicate. Unsling the door and try the margins again. This will have to be done many times, unless your extremely lucky or are a pro. The door hinges on the door are done the same way and will allow for door "tilt" in and out, while the cab post side hinges allow for vert/horizonal movement, along with front to rear.
The helper is critical here in the door movement "adjustment" because they can "feel" the movement in the door better than the wrench handler can. I was over compensating in hinge travel , in feeling I had not let the door move, when it , in fact, it had moved too much. Lost a lots of time loosening and retightening hinges before my wife pointed out she could feel the door movement better than I could. man, I hate it when wives are right, especially when working on MY truck, I couldnt have done it without her, she got a big ole' steak dinner out of this one,

 

Excellent Greg!

And you gave her a big kiss for the help! too!
nothin better than your wife helping you in the garage!

just don't let her get you in the kitchen ! he he
with those greasy hands !

And its better to be looking at her, than me helping you!

Good luck post some pics when ya get a chance.

Rich

 

You got that right Rich, wife helpers are a lot better to work around, no hairy legs to look at. I'll be updating my gallery soon as I get it all back together, thanks for the replies