Can any one give me a pointer as to how to get a door to fit right.I just replaced the upper hinge because the midway stopper was broken.(door swug freely).Now I can't seem to get it dialed in without air gaps/lines right.Thanks 1982 150 driver door.been lossening/tightening to no avail.

 

This worked for me, but as I recall, I had the fender removed so I could access the bolts that attach the hinge to the body. I aligned the door's vertical plane (in or out at the top or bottom) by loosening the bolts from the hinge to the door, and tweaking it as necessary. I then loosened the bolts from the hinge to the body and tweaked it again to align it properly with respect to the air gaps around the door edges. (Loosen and readjust your door striker as necessary). Once you get the striker where you think it should be, you can use it to help hold the back of the door in place by closing it, and then making adjustments at the hinges while repeatly sighting down the body lines and checking the gaps along the top, bottom, and back door edges. I then placed two pieces of masking tape on the back edge of the door and the body to mark alignment and slightly opened the door. When I did, the natural play in the hinges allowed the door to drop 3/8". I positioned a bottle jack with a scrap of carpet on top under the back edge of the door, and slowly jacked it up to a point where it just touched the rearmost bottom edge of the door, loosened the hinge to body bolts, and then slowly raised the jack to bring the back edge of the door to a point which was 3/8" higher than my original "level" marks and retightened the bolts. When I lowered the jack, the door again dropped 3/8" as the hinge play took up, and it was now dead in line with where it should have been. I rechecked the striker at this point, also. One thing to watch on these doors..... Take a look at the inner edge of the section of door which contacts the weatherstrip at the windshield pillar (same area where the vent window is located). You'll notice a dimple stamped into the edge, which Ford apparently did for strength at the two points where the screws pass through to retain the vent window frame. In the process of lining things up, be sure these dimples don't fall against the weatherstrip in such a way as to allow a leak, or rain water will drip in every chance it gets. You may find the need for a little more or less gap along the door's back / forward edges to compensate, and allow the door to positioned far enough forward to allow full contact from the weatherstrip.

 

Thanks for advise.,restorit

I think the only way to really get the thing right would be to remove fender....theres just to many adjustments...and rough to get at

 

I have to agree..... and, once you get the door to a point where you're satisfied with the fit, you'll be able to fine tune the fender's fit, also, since you're having to reinstall it. You may have already done this (and the top hinge shouldn't need it assuming it's new), but have you considered changing out the lower hinge pin? Now would be a good time, if you can still get to it. The stock ones are generally fairly worn by now, and you can by hinge pin kits from just about any discount parts store.