67 driver door alignment issue. I’ve had the car for 11 years now and it driver door has always needed to be slammed with hard pressure at the top of the door to get it to latch. Attempting to close it with normal force results in the gap shown in pics. Also, notice the marks that are on the door frame and bottom of door. Wondering if this is a Common problem with a common fix. I’m thinking I need to take fender off and reposition the door hinge.??? Any thoughts?
Is it fully latched in your photo, above? If so, then yes, you need to first check your hinges to make sure they’re not worn, thereby causing the door to sag. If they’re good, then you need to first adjust them so the rear edge of the door lines up with the quarter panel (since that can’t move) and the bottom isn’t hitting the rocker. Then align your fender to match the door. Of course, that will probably mean re-aligning the hood and possibly the other fender as well. Often, you’ll not be able to obtain a perfectly uniform gap, so the goal is to find a happy medium that spreads the misalignment out over several panels.
Actually in the photo it is only partially latched. I can slam it OR put extra a lot of extra
Pressure on the top of the door and it closes and aligns very nicely. Maybe out just a 16th or so. But that is with extra pressure or slamming here is photo closed
What does it look like at the bottom fully closed to the quarter panel? It looks like it needs to go in at the top and possible out at the bottom. you can make that adjustment without removing the fender.
May I ask how to bring it out at the bottom? My only thought would be to loosen three bolts at door hinge and shim out The hinge…
doors have multiple adjustment angles.
“hinge to door” bolts will adjust in and out at top and bottom but also change front of door in and out
“hinge to cowl” bolts will raise and lower door front and back.
any adjustments will make more than 1 change this is why other body panels may need to be adjusted after fixing your main issue.
here is a couple other things that have not been mentioned,
- door seal preventing door alignment.
- striker not aligned properly.
- window stop adjusted too high.
- Door may have a slight twist.
I adjusted the hinge to door and it did not help. I think it needs to go forward as well as up…so I got mad and took fender off. I got me some adjustments to make now…I will let you k he how it goes…
good luck,
but if possible you should adjust body panels with vehicle on the ground sitting on tires as normal. The body may flex slightly and you would need to start over on adjustments.
also I have used paint stir sticks for gaps. Just place a few at edges to keep gaps even use tape to hold them in place.
also don’t forget to protect your paint edges with tape.
with bolts lightly tightened get the door in alignment.
then tighten hinge to door bolts.
re-check placement
tap lightly on top forward edge of hinges when they are slightly snug. this simulates the weight of door on hinge bushings.
then tighten hinge to cowl bolts
remove stir sticks and re-check alignment
Well that did the trick, moves it forward maybe 1/8 and up about the same amount on the hinge to cowl. Then out about 1/16 on bottom hinge to door. Hopefully I can get fender to mount goodly.
I will set back on the wheels before installlinf fender to make sure all is well. Waited 11 years to do this today is a good day!
Thanks for the insight.
Adjust the hood to fit the cowl, and then install the fender to fit the hood and door.
This process is kind of a pain, I just recently went through this (taking fenders off and all) after a body shop had supposedly aligned everything but forgot to cinch down the hinge bolts…
Now is the time to rebuild or replace your hinges if needed. Open the door, grab it from the bottom, and lift it up and down. There should be very little free play, if any. Since you have the fender off, take a close look at the hinge bushings and see if they’re cracked or otherwise compromised. If you do end up replacing the bushings (link) I’d suggest cleaning up and reusing your original pins if they look ok, they seem to be a little tighter fit than the new pins. And add a little grease of course. With the door latched, you can take off one hinge at a time to rebuild it, without removing the door.
There’s also an “overkill” option, which is these rebuilt hinges with oversized bushings, steel retaining tube and zerk fittings for grease. I was tempted to get these, and never deal with saggy door issues again, but I cheaped out.
Aside from that, once you get the door where you want it, adjust the striker so it latches easily. It shouldn’t “spring” when you open the door, it should just… open. Striker placement will also influence the positioning of the back of the door.
It’s annoying but you can do it! Hope some of the tips here have helped.