Door Alignment

[73k5blazer]

Does anyone have a tried and true way to align these frikin' doors. I've done two other of this truck style door swap in years past, in both cases it was an all day job. Now I'm trying to put these new doors on my K5 and I just can't seem to get it right. Slightest adjustment one way seems to always throw something else off.
Anyone make a tool/jig or have a tried and true procedure?

 

[LKJR]

for real mine haven't been right since I took my top off the first time. well it's not going back on, I've been working on the floor and the cage should have helped some.

 

[elacruze]

It's a PITA any way you do it. I use a floor jack and wood block to support the door at the balance point. The jack allows precise adjustments (if you don't let it down too fast). Loosen the door striker post first, so it doesn't interfere, or take it out completely if you won't lose the nut. Having the fender off helps... loosen the adjustments just enough that you can move them with medium taps from a soft rubber hammer. Then it's just patience and time spent.
Trust me when I say this was a real challenge after replacing the floors and rocker panels in mine.

 

[73k5blazer]

I like the procedure outlined in the GM Service Manual.
"Door hinge bolts are oversized to make adjustment possible. ALignment adjustments can be made by loosening the proper hinge bolts, aligning door to proper position, and tightening bolts securly." Even better, on the previous page there's windshield removal procedure:

I think I got it close enough to dissassemble to paint. I have a fiberglass body and needed to open the gaps a wee bit, but needed to align the doors to know where to cut the gap. Now I get to dissassemble and do it all over again in a few weeks. Joy....

 

[Greg72]

I saw a technique on Overhaulin' yesterday......they hung the door with the front fenders removed so that they could more easily get to the hinge bolts. They got all the gaps where they wanted them and then they drilled some small holes into the meaty part of the exposed hinges....presumably so that they would have a reference hole to "pin" once the parts all came back from paint. Just line up those small holes with a nail or whatever, and the door would be just as perfect as when it came off. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

The other thing I saw them do was to actually weld on thin strips of 18GA? metal onto the lower doorskin (or wherever) in areas where the gaps were inconsistent. I think that once you get the major "style lines" all lined up and the door latch working right....the other gaps just need to be filled, or filed, or welded to make them right. The factory fit and finish probably wasn't that precise to begin with.

I'm not an expert, but that's what I saw....and it seemed to make sense to me.

/forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif

 

[personaltrainer]

was that the one where they did the mustang? I saw them do that also - can not remeber what car though. I'm addicted to that freaking show!