New body mounts and bad door gaps, help please...

[jeremywrags]

Hi all,

I am finally putting my 72 jimmy back together, new body mounts, some new metal carpet, gaskets...

I put the passenger door on yesterday and the gaps are off. It seems like the window frame is leaning back by about 1/4 inch. The area near the wing window at the top of the door hits the window frame whilst the back of the door is ok but even a little tight.

I have the hard top on and from the looks of it, it is sitting about an inch to far back. We tried pushing it forward but no luck.

It seems like if the top could be in the right spot then the other issues would go away as well.

I Heard the the angle of the window frame has a lot to do with the body mounts, can anyone please give me some info on how I might go about adjusting this?

Also a friend suggested making a "relief" cut in the window frame just above the dash, pushing it where I want it and then welding it place. I am not totally against that but it seems like a lot more work and has potential to really screw up?

Please give me some advice, all opinions are appreciated...

Thanks

 

[ryoken]

porta power...

HF has cheapie units for like $80..



sounds like your rocker boxes may be hammered.. in other words, the truck bent when the doors where off... that is why many weld in temp bracing up high with the doors off while repairing the boxes, etc...

 

[jeremywrags]

porta power...

HF has cheapie units for like $80..



sounds like your rocker boxes may be hammered.. in other words, the truck bent when the doors where off... that is why many weld in temp bracing up high with the doors off while repairing the boxes, etc...

Ryoken, can you elaborate, where would I use this? Roll bar to the windshield frame? Door jamb to door jamb?

 

[ryoken]

top of the B-post straight across to the A-post.. right above the upper hinge mount.. basically your moving the top of the firewall forward... do not push at the top of the windshield area.. your likely to crack the window and bend it at the bottom, which is not what you wanna do.. so yes, jamb to jamb.. use a couple 2 x 4 hunks to spread the load a bit...

 

[jeremywrags]

top of the B-post straight across to the A-post.. right above the upper hinge mount.. basically your moving the top of the firewall forward... do not push at the top of the windshield area.. your likely to crack the window and bend it at the bottom, which is not what you wanna do..

Would I need to make any cuts near the bottom of the a pillar to give a little? We did replace most of the floor and the lower a pillar, rockers and boxes. I would rather not cut but if it works I dont mind a few cuts

 

[ryoken]

boy, you really should have had temp bracing in.. the first gens are notorious for this.. i'm sure one of those guys will chime in..

no, your gonna bend it at this point... believe me, a porta power will move it, you wont need/want relief cuts.... the whole firewall is leaning back at this point..... you may have to push it a bit past where it needs to be.. also a sledge hammer and block of 4 x 4 smashed down at the floor by the A-pillar may/will help it take the set...

 

[jeremywrags]

boy, you really should have had temp bracing in.. the first gens are notorious for this.. i'm sure one of those guys will chime in..

no, your gonna bend it at this point... believe me, a porta power will move it, you wont need/want relief cuts.... the whole firewall is leaning back at this point..... you may have to push it a bit past where it needs to be.. also a sledge hammer and block of 4 x 4 smashed down at the floor by the A-pillar may/will help it take the set...

Cool, my brother has a porta power so I'll rope him onto helping next weekend... Thanks for the input and yea I know about the bracing now, lessons learned... We all have a few

 

[ryoken]

Cool, my brother has a porta power so I'll rope him onto helping next weekend... Thanks for the input and yea I know about the bracing now, lessons learned... We all have a few

no doubt... I'm not familiar with the rocker boxes, so Greg, Norcal and the other first gen boys may have some more specific structural info than that... but that will be the jist of it, poorman's frame machine...

well, ok, middle class frame machine.. poorman's is a chain and tree...

 

[bp71k5]

Ryokens got it right. Mine has the exact same issue and my plan so far is to remove the rocker boxes, push the body back into place with the portapower, then reassemble the boxes to hold it in place.

I'd recommend removing the front fenders though when you try bending things since they provide a bit of bracing up front.

You could also try loosening all the bolts on the rockers before hand to see if that helps is bend easier.


-Brian

 

[jeremywrags]

no doubt... I'm not familiar with the rocker boxes, so Greg, Norcal and the other first gen boys may have some more specific structural info than that... but that will be the jist of it, poorman's frame machine...

well, ok, middle class frame machine.. poorman's is a chain and tree...

I went the redneck route, a bottle jack from my jeep and a 2x4 in the door opening let me position the top in the correct spot, drilled new holes for the top where it should sit and bolted everything down. I loosened all the mounts beforehand. Now the body mounts are loose and everything is lined up pretty damn well. I notice on the 3 front mounts that I will need about an inch worth of washers\ shims to keep it all straight but from what I have read this is perfectly normal for an old blazer...

Thanks for all the input guys

 

[GMC Truck]

The old blazers are bad for collapsing in the middle if the rocker boxes are shot. I use to replace alot of rockers on those but there arnt many left in Ohio anymore. We would refuse to work on them if the owner brought them in with the top removed. I had a jig made up that bolted to the front door hinges and to the holes for the striker plate, that jig was a good tool to test for body collapse. Jig slides in = solid body. Jig no fit = body bending at doors. Good luck as these were a PITA!