Door Alignment

[sprint_9]

Thought I would post here as it is kind of related to metal work.

Im mocking up a 72 c10 body before paint and bodywork, long story short I have tried everything short of anything major to get my door to line up on my passenger side, drivers isnt too bad. I can get the door pretty good with the exception of where it meets the fender, the top half of the fender and the door. The door is in too far compared to the fender. The door cant go out any farther as it messes the entire door up, and the fender cant go in anymore as it is against the cab with no shims as it is.

Im kind of at two options, option 1 is to ditch the door and buy an aftermarket, problem with this is I might end up worse off. Option 2 is to use filler to get it close, problem with this is I will be on an edge.

Im new to all this so Im learning as I go, trying to use a little filler as possible but this one spot has really thrown a curve at me. Thanks.

 

[bmenard]

If you're sure you have OEM parts maybe look for accident damage. If thats a factory door don't switch it out, try a different fender and also realize these trucks aren't perfect and that really isn't that bad lol...also on the top of the fender on those where the bolt goes is a bracket you can bend out and get it to sit in farther.....

 

[crashtech]

You have to move the door out just a bit on the top and the bottom both, this will help preserve the alignment. Then you can put a small shim in the bottom of the fender if necessary. Also sometimes the door will need a bit of twisting to get it to fit, if it's been a bit sprung or whatever. This is something learned through experience, trial and error.

 

[Leonard1]

As you can see from my profile pic, I am just finishing up a 69. That door to fender actually looks like a good fit. The door is tapered at the front to keep it from contacting the fender when it is opened. You can see what I'm talking about here: http://www.spiuserforum.com/index.php?threads/blocking-tapered-panels.1767/#post-23698

 

[sprint_9]

Thanks for all the replies. A few things to note, as far as I know there is no accident history or damage, I did do a bunch of panel replacement on the cab floor but everything was braced. Maybe the wind caught the door at some point and sprung it a little, it shows nothing obvious in this regard but something like that might be hard to see. It has always fit like crap as long as I have had the truck.

I ended up moving the door up and that helped a decent amount, I may try to twist it as crashtech has suggested to get that little bit extra out of it and it will be good. Im going to have a small shim on my bottom fender bolt in order to get everything to line up.

Leonard I noticed that the doors tapered in pretty good at the front edge, Im glad you posted your thread on the blocking steps you encountered. It will be something I reference back to in the coming weeks. If you have any other tips or tricks you encountered please share.

 

[jlcustomz]

I'd also have the hood on there to set the hood gaps with the fender at the same time. Nothing uncommon to have to bend on a door. On the latching side, set a scrap of 2 x 4 wood or something in the end closing tighter to hold it out & push in on the other end that sticks out. If a small area sticks out slightly along any edge of door or fender, you may be able to take a block of wood & slightly tap down on the area.
This is definitely higher skilled work that requires a good understanding of cause effect relationship of what can happen to another area when you move a spot.