Door Alignment

[reded]

Is there a special procedure or "trick" to aligning the doors on my 1934 model 46 other than trial and error using body shims?

[DavidMc]

Trial and error unfortunately seems to be the only way and it can take a long time.  Also use shims behind the hinges and some people put a diagonal brace with a turnbuckle to pull a corner in a little.  if there are rubber bump stops at the top and or bottom of the door where it closes these can be made bigger or smaller to assist in bringing  in a corner.

 

 

[pont35cpe]

You may have to replace the wood before being able to correctly align.

[Bloo]

The Fisher body manual has instructions. There are some posted on chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com and possibly also on oldcarmanualproject.com if you do not have a hard copy. The earlier editions are more detailed, so if you don't find what you need in the correct year, try looking in the 1926-1931 book.

[reded]

Thank you to the three of you for your input.  reded 

[Str8-8-Dave]

This was on of the first jobs I tackled on my 1931 Buick 8-66S coupe.  I had never done this before an at first was baffled on how to tackle doors that sagged at the rear to the point they dragged on the scuff plates in the bottom of the door opening.  I did the Fisher Body door alignment reading, rounded up the correct style rubber shims in 1/8" and 1/4" thickness (Fisher manual warns "do not use metal shims"), loosened all the body bolts and used a floor jack and a piece of 1x2 ash lumber to raise the body.  I removed the body bolt under the hinge or A-pillar of the car, raised the body just enough to slip a 1/4" thick shim under first the left side which cured that door, then moved to the other side of the car and did the same for the passenger door with same result.  I found a couple of other body bolt locations where there was a big gap between the frame and the body sill and installed just enough shim to stabilize those then snugged- not real tight, just enough to collapse the split lock washers.  This made a huge difference in how the doors close. 

 

Go here and scroll down a couple of posts to see what I did with my car...

 

 

[reded]

Str8-8-Dave,

Did your manual give a reason why metal body shims should not be used?  My reproduction 1934 Fisher Body Service Manual does not mention that at all.  It just mentions body shims.  It says very little about aligning doors.  Is your manual specific to 31's?

reded