36 Buick Model 48 Door Alignment

[pplaut]

I tried adjusting the door by tightening the rod, but this just pulled the bottom of the door in.

whst is the best way to align these doors?

 

[Bloo]

The rod's whole purpose in life is to pull the bottom corner in.

 

It is a wooden body. The hinges could be loose and sagging. If the hinge pins are wore out you should fix those first. Doors can be aligned with shims or possibly wedges under the hinges. Door openings (squareness) are adjusted with shims under the body sills. Suggest you read the manual, stand back from the car and take a good look from multiple angles before deciding what to adjust. It probably won't be obvious.

 

Read the door and body alignment sections in this:

 

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/fisher/3536fbsm/index.html

 

Read the 1935 part too. It is the same except the front doors are hung backwards. They left the detailed instructions out of the 1936 section.

 

If you wind up needing to replace some wood, this older manual contains more of the secrets of how a Fisher body was built than the 1936 manual does. It is definitely worth a read if you need to go deeper.

 

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/fisher/2632fbsm/index.html

 

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[pplaut]

Thank you so much!!!

I have the manual and will read what you posted!

[Buick35]

On my 35 I noticed that the Driver side door upper right edge is about 1/4" out from the post or door pillar, not lined up with the passenger door.I recently had both front door panels off and neither door rod was secured at the bottom but I fixed that.Greg.

[pont35cpe]

I think you need to loosen the body mount under the front door hinge pillar and shim it to bring the belt line in alignment.

[pplaut]

Hey- so, I clearly need some shims.

Where can I get some door shims? I looked on Bobs Automobila and didnt see any.

Thanks!

~P.

[pont35cpe]

I have a `36 Buick coupe(project), when i was fitting the doors to the body, i had the same belt line misalignment as you show. I made my own shims from a Prestone Antifreeze plastic container(the flat sides), cut several 2"x2 1/2" pieces, with center notched out where the shims could be slid in place. Mine took 5-6 shims each side, between the bottom of wood sill and the top of the frame mount.. I hope your wood sills are still solid(not rotted). Good luck..

[pplaut]

So-

things went from bad to worse-

the moron I hired to do some work for me decided to replace the door latch with a bear claw. I thought this was a bad idea - but he did it anyway. At the end of the day door alignment is so bad the upside down - yea he put it in upside down - will never work. The latch is way to low. I have the components for the original door latch assembly- well almost - I should be able to get any replacement parts here - 

But- he did some body work and it looks like the latch mechanism will not fit anymore. I checked the book- there is no photo. Can anyone post a photo of what the pillar mechanism is supposed to look like?

Many Thanks!

P.

Edited April 2, 2022 by pplaut (see edit history)

[Bloo]

I can post pics of it, well.. 36 Pontiac, but it's the same, but not for 2 or 3 days so hopefully somebody else can come up with something sooner.

 

That's not the latch in your pic, it is a wedge thing for alignment or support when the door is closed. If it is the right part, it goes inside the door or pillar somewhere. Your car does have a part that functions like that so maybe. There is a matching wedge that goes in the slot when the door is closed.

 

Your latch should be a casting with a couple of sawtooth shaped notches.

 

What's a bear claw?

 

Latches are completely unrelated to door alignment. You take them off to align doors and put them back on afterward. Same with wedge devices if they are removable.

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[pont35cpe]

Here is a couple pictures left rear, door/jamb showing orig. 

[Bloo]

Job 1: Get rid of any looseness. Lift up in the door and see what moves.

 

There is no one single cure for what is shown in your original pics. @pont35cpe 's car needed body sill shims. My car has a crack in the hinge pillar (wood) inside the door, and the hinge can move slightly. It all looks the same if you are only looking at the beltline.  If the hinge pins are shot you need to fix them. They are the same as Pontiac and Chevrolet. I believe Bob's has them, CARS might too, as well as TheFillingStation (Chevrolet) and California Pontiac Restoration. I believe pins for much newer GM cars also work, they just need to be cut short.

 

Now that you have eliminated any hinge slop, you need to determine why the door is not fitting in the opening. Stand back and look at it from several angles. I have drawn some square cars here to make it easier to visualize.

 

Exhibit A: Body opening out of square, It has become a parrallelogram, but door is still the correct shape. Shims under the sill will be needed to fix this.

 

 

Exhibit B: Body opening is square, door is tilted. Hinge shims will be needed to fix this.

 

 

Example, a flat shim under the lower hinge would bring the door up closer to square, but if the real problem was at the top, then the entire door would be too far back, and probably rub on the door post. Tapered shims can move the hinge pin location forward or backward on the car as needed to square the door in the opening without moving it too far back. As far as I know you are on your own for making the shims.

 

 

The angles of the tapered shims in the drawing are extremely exaggerated.

 

I would stand back and take a good critical look at the car to see if you can tell what the actual alignment problem is, preferably with the latch and wedge removed. Then go look at the door and body alignment sections in those Fisher manuals again. Then go look at the car some more. It will probably start to gel in your head what the real problem is and what you need to do.

 

Latches need to be out of the way for door alignment. Deal with them later.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[pplaut]

Thanks for the pics- I’m off to a good start.

 

[pplaut]

Bloo- thanks for your help.

I need to revert back to the original door closing mechanism. The moron I had working for me tried to put a modern door latch in. Said it was safer. He is an idiot. I now have a box labeled Daryl’s F@ckery.  I’m going to be largely on my own because I need to restore this back to original.

[EmTee]

22 hours ago, pplaut said:

I now have a box labeled Daryl’s F@ckery.

Does he have a brother named Daryl?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vMe31CuIQ