Body / Glass: Door/hinge shims, trying to get my hardtop's door to shut right:)

[Jeff T.]

Good afternoon

I'm trying to properly hang my 62 hardtop's doors so I can shut the doors. After tinkering with the drivers door today it occurs to me that I may need to use some shims between the hinge arm and the door. Should I go buy a box of the U shaped shims, buy a box of fender washers and notch them out with my snips or use an old hinge arm as a pattern and make some larger shims from my stash of 18 gauge scrap for a shim that covers the whole door hinge mating surface.

Over the last few years I have replaced the floor, added some box members from hinge post to lock post and replaced the rockers. I also had welded in some angle iron to keep things from moving while I replaced the floor. I did the best I could with what I had to work with. My Lark is my fun car, not a show car

Jeff T.

[5brown1]

I just made my own. Use the old hinge for the hole spacing then just some thin metal, a tin snips and a drill. Make a pattern and then make a few but keep the pattern in case you need more.

[sweetolbob]

Make the shims from appropriate stock. A method I used to put the doors back on my 54K, and one was not original, was to place the door in the opening and shim it into place with what ever will work to space the door in the opening with the correct gaps, hinges not bolted on. I used flat stock wider than the doors and taped it to the door and body to set doors in line with the body panels. when I was happy with the fit, I went inside and swung the hinges in place and kept adding shims until the hinges were flush and even with the door surface. Bolted the hinges in place, removed all the shimming and other crap. The doors worked like new. You also need hinges in good shape for this to work. Otherwise, you'll go crazy as one adjustment throws out another.

Good luck, Bob

[kxet]

Make the shims from appropriate stock. A method I used to put the doors back on my 54K, and one was not original, was to place the door in the opening and shim it into place with what ever will work to space the door in the opening with the correct gaps, hinges not bolted on. I used flat stock wider than the doors and taped it to the door and body to set doors in line with the body panels. when I was happy with the fit, I went inside and swung the hinges in place and kept adding shims until the hinges were flush and even with the door surface. Bolted the hinges in place, removed all the shimming and other crap. The doors worked like new. You also need hinges in good shape for this to work. Otherwise, you'll go crazy as one adjustment throws out another.

Good luck, Bob

Have you had the door on it after you did all the repairs?Good chance of changing measurements when welding things on body.

[sweetolbob]

It's the black/silver one in my signature. The doors were installed after the body was repaired on a rotisserie and the doors had been repaired also. It took some final fitting after they were mounted/hung like changing gaps by adding metal etc, but they were close enough that I just went ahead and made the small changes fit.

In Jeff's question above, he's seems to be starting with the original doors so fitting them by my method should work with minimum effort. Darn doors are just so big that small changes are just magnified when adjustments are made. Hope that answers your question/concern. Bob

[doofus]

Paint stirring sticks make great shims for under door, BTDT . luck Doofus

[Jeff T.]

Thanks for the advice

I wish I could have used a rotisserie but my hardtop was up on jackstands while I worked to get everything as square as I could. Perhaps I have the Studebaker version of the table with one shorter leg or three longer legs. Measure twice, cut once an don't forget elementary physics regarding metal shrinkage

Jeff T.

[Warren Webb]

First the leading edge of the door should be even with the cowl opening. Then align the door to the 1/4. shim the mount (frame x member) inside of the hinge post. You may have to jack up the hinge post at the bottom pinch weld to do this. This is a weak spot on the car. There is no support from that x member to the hinge post other than the floor pan, which rusts out right there !! That makes the hinge post sag & door alignment goes out the window. The only shims I have found from the factory are flat metal shims under the hinge strap where it bolts to the door making the door go "out" further. All the up/down or front/back adjustments are made on the door itself.