| Peter in NH | -- 02-02-2021 @ 5:33 AM |
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I'm slowly putting a 35 convertible sedan back together and need some help/ info concerning door alignment. Both of my back doors are considerably out of plumb as they hit the body at the bottom before the top of the door closes against the top of the jamb. Has anyone else encountered this problem and, if so, what method was used to compensate for it? Any info will be greatly appreciated.
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 02-02-2021 @ 7:22 AM |
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hi need more information, did you tighten the body to the chassis,? this process is trial and error , you have to go from side to side how are the angle brackets from the quarter panels to the sub floor, not rotted out, broken or cracked ? was new sheet metal added to the quarter panels , might be warped ? this takes time to get it right, to get the doors to close, and line up hope this helps, 37Ragtopman
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| Peter in NH | -- 02-02-2021 @ 8:52 AM |
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My 35 convertible sedan has had the floor replaced from the front to the rear bottom seat kick up area.From that point backward the floor is original factory material. Consequently the two very heavy right angle brackets that help to brace the rear door jambs are also factory originals. My car came with a Bob Drake chassis to body kit which I installed with all of the specified frame webbing and rubber pads. The body is tightened to the chassis every where from front to back. An interesting thing to note is that both front doors and the hinge side of my two rear doors hang probably as good as I'm ever going to get them to hang. However, on the striker side the doors hit at the bottom before becoming tight to the jamb at the top of the opening and are open at that point by as much as 5/16". I know that, as a rule, a certain amount of additional shimming needs to be done in various locations but don't see how any shimming is going to affect my out of plumb problem.
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| 35fordman | -- 02-02-2021 @ 10:41 AM |
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It is trial and error. As I remember when I did mine, I took all the body mounting bolts loose, got a stack of 5/16 flat washers or body shims and a prybar, and went to work. If you have someone to help you can lift the body with the prybar close to the mounting bolt, slide a shim or two while your buddy sees what effect it has on the alignment. Do that until you have a feel for what does what and where to put the shims. Then tighten everything down and see if you have to make any further adjustments. After you have done this for three or four times and lost all the skin on your knuckles, you might have good closing doors. You might want to do a search over at FB for body shimming I know there is some good info but you have to look for it.
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| 3w2 | -- 02-02-2021 @ 5:43 PM |
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Peter, All '35-'36 open cars have one thing in common and that is flimsy sill structures, unlike '32-'34 open cars, especially the '32s. Unless your body was fully braced with the doors in place before adding the bracing, distortion of the sills forward of the rear of the rear door openings and of the B pillars likely occurred when the floor was replaced. You can get there eventually with the trial and error shimming suggested above along with some hinge adjustments, but it will take time, effort. patience, and perseverance. Try and avoid shimming forward of the front door openings as that may eventually affect the fit of the hood on the cowl and to the front fenders. Dave
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| Peter in NH | -- 02-03-2021 @ 4:13 AM |
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Thanks to all of you for your helpful hints. I've also come across some good suggestions in the Ford Barn archives. Peter
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