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Discussion Topic:
49 door adjustment
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Stroker |
01-27-2011 @ 4:01 PM
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Senior
Posts: 1460
Joined: Oct 2009
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At the tender age of 13, I had the privilege of touring Ford, and Cadillac assembly plants. The 2 by 4 method was the tool of choice for final "tweaking" in 1953, and I've used it to great advantage ever since. Doesn't work on Station Wagon doors however, but then they never need "tweaking"!
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Stroker |
01-27-2011 @ 4:01 PM
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Senior
Posts: 1460
Joined: Oct 2009
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At the tender age of 13, I had the privilege of touring Ford, and Cadillac assembly plants. The 2 by 4 method was the tool of choice for final "tweaking" in 1953, and I've used it to great advantage ever since. Doesn't work on Station Wagon doors however, but then they never need "tweaking"!
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proxie35 |
01-27-2011 @ 3:12 PM
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Member
Posts: 74
Joined: Jun 2010
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Jim, I was able to correct my door ajustment problem on my 49, this afternoon. I'll explain my problem later this evening. Sherrel
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silverchief |
08-21-2010 @ 11:21 AM
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Senior
Posts: 522
Joined: Oct 2009
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Just as a matter of interest. I grew up in South Bend, Indiana where Studebakers were manufactured. As teenagers, if we were not satisfied with a door fit on any make car, we took our car to the home of an old timer, retired from Studebaker, whose sole job on the assembly line was to check and adjust door fit. He used the same tool at home that he used at the factory - a short two by four. He would put it between the door and frame, pull here, push there, and when we left our doors fit perfectly. We paid him a couple of bucks and went away happy. Those were the good old days.
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Chevguy49Ford |
08-20-2010 @ 4:44 AM
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Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Oct 2009
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Good thinking.
Cheers, Scott. 1949 Custom Tudor. http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/35thLE/49016.jpg
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Jims 50 |
08-10-2010 @ 9:05 PM
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Member
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Thank you all!! I removed the door seal along the latch side and top and the doors close and fit perfectly. Now what to do for door seals?? Any ideas are appreciated. thank you!
This message was edited by Jims 50 on 8-18-10 @ 2:17 PM
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FrankM-RG5 |
08-10-2010 @ 7:52 PM
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New Member
Posts: 135
Joined: Oct 2009
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The interior was out of mine when I put the new weather strip on so I just put straps across and pulled the doors tight to each other for about a week. It did a pretty good job of compressing the rubber.
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proxie35 |
08-10-2010 @ 5:34 PM
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Member
Posts: 74
Joined: Jun 2010
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Jim, I have the same problem with the 49 I'm restoreing. The doors fit perfect with the org. weatherstriping, but they sure don't fit with the new weatherstriping & there is no way to adjust them to fit.
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supereal |
08-09-2010 @ 8:24 AM
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Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009
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When I visited the Ford Rouge plant years ago, I observed workers "adjusting" the doors with a large sledge hammer equipped with a rubber face. Whacking the doors isn't recommended for the inexperienced, of course, but shows the limitations of the hinges and latches. At the dealership, we had a locally built lever tool that hooked over the top of the door and had a wide pad at the bottom so the door could actually be bent to fit. We often used this method on the early 50's cars because the doors on the new cars sometimes had wide gaps that couldn't be adjusted away.
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nelsb01 |
08-08-2010 @ 7:10 PM
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Senior
Posts: 983
Joined: Oct 2009
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I take it that you have replaced the door gaskets with new rubber. I have seen where the new rubber causes a problem with the doors closing correctly. Since 1949 was the first year for a new door latch (they changed again in 1950) you can see that there is little adjustment that can be done. In the green covered 1949-50-51 Ford Passenger Car Service Manual it has a chapter on door alignment and adjustment. Most of it involves using tools that no longer exist. The chapter mostly deals with aligning the doors and hinges and not the latches. I would suggest you keep the doors closed and see if the rubber compresses. If it is the hinges that are the problem, try and find a old car repair person who knows the techniques of using a piece of wood and a rubber hammer to adjust the hinges.
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