653 replies to this topic

[Mitchyboy]

For the rear door gap, if it's only tight there and spot on everywhere else, then in general terms you can grind away a bit from the door to get it spot on too. Just need to weld it back together so it doesn't separate from the shell. If you're careful you might be able to use a block and hammer to punch the edge of the dogleg away from the door, that might open it up a little and mean you can take less off the door.

I haven't done flares yet but I was under the impression that you had to cut the door corner a little anyway so I assume shaving it for a pre fit gap should be ok..?

That's what i was thinking cheers.
Ill double check it all and get the flap disc and the welder involved for sure now.
I will check the other side before I do anything.
It is the only door on the car that has the crush rail in it so it Definetly didn't come on the car.

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That planishing hammer machine. Wouldn’t mind one of them.

It’s never too late if you remove too much metal Mitch. Just more work glueing it back on again. I used your tilers method for aligning the doors on my FB ute and it works well.

Keep at it and by the time you get that body up to standard you will be a dab hand and ready to learn body and paint.


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Thanks mate
I'm winning 1 job at a time

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[2redrovers]

Yep, grind away and don't sweat it if you go too far, that's what you have a welder for 👍 I do this sorta stuff all the time.. Should have seen what I had to do to make a Kombi gap up neatly 😂

This is what I'm doing now to get good tail light gaps on this LH

I removed the factory lead and overlap joints as well as adding weld and new metal to the edges to get it to a neat 5mm gap all round. Sorry for the hijack, just wanted to say don't be afraid to cut stuff if your goal is to get really neat end results. It's the only way to do it on any 70s car.

[Mitchyboy]

Been working on the drivers side rear flare after work nearly every arvo.
Happy with the end result. Due to the way it was butchered i did it the ruts method by welding in a 20mm x 3mm bar and it worked really well.
Also cut out the passenger rear quarter and welded in the rust repair panel, had to repair the inner structure also.
Motivated to beat this rust


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[Mitchyboy]

I grinded and welded the rear door to match the gaps on the drivers side. Worked well.
Looks like i will need to do some of this with the passenger rear door also except this time it's up the top where the door meets the pillar.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday hanging the doors on the passenger side and also dummied up the fenders. Got a 5mm gap everywhere except the pillar in the rear door. Spewing.
I have come to the conclusion that i cannot do the front flares whilst the torana is on the rotisserie as i cant fit the nose cone or front spoiler.
I plan to weld up the existing holes on the fenders and dummy up the flare in order to at least cut the butcherd parts off before i spray primer. I will have to re fit and trim when car is on the ground.
Any ideas welcome


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[Mitchyboy]

Sorry guys i click on the photos to upload in order but then they show up not in order i am unsure why?

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[Mitchyboy]

This is what i am talking about on the rear door.
I am.unsure if i should grind it as it will be skinnier in profile.
It is perfect 5mm everywhere else.
Any ideas fellas?

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Maybe i try and bend it some how

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[Heath]

Is cutting and shutting the top of the rear door's window frame (somewhere along the horizontal section) a bad idea?

[Mitchyboy]

Is cutting and shutting the top of the rear door's window frame (somewhere along the horizontal section) a bad idea?

Mate i was thinking that aswell just need to make sure it doesn't affect the glass.
Has anyone else had this issue on here?
Do u think it will affect the glass?


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[Heath]

I think if it's about 2mm, you would likely get away with it. Maybe get a second opinion.

[2redrovers]

As far as the metal goes you will be fine to cut and shut the frame, they sometimes actually did this at the factory to make the frames fit.

Before you cut, I'd take the time to slip the glass back in with the felts/rubber to check how much play you have first. There's usually enough slack to make up 2mm.

Another possible way might be to force the frame top over half way, opening up the pillar gap and closing the rear by a mm so it's even. You'll end up roughly 4mm either side which in the grand scheme shouldn't be noticed by the casual observer. As long as the gap front and back is even then they will blend in fairly well.

[Mitchyboy]

As far as the metal goes you will be fine to cut and shut the frame, they sometimes actually did this at the factory to make the frames fit.

Before you cut, I'd take the time to slip the glass back in with the felts/rubber to check how much play you have first. There's usually enough slack to make up 2mm.

Another possible way might be to force the frame top over half way, opening up the pillar gap and closing the rear by a mm so it's even. You'll end up roughly 4mm either side which in the grand scheme shouldn't be noticed by the casual observer. As long as the gap front and back is even then they will blend in fairly well.

Thanks bud I will do this re fitting of the glass as you say.
It is touching at the top of the door u can see where the paint has chipped from closing it so it is definetly more than 2mm.
I might heat it up and see of i can get it to shift it not cut and weld away.
Why cant it just go in with no extra works
hahaa


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[Rockoz]

Make sure you havent got too much play in your hinge pins before going too hard anywhere else.

I would check each hinge on its own, with the other hinge unbolted from the door.

A bit of sloppiness can cause funny issues.

And maybe even look at spacers between the hinges and doors before heating and/or thumping.

 

A car I have been playing with had the top section of one door ground through to open up the seam.

It looked good until I worked out the bottom hinge pin had been sheared off for a long time and was just sitting in place.

I need to reweld the seam and add metal to get it right now that the hinge is working as it should.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[claysummers]

You could try spreading the diagonal of the opening using power port, hydraulic jack or similar. Forcing the rear top further back, causing front to do same. I did this successfully with the drivers door on my EK van. Used a small hydraulic jack and some wood blocks. Opened the gap at the front by about 2mm.


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[myss427]

The rear door gap looks the better fit to me, I would cut the front door and weld a little in, more work but better even gaps in the long run, looks like you could rotate the door a smidge to get it off the pillar too.

Edited by myss427, 24 March 2020 - 11:58 AM.

[Mitchyboy]

Make sure you havent got too much play in your hinge pins before going too hard anywhere else.
I would check each hinge on its own, with the other hinge unbolted from the door.
A bit of sloppiness can cause funny issues.
And maybe even look at spacers between the hinges and doors before heating and/or thumping.

A car I have been playing with had the top section of one door ground through to open up the seam.
It looked good until I worked out the bottom hinge pin had been sheared off for a long time and was just sitting in place.
I need to reweld the seam and add metal to get it right now that the hinge is working as it should.

Cheers

Rob

Ill double check these first now.
Cheers bud

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You could try spreading the diagonal of the opening using power port, hydraulic jack or similar. Forcing the rear top further back, causing front to do same. I did this successfully with the drivers door on my EK van. Used a small hydraulic jack and some wood blocks. Opened the gap at the front by about 2mm.


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I will try this before i cut anything
Cheers clay

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[Mitchyboy]

The rear door gap looks the better fit to me, I would cut the front door and weld a little in, more work but better even gaps in the long run, looks like you could rotate the door a smidge to get it off the pillar too.

Hi bud
Where would you cut the front door? And add some in?
The rear door is touching at the top and looks bent against the pillar.
Front door is even all around.


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[2redrovers]

Hi bud
Where would you cut the front door? And add some in?
The rear door is touching at the top and looks bent against the pillar.
Front door is even all around.


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From your photos it looks like the front is fine and left me wondering if that back door is original to the car? Doesn't matter either way but could explain why it's not fitting easily. Can you try and take a nice full photo of the rear door? So I can see what the whole door is doing. Does the door sit flush with the panels around it or does it stick out or sit too low that may suggest a twisted door? When you test the glass does it move up and down consistently or is there tight spots? The upper frame could be bent/twisted/kinked and that's giving a bad gap.

Just possibilities that I go looking for if the car was in front of me. All good suggestions from the other guys and I'd be in the same position of running through the list of checks before making the decision to cut anything. Just really hard to diagnose from a couple of close up photos.

[Mitchyboy]

Checked the hinges and all seem fine.
Attempted to Jack the window frame over but i couldn't get that method to work for me good.
So i took off the paint in the pillar and door edge and started to clamp and pack the door where it needs to go. I tried bending and all. Took ages.
It would move to make the gap even but it didn't like staying there at all.
I have clamped and heated up the door frame with my propane torch as i did to the other rear door so i am hoping this will stay where it is now. I will leave it clamped for a couple of days now. Happy i dont need to Cut it.
Fingers crossed it works


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[claysummers]

Yes the rear frame section doesn’t really lend itself to the pushing process. Sounds like you may be on to it but really it is about bending the front frame from the bottom.


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[2redrovers]

If you find you need a second go at it, hook up a ratchet strap from top front corner to the bottom back corner (weld a couple of tags on to attach to if you need to) and use that to apply tension to the frame. Then you can reheat the bottom front of the frame to help reset it. If you do it right you should probably still be able to open and close the door while it's strapped, just keep tweaking the pressure as the strap stretches over time. I've used this type of technique to pull sill gaps upwards and various other things.

[myss427]

Hi bud
Where would you cut the front door? And add some in?
The rear door is touching at the top and looks bent against the pillar.
Front door is even all around.

 

The front door looks low at the top compared to the back door, the gap looks greater above the door, i would stretch that part upwards, now with thee new pics showing the back door base and gap, I would not rotate, would take a couple of mm out of the width, no biggy.

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[Mitchyboy]

If you find you need a second go at it, hook up a ratchet strap from top front corner to the bottom back corner (weld a couple of tags on to attach to if you need to) and use that to apply tension to the frame. Then you can reheat the bottom front of the frame to help reset it. If you do it right you should probably still be able to open and close the door while it's strapped, just keep tweaking the pressure as the strap stretches over time. I've used this type of technique to pull sill gaps upwards and various other things.

Hey bud,
I think this door is original as it doesn't have the crush bar like the other rear door which does.
I have now tried the ratchet strap method yoy suggester and have got it to move nearly 3mm
Only 2 to go. Haha
Been heating it up whilst strapped and clamped in place.
The rear door seems to stick out a little further than the front door and binds on the front when I open it. I have loosened the hinge bolts and attempted to move it inwards but cant get enough out of it. Any ideas on that one.
The front door on this side seems to sit in closer than the front soor on the drivers side. I dunno why.
Im winning slowly

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[Mitchyboy]

Strapping doors, stripping paint and cutting back the front flares(the butchered parts fpr npw)
Arvo shift.
Had to work saturday so trying to make it up after work.
If i go into lock down im gunna get heaps done lol

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[Mitchyboy]

Finished paint stripping the last fender and the nose cone after work today.
Also fitted the new Bob tail to the boot lid.
I literally have tye exact measurement either side and its flush on top but the hole for the rear lock hole is a little out.
Am I being too fussy?
If i move it to make it good on the hole its out everywhere else by 3 or 4mm.
Fml

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[Mitchyboy]

1

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