C2 coupe door alignment question

[King M.]

I have fought this door for three hours today and this is the best I can get. The right door lined up really well with the body lines but the left door has a few issues. image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgThe main issue is where the front door middle body line meets the fender. It is slightly below that of the fender but if I raise the door to match the fender then the vent area contacts the body and if I drop the door to make clearance then the rear of door doesn't line of with top of rear fender and the gap on rear lower door widens. I've got it to the best I can? I don't know if the alignment will change when I take the chassis off the jack stands and put it back on the ground on wheels with engine in it. Is this a possibility? The hinges and shims are in the original locations; they were labeled as they came off and assembled back the same way. Is the alignment acceptable for a coupe and would it hurt in the judging arena? Your thoughts please.

I dont know know why pictures are rotating.

[Douglas L.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

King,

From my experience, I would do the final door alignment when the body is back bolted to the frame.

I would check to make sure the rivets holding the door hinge mounting plates are all tight. If the plates move after the hinge bolts are tight, that's an issue.

Not every door was mounted perfect by the factory. So, even with shims back in the original position, that does not guarantee the best alignment. The top of the door looks like it needs to come in and the door looks like it needs to go forward just a bit. You can either add a shim to the bottom hinge or take a shim out of the top hinge. Taking a shim out of the top hinge might cause the door to hit the front body vent panel. I would try adding a shim to the bottom hinge and see what that does.

It's a try and try again adjustment. Good luck with it.

[Michael G.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Do I understand correctly the car is not on the ground and your trying to align the door? If that is the case.....your wasting your time, things will change with the car back on the ground. That's when you do the alignment.

[King M.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Michael that was one of my questions if the alignment would move once it was on the ground

[Michael G.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Michael that was one of my questions if the alignment would move once it was on the ground

Correct. Once the car is on the ground, the body properly shimmed, torqued to spec.....your now ready to do the door alignment. There's a possibility your right door alignment will change (as well) once the car hits the ground. If this is your 1st body drop don't get discouraged, be patient as they can be a booger bear. You need help.....just ask.

[Russ S.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Also remember that they weren't aligned or fitted to perfection when they left the factory. Of course the way most judges judge them, if they aren't better than factory specs you will get a deduction. Don't ask me why.

[Joe R.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Good door alignment starts BEFORE the body is removed from the frame provided they fit from St. Louis. This at least will get you a starting place. Before removing the doors take a 1/4" drill bit and drill thru the hinge,shims and into the frame of the door. Then carefully remove the bolts and mark the shims and hinges as to position right or left and upper or lower. Then when the body is painted the doors can be located with a 1/4" steel pin back to the original position. At least this is a starting place and you can fine tune the position as you wish. All the removal and installation of the doors must be done ON THE FRAME.
This procedure is much more critical with a convertible than a coupe as the body of the convertible will flex a significant more than a coupe.
Good luck with your next restoration.

JR

[Frank D.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Yes drilling alignment holes in the hinges helps get the doors back on CLOSE (but not perfect) to what they were... You'll still have some tweaking to do. I won't agree that convertibles are harder than coupes. Mating that top door edge to the mistakenly sized (factory defect) roofline on a coupe doubles the work IMO.

First rule is to forget getting them perfect. You'll be reduced to sucking your thumb in the fetal position next to the car if you do. Remove the striker plate and with only a couple of bolts in each door hinge AND with those bolts a tad loose on the door have a friend inside the door with a shaved 1 by 4 piece of wood position the door so the gaps are as good as possible; then tighten the hinge bolts in that position (not moving the door). CAREFULLY ensure the door opens/closes without binding. It may take a couple of tries but this is the quickest, easiest method. If you DO have to tweak things...then loosen one hinge (upper or lower) at a time and 'walk' the door into position one hinge at a time. If you loosen both hinges the door will drop on you and you'll have to start from scratch. Shims will help move the top or bottom of the door inboard or outboard and the hinge bolts align it fore/aft/up/down.

Try to get the beltline ridge and roof as good as possible; make any compromises at the lower ridges. See first picture.
First the black ridge, then the yellow and lastly the blue...

If you've put new weatherstripping on the door jambs, upper ledge, etc. then don't even try to get them pulled in all the way...get the striker set so the door closes easily but solidly; wait 2-3 months; pull the striker in again and in another 3 months pull it in until the door tops are perfect. (Some run ratchet straps throug the doors and around the roof and crank the door tops in for a couple of weeks to get the same effect - I'm not a fan of that method).

MOST IMPORTANT: Decide when YOU are satisfied then stop..

It is not uncommon to get everything nearly perfect and still have a bigger gap at the upper fender edge of the passenger side door; likewise the rear lower edge of the door may be 'kicked in' just a bit. Unless you do major bodywork you will have these small but acceptable glitches (at least on a '63 anyway) See the last two pictures ! I've looked at and studied a ton of SWCs on judging fields and this is not unusual.

[Timothy B.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Do you have the original shim count? Your doors look good and the car is very nice looking. If the doors open and shut good it's probably best to stop driving yourself crazy at this point and get it back on the frame. On a coupe adding/removing shims at the firewall and rear mount in front of the tire can change things a bit.

[Bill W.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

The body should be sitting on all 4 tires when the "final" alignment is done . And they were never perfect when new .

[King M.]

Re: C2 coupe door alignment question

Thanks for the replies. The body was never off the frame and all the shims and hinges were reassembled in their original
places. I guess I was getting the cart before the horse in trying to do the doors at this stage. I am waiting on a few engine parts to come back. When they do I'll get the engine in place wheels on the ground then revisit the doors.