Body drop door alignment

[Richard R.]

Good evening folks,

i just spent the last 2 days of a spring snowstorm putting the body on an 1969 L46 convertible along with associated doors, hoods etc. it has gone well. No damage (so far) to the paint or blood pressure. The doors are just a tad off though. The pics attached show the right and left doors. I have too much gap at the top/rear of the right door and the left door is slightly off too. C
now come The really fun stuff. Should I try to fix the alignment by inserting shims (and where?). Or fiddle with the hinges?
The hinges are exactly as I removed them since I indexed the hinges with pins prior to removing the doors.
But the body has been off the frame for almost 5 years and the frame has been repaired ( in front of the left #1 body mount) to correct a prior accident. This is uncharted territory and I could use some help.

by the way, I am having a ball!

Rich

[Russ S.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Add a shim to the rear body mount on the RH side.

[Bob W.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Richard Do as Russ stated and use 1/8 in traling arm sloted shims to see what is needed . Then replace with the body mount shims.

[Gene M.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Yes, #2 post. And also need to have ALL body bolts tight to evaluate gaps.

[Gary B.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Before you start shimming different spots, put all four tires on the car and let it sit on the ground that way. Right now, with the car sitting on the hoist, all the weight of the back end is causing the door gaps to open up. Convertible bodies are very weak and jacking the car in the of the frame, will change the gaps. Do all your final fitting sitting on it's tires.
Gary B

[Richard M.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Rich, I was getting dizzy so I fixed 'em for you. Darn smartphones ain't so smart are they. BTW, All sound advice, especially Gary's.

[Tom K.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Rich, thanks for fixing the pictures, I too was getting dizzy and now I can see the gaps a lot better. The feedback is great as I hope to be doing door alignment this summer.
Tom

[Richard R.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

An update on status.

I will attach some post adjustment photos (hopefully rightside up...). We (a buddy of mine and me) were able to get the doors pretty good by inserting shims in both number 3 and 4 body mounts as well as adjusting the hinges. We found that leaving one bolt tight in one hinge, while loosening the other hinge bolt (left the other three loose) we could "walk" the door towards the back to even out the gaps. it took several times since we moved it just a smidge or so each time. Unfortunately I didn't see Gary's post to lower the car with the tires on and leave it sit free of support. He is absolutely correct! Well, we will have to now remove some shims to allow for the change. But that's not a problem since I now know how to do it with the body on the frame.

Two issues remain. First, the lower rear edge of the left door is a bit below (towards the interior) than the edge of the door post that it matches to. I am pretty sure I can't move the hinges or adjust shims to take this out since it is only on the lower edge. I watched an old body shop guy who I still see occasionally with the same problem solve it by twisting the all metal door to correct the problem. He put a piece of 2x4 in the door jam and pushed on the door until it was correct. It was painful to watch, but effective. Since this is a combination fiberglass/steel door - do you think the same thing could be done with this problem? Or should I just leave well enough alone? I was concerned that since the leading edge of the door post (in front of the rear wheel) had some exposure that road dirt/stones etc could damage the paint on that edge.

Second problem is that when the car is on the ground and free of support, with the wheels the same height from the floor I have almost 3/4" difference in height at the rear corners. I do not have the leaf spring carrier bolts tightened yet so I suppose that could impact it a bit. Yet it still is a puzzle.

Let me know what you think. all opinions are welcome.

Thanks for your help.

Rich

[Mark E.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Second problem is that when the car is on the ground and free of support, with the wheels the same height from the floor I have almost 3/4" difference in height at the rear corners.

Which specific measurement are you taking? The FSM (and AIM also, I think), specifies where to measure ground height, and specifies the side/side tolerance. I don't recall the tolerance off hand, but I've measured several C3s with more than 3/4" side/side difference.

Be sure the car is fully assembled, has the amount of fuel specified by the FSM, and the suspension is fully unloaded by driving it a bit. Even then, with new bushings, expect it to settle for awhile.

[Russ S.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Mark If there was more than 3/4 inch, something was wrong. They didn't come from the factory that way.

[Richard R.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

I am measuring from the floor to the side marker cut out. I will study the AIM for measurement specifics but since the car still has a way to go until it is complete, the weight is not correct and therefore the reason for taking some rough measurements.
When I stand behind the car (or in front) and compare the cowl, front fenders and rear deck, I can't see any twist in the body. I know that probably doesn't count. This is my first time and I am just trying to see where I could have screwed up. Since I probably did.....

[Russ S.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

I believe the service manual gives the points to measure from and the specs. If I recall correctly the points are from the frame to the floor.

[Gary B.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Loosen the front trailing arm bolts, loosen the rear spring bolts. Loosen the front a-frame end caps, both upper and lower.
Load the car in a trailer, or on a trailer. Take it for about a 50 to 100 mile drive over some rough roads. If they don't have rough roads there, come to Illinois, we are becoming the torture test track for the auto companies.... The longer the drive the better.

When you get the car home, leave it sit on the ground and measure front and rear. I usually measure from the floor to the inside of the fender-lips. If the right front sits low, it will cause the right rear to sit high.

The trailer ride will cause the front springs to un-wind and seat themselves in the spring pockets. Both the upper frame pockets and lower a-frame pockets. If the front end does not sit level, neither will the rear.

You will be surprised what a 100-mile trailer ride will do to ride height.

Gary Bosselman

[Richard R.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Gary,

Actually, I will be doing just that in a couple of weeks. Loading it in a trailer and moving it about 120 miles to my new home. Pa has plenty of rough roads so that won't be a problem. And most of the suspension has not been tightened, pending getting a normal weight load on the chassis. I will report back on how that worked out when I move it.

Thanks,
Rich

[Mark E.]

Re: Body drop door alignment

Mark If there was more than 3/4 inch, something was wrong. They didn't come from the factory that way.

The 1970 AIM A13 specifies maximum side-to-side variance of 0.50" overall. So 0.75" is a bit out of spec.

What's curious is the side-to-side variance is the same for body-to-floor and frame-to-floor measurements. So no additional allowance for variance due to body mounts/shims.