67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

[Dave K.]

Looking for advice as to when to put doors back on body. The car is freshly painted and I was thinking of putting the doors back on prior to doing the body drop on the chassis. Is this the best approach? Tonight I put the passenger door on and I have 2 shims on top hinge and 5 shims on bottom hinge (This was how it was shimmed from the manufacture prior to me taking the car apart). I currently can't shut the door the entire way because it will slightly pinch or hit the paint at the front of the door. I haven't played with it much but was wondering if I'm wasting my time and should wait to put the doors on after the body is back on chassis.

[Rick R.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

I would have put the body back on the chassis prior to painting the body and shimmed all of the mounts properly. Additionally, I would have "cut in" ( painted ) the door jambs first, then hung and adjusted the doors, then painted the whole car with the doors on it. Same thing for the hood. Besides scratching everything up, the doors never seem to quite match when painted separately. I wish you the best, but IMHO you are in for a lot of grief.

[Jim D.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Everyone has their own way of doing things but here's what I do. All the body work, panel fitting and gaps are set with the body on the frame. I then remove the body and paint all the pieces separately. The body is put back on the frame before any panels, doors, etc. are mounted. I've never had a fitment or paint matching issue in the 45+ years I've been restoring them.

[Russ S.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Definitely wait with putting the doors on until the body is back on the frame.

[Stephen L.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Dave,
If your car is a metallic color, as in Marina Blue, you may want to do a color check between the door and surrounding body. Metallic paint tends to change "color" (very slightly, but very noticeable under fluorescent lighting) due to the way the metallic particles lay in the paint. I had this problem after the painter assured me that everything would "match" after painting in pieces...even at the same time in the same booth. I had to repaint the car, roughly assembled (doors hung, headlight buckets in place, and hood in place). After painting I then again disassembled the parts and set the body on the frame.
Note: I did NOT discover the paint "color" problem until I had the body on the frame and buffed the first time. Had to start over.... very frustrating.

[Jim D.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

That sux. Obviously the first painter didn't know what he was doing. I've never had a problem painting metallic cars in pieces. It all depends on how you go about it.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

I just got an ad for this car yesterday in an email.
Take a look at the doors - you can tell they don't match. They appear darker than the rest of the car.

http://www.legendarymotorcar.com/inventory/1969-chevrolet-nova-ss-1766.aspx

[Timothy B.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Dave,
If your car is a metallic color, as in Marina Blue, you may want to do a color check between the door and surrounding body. Metallic paint tends to change "color" (very slightly, but very noticeable under fluorescent lighting) due to the way the metallic particles lay in the paint. I had this problem after the painter assured me that everything would "match" after painting in pieces...even at the same time in the same booth. I had to repaint the car, roughly assembled (doors hung, headlight buckets in place, and hood in place). After painting I then again disassembled the parts and set the body on the frame.
Note: I did NOT discover the paint "color" problem until I had the body on the frame and buffed the first time. Had to start over.... very frustrating.

Everybody has there own way to do this but stop and think about how the factory did it. I realize the car was mass produced but for good reason everything was installed and adjusted before paint.

I always took everything apart but if I ever do another it will be assembled before paint. That being said I would cut the front door jams etc before assembly, I had a old timer once tell me to also install the window and trim then tape the trim before paint, lesser of two evils.

[Joe R.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Going with Jim Durham on this one! Experience of his and mine speaks worlds of truth. Nearly 100 years together of working with these plastic beasts! Yes, they will bite you in the butt but learn and go on!

JR

[Gene M.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Rick’s post #2 makes the most sense. The body on the chassis will determine the door fits with shimming. Only the doors in position will yield color that matches the rest of the car.

[Stephen L.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Many times the paint will look great in sunlight... but, place it under fluorescent lights and the color and imperfections stand out.

In my case mentioned earlier, the second time we did paint the jambs and the headlight bucket jambs and bucket edges prior to "loose" assembly and then the overall color paint. I've seen many paint jobs that look great outside but don't pass muster under the lights. I'd bet if you paint a metallic color car, paint it "loose" assembled and then take a headlight bucket only, and place it next to a rear panel you'd see a color shade difference.........especially under lights.

[Rick R.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

I just got an ad for this car yesterday in an email.
Take a look at the doors - you can tell they don't match. They appear darker than the rest of the car.

http://www.legendarymotorcar.com/inv...a-ss-1766.aspx

I see it all the time. You're exactly right, you can spot the ones that were done that way even in the ads.

[Jim D.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

Many times the paint will look great in sunlight... but, place it under fluorescent lights and the color and imperfections stand out.

All my painting, cutting and buffing is done under fluorescent lights. Like I said earlier, if you know what you're doing, there won't be any color match issues. It's like the old saying, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, don't". I seriously doubt there is anyone more picky about body work and paint than myself. That's why I do all my own work.

[Dick W.]

Re: 67'--Put doors back on car before or after body drop on chassis????

We always painted the doors off and did not remount until the body was on frame