Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear body

[John D.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

Isn't the root cause of the door fit problem on coupes the issue explained in Noland Adam's book ? Apparently the roof mold was constructed to the wrong side of material so the roof panel was nominally too small. The door headers and weatherstrips were tweaked as a fix instead of making new roof molds.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

Scott,
As john said ," nature of the beast", fix the error.

They probably had to much bonding on the door and lesser on the body when they bonded the skin on.

DOM

[Timothy B.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

I remember factory filler on my 63 coupe at different locations around both the door and the body. Also, seem to remember filling the same area on the drivers door, funny thing is that when I put that NOS GM weatherstrip on everything went bad..

Scott, fix the problem after making sure the body is shimmed and tightened snug on the frame. It does not need to be perfect and make sure you round the corners good so the gaps don't look like a razor blade edge.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

I remember factory filler on my 63 coupe at different locations around both the door and the body. Also, seem to remember filling the same area on the drivers door, funny thing is that when I put that NOS GM weatherstrip on everything went bad..

Scott, fix the problem after making sure the body is shimmed and tightened snug on the frame. It does not need to be perfect and make sure you round the corners good so the gaps don't look like a razor blade edge.

Tim,

back in 1971 the same thing happened to me when I put the weatherstripping on my 67.

I used GM weatherstripping then and think I bought something softer this time.

I haven't tried it yet but I did a door on something else and it wouldn't fit untill I used a greasy lube made for weatherstripping and it let everything slide in place.

Now the door seal is perfect after it slid into shape.

DOM

[Scott M.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

Scott, my convertible was the same way and I had asked Wayne the same question a few years ago. I built the area up to match the rear quarter. I also discovered that the doors were also not the exact same length when I installed the new front clip which required adding some glass to the rear of the passenger door to achieve nice door gaps.

[Paul Y.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

I have always used glass and resin to build up as it is more resistant to slamming. and is compatible with the existing glass in temperature fluctuation. besides being almost undetectable.

[Paul J.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

I have always used glass and resin to build up as it is more resistant to slamming. and is compatible with the existing glass in temperature fluctuation. besides being almost undetectable.

That's a good practice, as filler is not intended to be thick.

[Bill M.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

My '65 matches up at the top and middle, but is off at the bottom. It doesn't have any filler.

[Scott S.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

Everyone,

Thank you very much for the replies. We will build up the area with fiberglass and resin to more closely match the rear body, and make sure to round the edges of the door so the gaps don't look too sharp (thanks for tip!).

Scott

[Tom K.]

Re: Normal? 63-7 LH door, when body centerline matched up, top of door is BELOW rear

Scott, I have the same problem with my 67 vert. Only mine is on both sides, with the left being the worst. Thanks for posting the question. I will need the answers in a year or so when I get to the body. My thanks to all that provided the helpful answers. Hopefully I have posted a picture of each side.
Tom