Door alignment issue-28 closed cab pickup

[smittykid]

The top of the left door is low by a good 3/4". See att. pics. It's really noticeable from the inside. The door doesn't seem to rattle going down the road. All hinges appear to be tight. The right door lines up pretty well, and it's the one that rattles some of the time. Is this a common problem for 28-39 closed cabs pickups? Could a shim on the left side help/cure this. All the wood I could get to seems to be in good shape. Thanks, Smitty

[wrndln]

I think I would try to add some shims under the cowl panel on the drivers side or removing a shim on the block at the back of the cab. Are all the cab shims the same now? 3/4" drop at the latch side of the door is a lot. It is possible the pickup was in an accident at some point, however it looks pretty good now. The other option I can think of, is to take the pickup to a collision repair shop and see what they suggest. Of course, they may not be able to help since they work almost exclusively on modern car, but it might be worth a try.
Rusty Nelson

[31Tudor]

I think I would try a shim, as Rusty suggested, under the cowl, right under the door post, (where the two bolts go) but not carrying the shim all the way to the very first bolt hole. What you want to attempt to do is basically rock the cowl slightly forward to raise the door. I would start with a pretty thin shim and see what happens. Just remember any shimming will also start to affect hood lines and hood fit.

[Spokes]

Smitty, Two good suggestions in the 2 above posts. I have a 29 CCPU in a Billion pieces. I am always interested in fixes for body alignment. Please let us know your results.

[Bob C]

How about some pictures showing the fit of the hood. If the hood fits good
I would maybe try lowering the back of the cab.

Bob

[Marvin/TN]

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I haven't tried to do this on a Model A but had done so on cars and trucks from the 60's up. you can put a ball peen hammer or a small block of wood between the leaves of the lower hinge and gently push the door closed. It will carry the bottom hinge back which will raise the latch side of the door up. Mercedes even has a special tool to do that. Both parts of Mercedes door hinges are welded on so no other way to adjust the doors. Just be gentle and go slowly and watch things closely.

[1crosscut]

For shim material get some round baler belt material from TSC. It has cloth re-enforcement in it. The rubber shims from the vendors has none and will squish pretty badly.
If you don't have a TSC nearby some of the rubber impeller material from single stage snow blowers can be made to work. Perhaps your local small engine repair shop would have some used stuff laying about.

[Dan Partain]

I made some suggestions for lining up the doors on a pickup a few years ago, it may be of some help on your pickup, you can see them here -

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58395

-DAN

[Tom Wesenberg]

Semi trucks often leave mud flaps on the side of the road.
Next time you see one stop and take it home. It makes good shim material.

[larrys40]

Smitty,

Dan has some good advise ( post #8) and I would suggest to study the door and body alignment well before you take action. Many times doors get hung on and hinges can get bent, sagged, etc. See how the door is really fitting on the front end. It may be the hinge(s) need to be tweaked, or maybe the shims on the body blocks. I might suggest loosening the everything and see what happens. Use masking tape to mark where things are first and use it as a guide for improvement.

You can also use some large washers cut out by 1/4 to the hole for easy insertion. the make good hard shims that don't compress as much and are easier to get in than the rubber shims once a body is mounted.

It takes time to get good body and hood alignment. Patients and perseverance will get you there... Just keep analyzing and progress with a good common sense methodical approach. Post us photos of it fixed when your done!

Best of luck!
Larry Shepard

[Big hammer]

Just a thought, if you loosen all the mounting bolts then shake the cab side to side front to back just maybe the cab wil find it's home? If not pry up on each mount to find the offending mount could be a lot of trial and error to make it right