31 roadster pass door

[kurt v]

My pass door kicks out on the bottom about 5/8", other than that it lines up great and latches fine. Is there a way to adjust the hinges, hinges seem to be fixed and not adjustable. Driver door fits great, body has no shims , just front firewall pads, frame is good. Door is set in at about 3/32' even top to bottom at the hinges can't seem to be able to move them out to fix my problem.

thanks kurt

[Bob C]

Has the body spread out at the top?

[kurt v]

I've tried to pull the rear jam area in with a small come along but something will have to buckle to make it stay. I'll just have to stair at it a while longer and figure a way to shift the hings in and out a little bit.

kurt

[Herb Concord Ca]

You can try placing a block of wood at the bottom of the body rail and press against the rear bottom of the door, to see if you can move the door closer to the body.

[Synchro909]

Put a block of wood at the top of the door to prevent it from closing, then push the lower corner in. It might take quite a bit of pressure to do it but you will be able to get the bottom corner closer to the body without much trouble. Your aim is to twist the door from its currently incorrect shape to somewhere closer that you are happy with. With cars of this age, VERY often he doors were left with a buckle in them so that when they closed, there was tension on the catch and they didn't rattle and squeak so much so don' t drive yourself crazy trying to get it "perfect".

[Ray in La Mesa]

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I've used the "block of wood" procedure a number of times & it works great.

[rotorwrench]

The 30/31 body has a bit more bracing due to the little package tray that helps hold the quarters together better. It could still get warped a bit in an accident but it can be corrected with proper measurements at certain key points. The doors are small but can get warped along with the hinges and hinge points due to their fragile nature. Tweaking and shimming are the only way to fix them. Comparing to known good fit items would require observing other similar cars for ideas about fit and function.

[mcgarrett]

In the 1953 Ford Truck factory repair manual there is a photo showing the use of special tools made to "tweek" a door that didn't fit correctly, either from the top or bottom. The wood block method will work the same way but be careful how and where you place the blocks and that you don't over twist it.

[Smokedtires]

Originally Posted by mcgarrett

In the 1953 Ford Truck factory repair manual there is a photo showing the use of special tools made to "tweek" a door that didn't fit correctly, either from the top or bottom. The wood block method will work the same way but be careful how and where you place the blocks and that you don't over twist it.

Wow, cool!

[mcgarrett]

Close examination of the above picture suggests that an enterprising Model A owner could make something similar with some big clamps and a suitable beam out of scrap material to go against the door opening and accomplish the same thing. Seems like that would be a great tool for Model A clubs to have available for their members to borrow.

[Karl Wescott]

Before you start tweaking the door, measure the diagonals across the cowl and across the quarter. Each pair (cowl-cowl & quarter-quarter) should be within 1/8" of each other. If more you may have an underlying out of square issue that your efforts would be better spent to address.

[mcgarrett]

KW is absolutely right. The basic body geometry has to be right BEFORE any tweeking of the doors themselves.

[gdmn852]

Hello, as mentioned, check the upper quarter panels for cracks and weld , a common place for them to break is near the area where the to moldings are. On the inside of panel, there is an angle that ends and usually cracked here . On my previous roadster, they were incorrectly welded for location, I cut the weld , brought the upper quarter inward and reworked to correct location. The doors do spring out so check that also . I think any unrestored roadster body I’ve seen have cracked at this location.

[Planojc]

Had the same problem with my 31 roadster, but after doing the body alignment, the door kick out went away.