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Old 02-06-2020, 04:04 PM   #1
Deucenut
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Default 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

I am trying to better align the doors on my 32 ford tudor sedan. I bought new hinge pins as I could see the door would drop when I opened it and there was movement in the hinge. New hinge pins didn't help at all. Also, I noticed the beltline was not matched up at the front of the door with the cowl. How do I adjust the door so the belt line matches up at the cowl? Second, if new hinge pins did not stop the movement at the hinge, does that mean the hinges are just worn out? Or is there another reason? Thanks in advance for the help.
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Old 02-06-2020, 04:33 PM   #2
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

Misalignment at the cowl normally would not be the result of hinge pin wear, but rather wear on the hinge wear surfaces. Further, if the hinge is loose, that's a whole different issue. Is the hinge looseness in the door side of the hinge or the cowl side or both?
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Old 02-06-2020, 04:38 PM   #3
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

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Misalignment at the cowl normally would not be the result of hinge pin wear, but rather wear on the hinge wear surfaces. Further, if the hinge is loose, that's a whole different issue. Is the hinge looseness in the door side of the hinge or the cowl side or both?


The hinge itself is not loose. It is tight to both the door and the A pillar. But when I put new hinge pins in, you can see the two hinge pieces moving as I lift the door up and down at the rear. Basically, the front of the door has to go up by about an eighth to 3/16 of an inch. I can't imagine the top of the hinge surface would be worn out that much. But I think the hinge pin hole is worn out to the point that new hinge pins don't solve the problem.
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Old 02-06-2020, 05:23 PM   #4
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

I'm not an expert like David but I've done some deuce 2 doors and on several we had to work the hinges a little and install oversize hinge pins. I guess I've never seen 3/16 door sag at the front. I remember on one we had to slightly build up the top[ of the male hinge plus the over size pins. Don't forget once you get the front looking good you can raise the rear slightly by tightening the cowl pinch bolt.
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Old 02-06-2020, 05:55 PM   #5
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

How is the fit of the top of the door relative to the opening in the body? Presumably the 3/16" should show up in the gap there, at least at the front and narrowing toward the back of the top of the door.
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Old 02-06-2020, 07:27 PM   #6
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

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Hinge pins are usually held fast in one of the hinge halves. A person can ream and bush the worn half but it depends on the size of the hinge points and how far it will have to be oversized to get the bushings in there. It can be a lot of work and sometimes the parts are too far gone or too thin to be able to do such a repair.
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Old 02-06-2020, 07:53 PM   #7
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

This is what the doors look like at the front. There is a gap at the top, but not as much as at the cowl, although it’s close.
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Old 02-06-2020, 08:14 PM   #8
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

Over time as these body's settled on the chassis ,some misalignment happens s theres several fix's, one as well as Krylon ,you pack the B pillar between the body and frame this will lift it at the B and in turn the front at the catch .First determine were the ware is ,Check that the alignment rear door edge to B pillar Gap is consistent top to bottom,(As has been suggested ) A common method on more modern cars was to place a block of wood between the hinge and close it a little but I wouldn't recommend that in your case ,in some cases you can pack ,wedge ,or bend the hinge ,but bending may take experienced body man and a special tool so you don't stress the mounting ,
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Old 02-07-2020, 11:09 AM   #9
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

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Over time as these body's settled on the chassis ,some misalignment happens s theres several fix's, one as well as Krylon ,you pack the B pillar between the body and frame this will lift it at the B and in turn the front at the catch .First determine were the ware is ,Check that the alignment rear door edge to B pillar Gap is consistent top to bottom,(As has been suggested ) A common method on more modern cars was to place a block of wood between the hinge and close it a little but I wouldn't recommend that in your case ,in some cases you can pack ,wedge ,or bend the hinge ,but bending may take experienced body man and a special tool so you don't stress the mounting ,


I agree, I don't want to bend the hinge...yet. I looked at the pinch bolt and it was actually a little loose, so tightening that will help the rear of the door. But I am still at a loss as to how to have the entire front of the door go up? The tops of the hinges do not show a lot of wear, none at all really. So I don't understand why the passenger door is so far down.


If I loosen the bolts that hold the hinge to the A pillar and the door, are they slotted to allow up/down movement of the front of the door?
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Old 02-07-2020, 11:48 AM   #10
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

No, they are not slotted, but they are somewhat oversize, hence the use of countersunk washers (unless it is a super-early body which had smaller holes in the pillar and no countersunk washers). However, they are not oversized enough to provide for a 3/16" adjustment. What is a bit surprising is that it is your passenger side door, which normally would have far fewer openings and closings than the other door and therefore less wear on the hinges and hinge pins. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the body is a mis-build. Yours would not be the first that I've encountered.
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Old 02-07-2020, 12:53 PM   #11
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

If it were me, I would rebuild the hinges, make sure the body is properly bolted to the frame, cut the welds where the hinge attaches to the door and do what you have to to move the door up and fit it to the hole and reweld the hinge to the door. I think there is a relief where the hinge goes to the jamb part of the door so if there isn't room to move the door up enough, you may have to massage that. IF it was misfit from the factory, there should be room to move the door up before rewelding. I am comfortable doing this kind of work as my avatar roadster required me hammer welding about 10" of metal all the way around it, (some pictures in my 32 album) but there are probably good body people near you that could help with this. As my roadster was clear apart, I fit the body to the repaired doors, in other words, made the "hole" fit the door. You shouldn't have to do that unless the body had been apart in the past or had some severe damage fixed. Good luck.

P.S. That isn't (wasn't) a RH drive car is it.
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Old 02-07-2020, 01:18 PM   #12
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

What I did with a friend on a '35 roadster I once had was remove the hinges from the A pillar(they are held in with screws like your '32 sedan),weld up the holes(on the hinge plate) then redrilled them to align with the door fittment to the cowl..Lots of trial and error but it worked

Last edited by deuce lover; 02-08-2020 at 01:08 AM.
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Old 02-07-2020, 01:57 PM   #13
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

No it is a LH drive car. The issue with doing major welding etc is that it is an older car with a decent paint job that I am trying to keep looking nice so I don't want to start taking paint off etc. I was considering purchasing a new pair of hinges from UPAC and wondered if that would help. But I have this bad feeling that it won't and more involved surgery is required. What I am, at this point, really trying to do is get the door to close easier as you pretty much have to slam it right now and my wife has trouble closing it from inside the car. The groove in the dovetail (male and female) is fairly pronounced. I purchased new dovetails but didn't want to install them until I got the alignment issue repaired since the door will just wreck the new dovetails.
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Old 02-07-2020, 01:58 PM   #14
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

Sorry My instructions were for a rear hinged door ,you will need to do as the others have suggested ,try and loosen of the door jam screws ,spay some wD40 on the threads in behind the A pillar cover .Remove the paint in the slots use a large screw driver or with caution a impact screw driver ,if you get them loose place a l block of wood under the door and jack it up .
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Old 02-07-2020, 02:10 PM   #15
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

You can cut the hinge on the door part then lift up the door and re weld it ( or lower the piece you cut) this can be done with a tig using a metal shield with minimum damage, I haven't done this but have heard of it being very successful .
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Old 02-07-2020, 05:36 PM   #16
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

If you have gaps between the two halves of the hinge, you need to fix those first. Maybe a shim/washer can be installed on top of the body half and not ruin the paint?

If that is not were the droop is coming from, it sounds like you are going to have to ruin some paint. Maybe either weld up the holes in the body and drill them 3/16" higher, or weld up the threaded holes in the hinge and drill/tap them 3/16" lower. If doing this welding, don't use a MIG as the weld will be really hard and difficult to get a smooth hole drilled/tapped. Use a soft weld from a TIG.

Once the front side of the door is fitting nice, I'd bet any droop at the back edge could be adjusted out with shims under the subframe-to-frame bolts in the area of the A pillar and cowl.

A little dab'll do ya. Sneak up on it.
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Old 02-08-2020, 03:29 PM   #17
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

I found the right side pinch bolt was loose. So I tightened it up and tried to make some adjustments. It brought the rear of the door up a little bit. I think I’ll stop there until I can figure out what to do about the front of the door. I think I’ll also take the latch apart, clean and lubricate it. That might help with the closing of the door since the latch is a bit sticky.
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Old 02-08-2020, 04:12 PM   #18
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

I know it's a crutch but there is a company that makes adjustable male dovetails for the rear of the door. I always liked to get my doors fitting without needing the dovetail. Your picture of your front vertical gap doesn't look bad. I measured the door gap on my delivery and it's a consistent 1/8 th. inch all around.
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Old 02-09-2020, 10:20 AM   #19
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

I wonder from the factory how "close" the fit was.??
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Old 02-09-2020, 11:29 AM   #20
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Default Re: 32 Ford Tudor door alignment

Off set Dove Tails came from the Factory. From Ford or the body builder . A and L Parts had them at one time.
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