Door Alignment.

[LouisW]

I have removed the doors, sanded and primed all the edges and made some gaskets up to fit the doors into position on the hinges. I managed to get the door into place (scratching my fresh primer in a few places :'( ) but even with all bolts tightened it "drops" in the door frame. Where the hinge attached to door I saw that inside, the mounted threaded piece which the bolts go into on one it seems very secure, but the other not so much. The bolts portrude through more on one than the other and when i try to tighten it more they just spin. I presume this is where I am getting the "drop"?

I also noticed that although I have a fairly good door cap, when I put on the lock onto the A post it hit the door and scrapes off the paint, bummer. I tried loosening the bolts and shunting it across but it didn't want to move. My sills have been replaced in the past, but the door at least fit without any rubbing before. Could the extra paint I applied have been the issue?

I am slightly gutted that after all the hard work I put in that the primer has just been scraped again during the fitment of the door. I am glad this wasn't the top coat that's for sure!  

Here's some pics if they help show you more what's happening.







Here's the scraping.

[RedRooster]

Happened to me too, a file is your friend here to elongate some of the holes in the hinges.
RR

[LouisW]

The strange this is, it seemed to fit better before I took it off. There was no "rubbing" however it did have a slight droop in it. Which i presume is the hinge pins? I can live with that.

What is the correct method of actually fitting the door to the spit? I did it with it opened, securing the hinges. Was a right pain in the arse though!

[James1500]

I'd repair the tapped plates first by welding nuts to the rear of them and then perhaps elongate the holes in the bulkhead to allow for a little movement,  if the hinge pins are worn I'd replace them also as you'll make setting the gaps complicated

[Velocita Rosso]

Other than the hinges/pins, what can make the door drop is a weak/rotten scuttle where the hinges fit.
If there is weakness there or the `A`post then this will not stop the door from dropping
Is this area all 100%?
The same applies to soft top fitting, if the area I mentioned is weak then this allows the windscreen to drop back and the soft top will become baggy
So, to check any weakness there,try pulling the windscreen frame up/forwards and see if there is movement  

[LouisW]

I checked today and there is hardly any movement in the hinges themselves or in the frame of the window itself, thankfully. I gave the door a bit more of a shove, and resprayed the areas which had chipped off. I even tried adjusting the latch on the car body by loosening the screws but no position stopped it from rubbing. I have better door gap now and it's inline at the top. The sills have been replaced on this side before by a PO (badly) so I think this is the reason for the bad door at the bottom. Towards the back of the car at the bottom it's flush, but towards the front.. not so much!

Here's some pics. I don't know what else to do apart from either elongate the holes or grind down some of the latch so it doesn't touch.







Where it's scraping.

[byakk0]

you've got a good gap in that first picture. Everything should be ok at this point, one would think.

as for the lower leading edge of your door, it almost looks bent outward. How does the door look if you hold a long straight edge horizontally against it down there? What about the contour vertically? Is it similar to the leading edge as the trailing edge?

If you need to elongate your holes for additional adjustment I don't think it is the end of the world. I had to do that on one side. To see if it was going to work, I only elongated one in each hinge first, mainly just so I didn't end up going to the extra effort and it not being the solution.