MK3 Door Skin

[MK3]

As part of the body resto I'd like to loosen the Spitfire MK3 door skin while on the car so I can straighten the door frame which is kicking out at the bottom 1cm. Its def the door frame as I can see the twist in it. Has anyone done this successfully and if so how ? There isn't a lot of space between the door frame and the skin edge to get anything in there to pull the skin flange back. Is the skin spot welded to the door frame or just tacked ? Any advice on how to loosen the skin most appreciated.

All I can find on the i*net is people cutting off the old skin with an angle grinder and fitting a new one.

[Anthony]

How far is it sticking out?

Depending on how bad it is you could put a length of wood across the door-wing-sill and give the wooden beam a smack with a hammer

I've done this on a few doors before, but they weren't painted and sealed, so they were still reletively free to move

[MK3]

I think its 1cm, possibly 2cm. I have tried fastening a 2x3 vertically on the inside of the door frame near the lock and pulling the top / pushing the bottom but the skin and door frame together are just too strong to move. Hence why I want to loosen the skin - then the frame will have to move.

[Richard B]

Depends how comprehensively it is fixed to the frame.

It should only need a couple of tacks top, middle and bottom.

See if you can ease the lip open with a screwdriver or pry bar.

You can get a Sykes Pickavant tool to refold the lip.


More likely you'll end up replacing the skin.

[JensH]

They are usually soft like ... but you will have to take out all window-parts.
I have done it a few times with a bar mounted at the rear window channel.
But: Is the door skin original?
Is the outer sill and front rear wing (aka dog leg) correct fitted?

[MK3]

JensH wrote:

They are usually soft like ... but you will have to take out all window-parts.
I have done it a few times with a bar mounted at the rear window channel.
But: Is the door skin original?
Is the outer sill and front rear wing (aka dog leg) correct fitted?

HI, the tub is completely stripped incl the doors, the shell has A and B Post, heel panels repaired, new floor, inner cill and strengthener and we are now trying to get the bottom of the door nearest to the B post to line up with the top of the outer sill before we fasten the outer cill in place. Everything that has been replaced is lined up perfectly, but its the door frame that is twisted. We can see that just by looking at it hence why I'd like to loosen the skin and twist the frame out at the top before tacking the skin back on. Its a shame to ruin a skin with an angle grinder just to straighten the frame.

I wondered if anyone has tried this before and managed it ?

[JohnB67Spit]

If the door is kicking out along the entire length !
Have you loosened the hinge mountings on the door frame. There is some adjustment on them to allow the door to be tilted in and out from top to bottom.
The other thing to check is the diagonal measurements of the bulkhead, ( from a fixed datum point on the floor on one side to a point on the dash top, door frame or something on the oposite side ). They should be the same, but if you find that the measurement is shorter on the side your door sticks out at the bottom, that could possibly be the cause. Try fitting an extra gasket behind the top hinge to A pillar mounting.

[MK3]

Managed to pry the skin flange back using a combination of screwdrivers and cold chisels after grinding the tack welds off. A good bit of twisting followed and now it fits perfect. Thanks for the suggestions guys, much appreciated.