[dk66gt]

I put my car together to make sure everthing lined up properly before I went any further with getting it ready for paint. All the sheet metal is original or NOS. The only problem I'm having is that my driver's side door will not line up properly to the 1/4 panel. It lines up perfectly with the front fender, top and bottom with a nice gap. The gap at the 1/4 panel is also perfect. The top part of the door (by the door handle) sticks out about 1/4" when the lower corner of the door is lined up with the 1/4 panel. When I line up the top part of the door (door handle area) with the 1/4 panel, the lower corner of the door is off 1/4", in to far. The door is a rust free original off another car and the 1/4 has not been replaced (just patched). Lastly the hinges are original and have already been rebuilt. Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[Richelieu]

Since the quarter panel is the one piece that doesn't move, no matter what, align your door to the quarter panel, making sure your bottom and back side edges are straight and where you want them... then align the fender to the door the best you can, being able to move it in and out and forward and back.. You'll get a lot more play in that fender, and better able to adjust it once your door is in position.

 

[modifiedmustang]

Wow, sounds like you have covered just about every adjustment option other than the Rubber Hammer adjustment. The rear door lip is "adjustable" in the fact that it can be bent in and out slightly to mate the quarter, but this won't help your gap problem.

Did Ford install the door skins to mate with the particular car it was going on? If so, you may have only one choice for getting it perfect... Reskin the door..... If not, perhaps it's within tolerance when the car was produced. From what I've read, seen, and heard, they weren't that accurate coming off the line.

Best of luck...

 

[dk66gt]

I'll give it another try tonight. But IRC I aligned the door first with the 1/4, then it was out of aligment with the fender. I ended up perfecting the fender area but that screwed up the 1/4 alignment as I desribed. When I left it last night, the fender top to bottom, rocker along the bottom of the door and lower corner of the door lined up. Just the top corner of the door was sticking out 1/4". We'll see tonight, hope I don't loose my cool and use my foot as an alignment tool

Thanks for the help,

 

[Guest]

Here's a hint that a old dude told me years ago to fix that problem.First off,,,,,the door MUST have new or nearly new weatherstrip on it>The weatherstrip has to be soft and pliable,,,not crusty or hard. To fix the alignment trouble you have,the door has to be physically "tweaked" to get the vertical alignment correct to the quarter panel edge.I usually put an old blanket across the rocker at the point mid-way from the front seat,to the rear pillar to protect the paint.i also protect the bottom and interior edge of the door too.I lay a two-by-four on an angle with one end laying on the floor,,,,the other end pointing "north" towards the pass.side of the car.Place the board laying on the rocker,,all the way back to the edge at the quarter pillar.If the door is "out"at the top,,,just close the door till the bottom makes contact with the 2-by-4.Push in on the door with a very firm push,,,but don't over do it.This takes several tries to get the fit perfect,,,but it can be done. I make the old Mustangs line up beautifully when they leave my shop.These cars CAN and WILL line up perfect providing you have good original metal with good line edges.The 67-68 cars seem to be the worst fit i have seen.I look at these cars in Mustang Monthly and i cringe at the poor fit at the door/fender/quarter areas.