On my 39 ford coupe the top of the drivers door is bent out some. The rest of the door lines up real nice with everything else. You'll see the top of the door in the Pic between the blue masking tape. I don't want to start doing anything without a tip or 2 so I don't make it worse. Thanks in advance.
I would think that this could be either a sagging body mount under the A pillar or hinges that have been tweaked. Seems odd that the door would be bent and appear fine in the spots the kink/ crease would be. Does the door glass bind at all when being raised and lowered? The door top being tweaked would put the window track out of alignment and I imagine cause some bind? Edit: is that peep mirror bracket touching? Any wear marks? I could see something like that hitting and broadcasting misalignment from there?
Good point on those clamp mirrors! If it isn't touching now, I bet it will once the alignment is fixed. I'd check the clamp for any signs of contact, and remove it to check door fitment. It's sometimes not tough to put a 2x4 at a low point on the door frame, and then push in with your hands to bring the high spot down. I've done it several times and just takes some minor pressure and checking to move it a bit at a time. Once it's fixed you may need to find a different mirror option. I have those on two different cars, and I removed the clamps and drilled through my door frames and bolted them on running screws from inside to the mirrors. I used button head allen screws.
Put pillows in the door jams where it’s good, and lean into the top portion that needs adjusting. Might have to use something more substantial than the pillows.
Back in the old days we used full size telephone books instead of pillows! You could adjust how much you wanted to bend by choosing how many pages to open . Sounds funny but it worked every time. God Bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
In the early 1960s my class toured through a Buick manufacturing plant. I saw a guy hang a door on a car. Top of the door hit the body first and the bottom of the door was out over an inch. He stuck a hammer handle in the top of the door and slammed it. Perfect fit. .bjb
As has been mentioned, this was a fairly common thing to have happen and fix. The biggest concerns with the methods stated are not scratching the door or body while bracing the door and very importantly make sure the glass is down when adjusting the upper door. Once the door closes properly slowly roll up the window and watch for binding. I have used ratchet straps to a 2X6 in the other door frame to slowly pull the top of a door back in after the door being adjusted was braced slightly open. The bending will need to be done slowly and after you release whatever pressure you use to bend it, the door will spring back slightly. It will take multiple attempts to get it just right so don't rush it.
Tim the window rolls up nice and true and easy. no wear marks and the top of the door was tweaked out before i put the peep mirrors on. Thanks.
Take the top hinge pin out and see if the door can me made to fit just by closing it on the dovetail.. may be hinge position is out
I had that problem on a brand new daily barge. Dealership mechanic did the 2x4 trick. Protect the inner door if you want to try this. Maybe use a second 2x4 or similar to spread the contact area.
That's good idea, might try a couple of old McMaster Carr catalogs as I think phone books will be harder to find.
When I was younger and a little more limber I'd open the door, put my knee against the middle of the door, grab the top of the door with my hands and pull in on the top as my knee pushed out on the middle of the door. Many many doors I've done that way but not sure if I could still get full effect in my older age.... ...
A friend of mine had a 55 two-ten that had a similar problem with the trunk lid that was a little wonky, he took it to another friend of his that did body/paint work, the guy took out his wallet and used it to tweak the lid, worked great, the guy said it works best with a full wallet.
Maybe someone locked the keys inside and they pried out to get the traditional coat hanger in there to get it open...
If it lines up everywhere else and shuts nice, we’d put a knee in the door and pull back on the door top. official manufacturer procedure and make sure the mirror or anything else is the reason
If you do the knee trick or phone book trick roll the window all the way down so you don't break the glass.
39 doors aren’t wimps. You guys think that he can bend the door right at the base of the window in the front, while not messing up the nice alignment of the B pillar, by just twisting the thing with a block of wood or other spacer? Good luck (to you all). I predict it’s gonna need paint work before you are done.
Notice we also suggested mechanical leverage (ratchet strap). And that should not over do the pull and is easily controllable. Padding the board(s) should protect the doors and car. The strap can be relocated to the exact part of the door you want to move. I know, I think he can bend it at just the right place with the advice given. And depending on how stout he is, he may well be able to bend it by hand.
Old body guy up the road from where I grew up had a whole drawer full of rubber and plastic shims, wedges, blocks, chunks of hose, shaped pieces of 2x4. Just for tweaking body alignment panel fit. I watched him fix a '66 Ford Falcon trunk lid and hinge that had been caught from the backside in a high wind gust and over-extended open. He did several moves of wedge or block along with hand pressure, or panel leverage and had it fitting great. Had to tweak both the hinge and the lid several times to work out in reverse the forces the wind had put into the deal. Yours is tougher due to the fact that's a strong section, lots of curves and sub panel bends are reinfocing that Probably straps, but don't just try to force the strap and come-along to do the work. Pull some tension in a bit, then thump th area with your hand or a soft mallet. It stress releive's the metal. Stop after every pull and check fit.
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