Hello guys, So I currently have quite a predicament with the alignment of the driver's side door on my bird, and I was wondering if anyone had the diagram that shows which bolts do what on the door alignment, Thanks!!!
Never worked on a Tbird door but american cars are pretty standardized. Normally, the bolts on the body control the back and forth, up and down movement. The ones on the door control in and out. Basic procedure is to remove the latch pin to allow the door to close without interference. Loosen the body bolts, they should be loose enough that you can move the door around but tight enough that it will stay where you put it. Start by adjusting up and down, back and forth with the body bolts loose until you get an even door gap and the body lines are true. Then snug those bolts, loosen the door bolts and adjust the door in and out until it fits flush with the rocker panel and body. You may have to adjust the fender to the door to get a perfect gap. Once the door fits peachy keen you can put the latch back on. Crouch down and peek in while you almost shut the door. Adjust the height of the latch pin to match the latch. Leave it a little too far out. The door should shut perfect, but the door be a little out from the body. Note how far out, and move the latch pin in that much. By now the door should fit and shut perfect. 2 things, first of all make sure the hinges are good or you are wasting your time. With the door barely open lift it up and down, if you feel any movement in the hinges, replace the pins and bushings. Second, if you are replacing the rubbers leave them off until you align the door. Old weatherstripping will not interfere with your adjustments but new ones sure will. As it is a hardtop, once you have done all this you get to roll up the windows and find out whether they need to be aligned but we will leave that for later, you have done enough for today.
Sometimes you have to slack off the bolts, adjust the door, then snug one up while you check the fit. This is to keep the door from shifting and losing its fit.
This is what you do. Pay attention to the last line, first...you need to adjust the door to fit the quarter panel and rocker, NOT the front fender. You make the fender fit the door AFTER you adjust the door. And if the door is shaped wrong to fit the rocker and quarter, then you get to play more fun games...but see how far you get following the above excellent advise first.
Actually, bolts holding the door to the hinge arms control back-and-forth/up and down; bolts holding the hinges to the door jamb control in-and-out. Check out sites like the VTCI Forum at vintagethunderbirdclub.net and Squarebirds.org for more-thorough descriptions, photos, etc. for your '58 as well as '59-'60 and other years.
you should be able to tell pretty quickly just by looking at the hinges, which bolts adjust what. If you're still not sure, loosen the bolts and move the door a little, and find out. Be careful not to go very far with each adjustment, it's better to sneak up on it.
As I recall, the front fenders on these 'Birds are welded on, not bolted......no adjustment is provided. Ray
Not true on the early T-birds, as the fender is welded on; it's a one-piece shell. All adjustment is done to the door only....
Alrighty, thanks for the helpful advice guys! I will certainly try it out tomorrow, I was able to get the up and down right on my own, but an inch too far out was sorta messing with the lines of the car, if you catch my drift. Thanks again!
The Jalopy Journal
