Ford COE doors seem to have no adjustment at all... The door pins in the hinges seem tight. Despite that the door sags a bit. What's the secret to aligning a setup like this? thanks,
In the case of no, or insufficient, hinge adjustment, try this. A 2x4 about four or five feet long, one end placed on the door opening sill, and with the door partially open and the 2x4 under, and nearer to, the latch end the door, raise the outer (free) end of the 2x4 and return the door to it's pre-sagging position. In other words. 'pry' the door upward. Many people not familiar with the body work trade, especially the older methods, have no idea that such simple (and possibly crude) methods work so very well to correct alignment of body parts, especially doors. A similar method can be applied when a door fits the opening at the front, but is in, or out, at the top, or bottom, at the back of the door. Putting a 2x4 at either top or bottom and pushing on the door against the resistance of the 2x4 will 'tweak' the door frame into better alignment. Ray
The 2 x 4 method works great. Look closely at the hinges where they bolt to the body. Loosen those up a bit and employ the 2 x 4 method.
and if the door skin hangs below the door frame by any amount (most do), use a block of wood under the door frame to fill that area and protect the skin while pulling up on the 2x4.
As a follow up comment, most door hinges have some range of adjustment, often in two planes. In those cases, hinges can be adjusted both on the door pillar and at the attach point to the door. Not all have both ranges of adjustment, but even when they do, the doors end up sagging over the years and correction may exceed the adjustment range....hence the 2x4. Ray
The Ford hinges will deform/spread over the years as well. Remove them, make sure the pins are in good shape and replace if needed. When the hinges are closed, the two halves should be parallel. If they are spread apart, or bowed, place them in a large vise, or in a press and form them back into shape. That will tighten the gap at the front edge of the door so you may just have to do the uppers to get back into alignment.
That's true of all old cars and us too. We creak and bend for so many years that we get out of wack and need repairs.
assuming the door pins and hinges are in good shape, it's essentially a matter of bending the door frame? do the tend to stay put after this treatment or is more inner support needed to keep them in their new position? thanks
Your Album shows that you have done significant metal work on your cab. After you ensure that the hinges/pins/etc are all in good shape; I would suggest for door sagging that you look at cab mounting onto the frame. The old cabs will flex and minimal shimming or new mounting material may bring the door into alignment.
I believe it boils down to 'cab' (door opening frame) strength. The tweaks can re-shape the opening, but rust and fatigue conspire against us. Braces-gussets (hidden) may become necessary.
Shimming the cab is a very interesting idea and may well be completely spot on. Unfortunately, I cannot say if the doors worked well or not before any work. I suspect they did not... I drew a little diagram where the door sag is to the rear of the door opening (obviously). If shimming the cab is the answer, it looks like mount nearest the rear edge of the door (center mount, maybe) would need to go down or the mounts away from the rear edge of the door (Frontmost cab and rearmost cab mounts) would need to go up. Does it sound like I have the theory correct? thanks guys!!
I have a reprint of a Canadian Ford shop manual and the 2x4 adjustment tool is an approved Ford device.
I've had success using the fwd. cowl/cab mounts. Might try to Lever the door up, by shimming one fwd. mount nearest the door.
also if the top hinge is bent towards the door opening it will cause a sag. Same as if the bottom hinge is bent towards the front of the car. only takes a bit to throw the door off.
Don't know if it has come up yet but you may need to check the A pillar. On many old cars and trucks they get a little weak and will let the door sag.
OK, I weenied out on bending the actual door and opted to bend the hinges instead. (or probably more appropriately as mentioned here... bent them back to where they might have been in 1941.) Just a very slight bend towards the rear on the lower hinge and even less bend forward on the upper hinge and the passenger door fits and closes very nicely. On to the driver's side, hoping for the same result.. I do wonder if I've fatigued the metal, but it was a very slight bend so I'm hoping for the best on that....
Nay to fatigue! You actually bent some metal. If it cracked, you'd have realized it as it bent too far. Fatigue requires lots of little bumps (ex: concrete paved expansion-joint bumps).
Success on the driver's side!! Now that I know what the hinge should look like, one quick look at the lower hinge and I could see a considerable bend from years of the CocaCola guy and the Farmer winging the door open... I little straightening and the door works nearly perfect now! Thanks for all the help guys.
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