Customs Door Gaps on Stude!

I'll try this again!! Am I the only idiot who can't get the door gaps or fender gaps aligned on a Studebaker Pickup? It was tansfered over to a Ford pickup frame but that shouldn't effect the gaps....Should it? Any help would be appreciated!

 

Hey,

What year, model Studebaker truck? If ya pick a marque from any era, most truck builds from the factory didn't have great panel alignment. Sometimes the only way to clean alignment is with relief cuts/welds, and tweeking the panels into good alignment. Start your alignment quest by aligning the doors to the B Posts and hang the hood with a good alignment at the cowl panel. Hang and adjust the fenders for a good side gap, and add shims as necessary at the core support to close up gaps at the doors. If the door or hood hinges arn't in good shape, no amount of tweeking will yield good panel alignment.

Good luck, you're gonna need it!

" Humpty Dumpty was pushed "

 

Its a 56. I have suicided the doors and the back gap is great. The front fenders and front door gaps are terrible! If the back gaps were bad I would think it was the suicide job but the back gap is really close and looks good. The hood has some issuses as well. I am guessing the hinges may be bad. Guess I will try and cabbage some more.

 

The cab structure can "move around" when the cab is placed on it's mounts. It's not at all uncommon to shim body mounts to get the door openings into bed alignment with the doors......how well that works depends to some extent on how well the doors match the shape of the opening in the first place. But, in addition the the advice already given here, the cab mounts are an additional source of adjustment.

Ray

 

Studebaker build quality in those days was not the greatest even by low American standards. Compared to today's cars it was a joke.

In 1953 and 54 Frick-Tappet Motors built a bomb called a Studillac, a Loewy coupe with a Cadillac engine. They spent hours on every car just aligning panels and getting the chrome trim to stay on. As they came from the factory, quality control resembled the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag.

 

He exaggerates, of course.

 

Hnstray's comments are right on from my experience. I have been surprised at how a change in thickness of individual body-to-frame shims changes the shape of the door openings on a four-door sedan. Your pickup body is probably more rigid than a sedan body, but I'd try some different shims and see if it helps.

 

Since you moved the latches, you can't blame Studebaker anymore. Once you get the panel flush at the latch then you have to adjust the top and bottom in or out. Often a 2X4 between the door and the jamb can be used as a fulcrum to bend the door to match the curve of the cowl. My 56 Ford shop manual shows a tech using a framework mounted on the door to bend the doors in or out to get the proper alignment. It would actually torque and twist the door frame. It can be a lot of work to get the gaps to modern show car tolerances.

I had a body man buddy come over when I did my Sport coupe. He was used to it and really manhandled the door until it fit. I was too scared to force it so much but I learned. If it won't fit...force it.

 

Not me. That is a direct quote from Tom McCahill's road test of the Studillac performed in 1953. He also said the chrome trim vibrated and thundered like the ****erflies in a skid row bum's stomach on Sunday morning.

This information came from the guys who installed the Caddy motors and corrected the Stude factory mistakes. They claimed a mechanic spent 20 hours on each car just making them the way they should have been in the first place.

If anything, build quality was worse in 1956. The hood on one sedan I examined was so flimsy it's a wonder it didn't fold in half from its own weight.

The Studillac road test

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2009...ac&Qif=studillac_0.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig

 

Sounds like the builder that has swapped frames and suicided the doors has a bit more work to do.
This shouldn't be shocking....
I'm not blaming the builder, just saying that if you want tight gaps, it's part of the process.

 

If the factory cheated the gaps so that the bodyline hit fairly close ..... Then you lined the gaps perfect on one end ... Then you have have to decide whats good and change the rest.

 

Definitely try body shims on the frame. You may have better results using a combination of steel and rubber shims in some positions.
You also may have some luck by using a length of common 2 x 2 wood in the door. Place it in the door hinge area or door hinge openings where you need alignment. Open or close the door against the wood as needed. Start with a little pressure to see if things move for you. If not, then add a little force, re-check and then slowly continue to build up force and keep checking for movement as you go.