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40 ford door adjustment

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Capt.Mike, May 26, 2010.

  1. Capt.Mike
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 63

    Capt.Mike
    Member

    How do you adjust the doors on a 1940 Ford 2 Dr Sedan? Since there appears to be no adjustment in the hinges I am guessing you have to torque the body mounts. Having never tried this before I could use some help.
    The drivers door is about 1/2" to low at the latch. The right door is fine.
    I have the vehicle on a level surface.

    The project is fun but progressing slowly. I did attempt to start the engine this week, after sitting for 16 months. A clean carb, new wires and plugs, new fuel pump and lines and a cleaned out tank with fresh fuel did the trick on the first crank. I was like a kid in a candy store. The 5.0, running through new Flowmasters, sounds great.
     
  2. is the driver's door just low because the hinges are worn out? how are the door gaps?
     
  3. 39 All Ford
    Joined: Sep 15, 2008
    Posts: 1,531

    39 All Ford
    Member
    from Benton AR

    I mocked up my 39 Coupe doors last week, If 1/2" low at the striker, the gap at the top front of the door must be too big OR the gap at the front bottom must be too small.

    You can get away with bending the hinges just a little before they start looking screwed up, and the cowl posts will "adjust" a little if you use the right tool. The first time I mocked my doors I made a tool by welding a small plate to a 20" x 1" square tube and bolting the plate to the hinge mount.

    This will provide good leverage and control.
     

  4. Please keep in mind that the hinge pin holes are meant to be in line with one another so tweaking things may screw that up. A long piece of 1/4" rod should be able to pass throgh both hinges at once. On most all that i have done , i have had to take the door off the A-pillar with the hinges still on the door and then drill out or grind the remaining bolts. Everyone that i have touched has had the bolts welded to the hinges. It's a fair amount of work but after doing this you can get much more adjustment on the door.
     

  5. Capt.Mike
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 63

    Capt.Mike
    Member

    Here are some pictures of the problem. The hinges are bolted on which can give some adjustment in and out. The gap on the front is even from the bottom to the top hinge than it begins to widen. On the rear of the door the gap is pretty even top to bottom. Of course the gap at the top goes from 1/4" at the front to almost 1" at the rear. The right door is about 1/4" gap all around. The body seems to be in the correct position and is not bowed or warped. I installed new pads all around when I put the body back on the frame.

    This was a project-in-progress that I bought. All though it had a pretty coat of paint on it the frame still had cracks and cuts that required it's removal for repair.
     

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  6. Capt.Mike
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 63

    Capt.Mike
    Member

    Also - the hinges look almost new. They have no play or wobble in them.
     
  7. It may not be the hinge(s). Try shimming the body. I have a chart/booklet that shows where to shim the body for this type of problem and other alignment problems. I'll try to find it. I got it a few months ago on ebay. Its a pretty good reference for many 30's-40's cars.

    Murph

     
  8. Below is the description of the body shimming guide for a 1940 Ford.. I think its what you need. I have the details where to get it on ebay.

    Murph


    So the much awaited time has come to bolt your body back onto the frame...your project is going to really start looking like a car again! The trouble is, it isn't that simple! I can't tell you how frustrating it is to try and get the body bolted down and shimmed correctly so all of the doors open and close nicely! A shim here, a gap there...it can really be a challenge to get things right. This auction is for a guide which is intended to take much of the guess work out of making the necessary adjustments when properly aligning the doors in the door opening on your car when bolting the body back on. This information is taken from old body shop manuals from the 50's when guys did this sort of work daily...back before the uni-body!
    The best thing about this guide is that it is not body specific. The principals outlined can be used for any body designed/built in the 1930's, 40's,50's, and many 1960's model vehicles.
    These sheets use condition/remedy scenarios which show unfavorable door gaps, and the shim remedy to fix the issue. It is important to note that this is not a complicated manifesto in mechanical engineering! It is intended to be a basic guide in properly shimming a body as it was done at the factory.
    Please note: This is not a crappy black and white photo copy from an old Chilton's! With this auction you will receive a NEW, CAD-Clear, Color, large format 8.5x11" 8 page guide. The body illustrated is a 1940 Ford, but again it is universal to all bodies from that era. The charts will come rolled in a sturdy shipping tube...not folded up in an envelope to make it there on a dime!
    Thanks for looking, please see my other items for Frame dimensions and rare collectible speed parts.
     
  9. The sellers username on ebay is: ilovetmatt27

    Here is the auction opening, I paid $6.00 bucks for it.

    <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">Body Shimming Guide 1935 36 37 38 39 40 Ford nos COLOR
    Color - 8-pg - Clear Drawings - NOT a crumby Photocopy!



    </td></tr><tr><td class="ipics-cell"><form name="ssFrm" action="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=370350581646" target="ssFrmWin" method="post"><input name="ssr" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="iurls" value="0#http://i.ebayimg.com/04#!BmjQL6!CGk~$(KGrHqIOKjYEtkGY!prWBLgBDYJ41w~~_14.JPG#!BmjQL6!CGk~$(KGrHqIOKjYEtkGY!prWBLgBDYJ41w~~_12.JPG" type="hidden"><input name="dtid" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="vs" value="1" type="hidden"><input name="sh" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="title" value="Body Shimming Guide 1935 36 37 38 39 40 Ford nos COLOR" type="hidden"></form><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="vs_w-a"><center>[​IMG]</center>
    Please wait
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    • Enlarge


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    </td></tr><tr><td class="vi-is1-lbl">Shipping:</td><td colspan="3" class="vi-is1-clr">$1.50 US Postal Service Parcel Post See more services <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="334"><tbody><tr id="chngLoctid"><td class="olp-tl">Start of layer</td><td class="olp-tr" width="18">
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    Service and other details:

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    </th><th scope="col" id="v4-33_tab_0_srtHCol_1" class="dt-colCnt dt-rowSeptr dt-colHdr dt-alignLft" colspan="1" width="0%">Estimated delivery*
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  10. Capt.Mike
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 63

    Capt.Mike
    Member

  11. here's a old body man's trick, simple and easy..........jack on the back of the door, let it down, check, repeat several times each time going a little higher, then check.........
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    I need more weight in my car to finish the door alignment so I'll finish it when the motor and trans are installed.......
     
  12. okiedokie
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 4,777

    okiedokie
    Member
    from Ok

    I did the shim shuffle on my 40 coupe to align the doors. Man, that took some trial and error. Buy the chart. Joe
     
  13. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 20,380

    alchemy
    Member

    If the gap between the hinges is correct, the problem is the shims under the mounting bolts. Don't bend the hinges.

    Your problem needs a shim under the bolt right at the A post to cure. Do not put a shim under the front edge of the cowl too, as you need to swing the door upward at the A post.

    You may find a need to install a smaller shim under the B post as well if you can't get a good gap at the back of the door (if you go too far and can't get it back down), but this is a very slight possibility.

    Start with a 1/16" shim under the A pillar, driver's side only.
     
  14. Capt.Mike
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 63

    Capt.Mike
    Member

    Thanks again. I ordered the book. I just got home from working on one of the fire crews at Charlotte Motor Speedway so I am out of gas for tonight (it was fun though). I'll try a few shims tomorrow just to start getting a feel for how it works.
     
  15. kennj
    Joined: Oct 24, 2013
    Posts: 101

    kennj
    Member

     
  16. kennj
    Joined: Oct 24, 2013
    Posts: 101

    kennj
    Member

    I need really need this info on shimming but can't seem to find the seller on eBay any further info , name or address of seller or name of book
    Thanks
    Kenn
     
  17. Stu D Baker
    Joined: Mar 4, 2005
    Posts: 2,754

    Stu D Baker
    Member
    from Illinois

    May be because this thread is five years old??
     
  18. alphabet soup
    Joined: Jan 8, 2011
    Posts: 2,017

    alphabet soup
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I just made thin aluminum shims for mine. The bottom of the drivers door needed to go towards the quarter. If you stare at the lower hinge you can see it. But it worked out pretty darn good.
     

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