Hey guys, so a few months back my 59 Buick rolled back into a post, and the drivers side door bent the opposite way, messing the door and hinges something bad.. Ive replaced the hinges with straight ones, and now the door closes and opens like it should, however, I have a 2 inch gap on the lower part of the door. Any advice on how to tackle this one? Thanks
step back a little when you take the picture, so we can see what you are working on...I have no idea what kind of car it is?
Well, there three areas likely to have been affected when the accident occurred. The door hinge pillar, the hinges and the hinge mounting surface of the door itself. So far you have replaced the hinges. Did you closely examine the pillar and front of the door for damage? If those remaining areas are good, then you may be dealing with either a hinge adjustment and/or a twisted door shell. If the door is twisted, it will need force applied to undo the damage. Ray
Exactly! The door shell is twisted. I was wondering how some of the body experts here would go around fixing the damage. So Far im thinking a 2x4 a wall and a scissor jack.
Another approach that works (sometimes) is to put the 2x4 between the door and the lock pillar opposite the point you want to move keeping pressure on the door to keep the 2x4 in place, you put even more pressure on the 'free' end. Sometimes a sort of bumping motion with your body weight will move the shell in the direction you want it to go. Ray
Bend to fit body panels Force messes these things up and force correction fixes them. I don't see a 2" gap though
If the force was great enough to bend the hinges . There's a good chance the pillar is distorted under the hinge. Remove door and hinges and check for damage. Repair pillar if necessary. It's also a good idea to fit the door to the opening with the door latch striker removed.
Yes, remove the latch first. Then make sure the front edge is aligned/correct before you start messing up the back edge.
Yes take the door back off , take the hinge off the pillar ( the mounting hole or bolt holes might be twisted , if so you could bolt the old hinge back up and hammer it back the other way ) and do the same on the door shell if that mounting point looks twisted Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Thanks for all the advice guys,there was no damage to the mounting holes on the frame. I took measurements of the other side and everything is square like it should be. The old hinges were definitely bent, and with the new ones in, the door shut near perfectly, so it seems the problem is solely on the door.
As Hnstray said, the old slam the door with a 2x4 in the jamb. It really does work and should get your door in line with some repeated persuasion.
Don't "slam" the door with the 2x4 in there. Have a friend hold the 2x4 in the upper half of the rear jamb, and you slowly and firmly push the lower corner inward. Over-push a little each time as it will spring back. Sneak up on it. No slamming.
My 2 cents; first, I'm certainly not a licenced collision man. Having said that, if I were in your shoes I would look for taking the wisest first step. To me, I would be root causing what exactly changed. There's an undamaged example you can work with on the opposite side. If studying the same side of another '59 Buick is an option, you can start measuring until all the questions get answered. A profile gauge might help. Step 2 would be making a strategy for how best to undo the distortion (s). There could well be a list of steps before it gets finished. These professionals investigate how and in what order is the damage and then set about repairing it, reverse order like a film running backwards, do they not?
Erwin, you hit the nail on the head, licenced or not. I was taught along time ago to figure out the sequence of events then reverse them. Sure makes repairing bent panels alot easier.
I pretty much did everything as far as ensure my frame was straight and replaced the faulty hinges... Pretty much everything is square but the door. These cars are far and between so a replacement door would be a bit hard to find.. I really wanted to avoid separating the outer door shell from the inside shell. Ill see how to proceed this weekend.
Separating the door skin from the frame may not help to solve the problem . I suggest backing up and starting the assessment of the damage over . The pictures provided are not clearly showing the door gaps and such . In one of the pics it appears there is a large partially installed patch . If this is at the base of the hinge pillar there could be rust damage that is causing door alignment issues. how about a couple of pics of the pillar , floor and the rocker.
And like Squirrel said, step back and take a picture of the side of the car so we can see the perimeter of the door.
Wiping down the primer with thinners or something to give the car gloss for the photos might help reveal better understanding of the distortion zone . I'm speculating the forward area of the door inner (stamping) moved about the same time that hinge was getting bent. Obviously it also affected the bottom too. Would heating the area with a torch and using some clamps and flat bar be the ticket? I expect during repair, the door will be fitted to the opening a lot until it's tuned up to its original shape. A shim fixed to the B jam will take care of the rear alignment during the process.
may not be the correct way to do it. i put a rachet strap in the drain hole at the bottom of the door then placed a 2x4 in the jam at the top. hooked the other end of the strap to the passenger seat frame and pulled my door in about 3/8".