Technical What is this door alignment tool?

I need to stabilize line up my doors when I pull the frame out from my '55. Saw this on a goat and wondering what it is called. I have seen a bar welded but this looks better.

 

Looks kinda like one of those load bars that are used in tractor-trailers to hold palletized items from shifting. If so, it's been modified on the ends for this particular purpose.

 

This is what I was referring to.

 

Are you paying photobucket or did they cleanup their act?

 

I like the bar but it turned into a shit show when I clicked the pic. I would weld a xbar in the door frame and be done.
Tony

 

Still looks like a hot mess when you click on the thumbnail above to view the larger image.

Clickbait city!

 

Fuck photo bucket .
Here's a screen shot of what I see when trying to look at your pic
I can guarantee you that's not a semi van load bar though. (Tension only)
It's probably a pistachio flavored rotisserie accessory that you adjust and holds tension and compression

 

They are sold to use in the bed of a pickup truck to hold crap from sliding front to back.
Reese Explore 1390600 40" x 70" Ratcheting Cargo Bar
https://www.amazon.com/Reese-Explor...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YEQSE6D1SRT7S4E0XE9F

 

I don't think that is a ratcheting bar. I think it is a screw jack of sorts. Easy enough to build something like it. Some 3/4 inch threaded rod, a nut, some pipe, ect

 

"Adblock Plus" works great to make it so you don't see crap like that.

Back to your regularly scheduled program....



here is the image in the evil link. Seems to me that you could make something that does the same thing, without the adjustment feature, by welding an angle to each end of a steel tube, and drill a hole in the angle to catch one of the bolts at the hinge, and one at the striker. But adding a turnbuckle to one end of it lets you adjust it. Adding shims to one end instead would also let you adjust it, without so much fabrication work, but more work when you adjust it.

 

it is a mechanical version of a hydraulic ram.

 

If you have a rusty car that you are worried about losing the body's shape when you lift it off the frame, then some bolt-on brace is probably not the best plan. Any bolt has a bit of slop in the hole, and the likelihood the few holes you bolt to are in the right spot is small.

Weld some cheap steel (even EMT with the galvanizing ground off is good) in large X patterns across the door openings (inside the opening so you can still fit a door in place with the bracing there) as well as through the middle of the cockpit both vertically and horizontally.

 

I use half inch electrical conduit. Has always worked for me and its either cheap or free.

 

Photobucket has gone to hell lately, so I use Dropbox instead. It's easy to use, and not all the crap ads. Here's a sample of a video that isn't quite HAMB friendly, but she does drive our 56 New Yorker and 37 Buick. It's my 19 year old daughter on her first jump, from what could be considered a traditional airplane.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wk5mprfbhkblc3v/C0199.MP4?dl=0

 

Unless your 55 is a convertible, I don't see the need?????

 

Friend of mine who works on a lot of Porsches made a pair of similar devices to bolt onto the top hinge plate and door latch bolts. It has a turnbuckle in the middle. This allows him to straighten up badly rusted or bent bodies, cut out rusty floors and weld in new ones without worrying about door alignment later.

For one time use you could weld or bolt in braces of conduit tubing or angle iron.

 

These come with some rotisseries when purchased. I got several accessories when I bought mine. Use as a means to keep the body from twisting.

 

Yeah, that's what I said (pistachio flavored)
Many sources, many versions here's 2 that appear to be similar.

 

If you're going to do floors or rockers or roof on hardtop you'd be far better off to have them than not. If you've got a car wiggly like jello they help a lot.
It's better to have a brace that does the job but not interfere with the test fitment of a door.

 

I was just looking for some body pulling clamps and came across some similar braces. The were to stop the door frames from getting out of shape when pulling bodies straight on a frame machine. A bit more heavy duty then the above.

 

If you want it adjustable, leveling jacks would work, slide a tube over it, youll still having to fab plates to bolt to the striker and hinge. You could skip the screw jack and use large threaded rod and a nut with ears welded on.

Complex solution when a piece of tube works well. Choose your placement well, need to be able to get around it to weld and fit and floor work.

 

You can not hold against tension or pull with a screw jack. All they can do is push.
Same thing with a semi trailer van tension bar.

Here's how I set up that stuff. A long turn buckle, a sleve on the inside over the rods, a single jamb nut on the Right hand thread. There's probably 30 of them floating around here. To make it long as i want or need a piece of 3/4" EMT conduit welded on one or both ends. Works very well for any damn thing you can attach it to. A tab with holes lets it go into wood.

That sleeve is really really important, it is not threaded just a snug fit over the threaded studs. Adjust it with a crescent wrench.

 

Here are store bought supports like 31vicky was showing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Champ-Door...652131&hash=item20bfee3685:g:rioAAMXQ0v1RZQUN