poorly fitting door, advice needed!

[jmaster78]

Hi all, the drivers side door on my 1965 2 door is a very poor fit. There is a good half inch between it and the wing. There isn't much play in the hinges and the A pillar is solid, the gap is there even when the door is closed. has anyone any ideas what the problem is? thanks

[les]

If hinge pillar is in the right place it could be the door hinge area of the door has distorted or bulged out. Same possibly for the hinge pillar itself, (although if the gap is parallel, maybe not) or perhaps the wing needs moving back. If you've had inner wings replaced they could have been fitted slightly forward, which in turn would do the same to the actual wing. Other than these sort of things it's guesswork until looked at.

[welshrat]

Whats the gap like on the handle side of the door, does it shut properly?

[bmcecosse]

If the door fits the frame reasonably - and the gap is just at the wing vertical edge - then as suggested above - the problem lies with the position of the wing......

[jmaster78]

hi all, the door closes but is very tight at the handle side, the wing lines up with the rain gutter exactly as the passenger side. unless both wings need moved back. if anyone has a picture of the door/wing gap and door/rear panel gap so i can see what size the gaps are meant to be. Also a picture with the bottom of the gutter in the shot would let me see if the wings are in the right place! many thanks

[aupickup]

hi look at my signature pic

[les]

If door is tight down B post side, make sure knowone has used packers under the hinges to push the door back. You haven't said if you have done work on the car in that area and what panels, if any, have been replaced. There may be clues there.

[jmaster78]

I haven't done any work in that area, and the hinges are tight to the a pillar, the bodywork around the a pillar looks original as is the door so it should fit???

[chickenjohn]

Let's see some close up pictures of the area! As BMC says, the wing could be too far forwards. Try undoing the wing bolts and moving it back a little. Use large thick penny washers under the 5/16 BSF wing bolts to help these grip the wing properly.