Door fitting

[stag36587]

I'm trying to fit my passenger door and am looking for tips. As you can see the first attempt hasn't gone all that well - a good fit at the front wing but a large gap at the b post and the b post catch is already quite far towards the interior. Also window frame sitting too far out. Any views please?[frame][/frame]

[mogbob]

Is it an existing / original ( to the car ) door or a replacement ?.Has the door been repaired with part panels ?
Have you put on new door sealing rubbers, new hinges, new pins in old hinges ? Was the " old " door / hinges damaged
in any way ? Has the sill cover been fixed correctly i.e no self tappers sitting " proud " of the metalwork ?
Is the catch adjustment at "the extreme " point pushed to the inside of the car ?
Is the A post / top of the sill area sound i.e none of the A post moves ...when the door is opened and shut / door pushed down and lifted ?
What is the gap, viewed from the side....wing to front of door vertical, rear of door to bodywork and finally at the top of the door frame ?
Panel fitting is seldom straightforward.. eliminating as many possible causes, at the outset , helps achieve a satisfactory outcome.
If you can give us some more clues and maybe another piccie "side onto" the car we can give you a steer in the right direction.
Bob

[stag36587]

Thanks Bob - panel gaps side on are excellent. Door is original and a+b posts all completely solid. Door seal is new and catch is on limit. I think the problem is most likely to be with the kick plate although I'm also thinking the bottom hinge is needing a bit of adjustment away from the interior. I'll try and take more photos tomorrow. Other side of course is perfect

[bmcecosse]

Once the main part of the door is good, the top frame is usually just gently 'eased' into place.

[les]

Have you got the old door seal still ? If you have it might be worth refitting it. Moving the hinges outwards would help but the wing might then need repositioning.

[stag36587]

Hello well I had an hour to spend on this today. Tried to adjust hinges but no better. Removed the new door seal and you've guessed it - door fits perfectly. So what to do now? The new seal was the replica green cloth/black rubber - assuming I'll have same problem on the drivers side, should I try an alternative type? Original door seals were non-existent when I got the car.[frame][/frame]

[les]

Well you could sit in the car and check the gap between the door and the flange that the seal should fit to. See if there's an equal gap all round. In areas where the gap is smaller, if you're careful, using a mallet and a piece of wood you could increase the gap a bit more by taping the flange but don't overdo it, or you could prevent a good seal and/or crack the paintwork. If not look out for some s/h door seals.

[mogbob]

I'd second Les' suggestion of adjusting the flange.
Sit inside the car and look at the entire perimeter of the gap body / door.Using one end of the seal assess how much the flange needs to be moved over.Bend over a short length of the flange and experiment squeezing it into the gap.
It will obviously need compressing slightly when the whole seal is in situ but the experimenting will mean that you won't overdo things to start with !!
I'd wrap a piece of cloth around the wooden block you use to stop any scrapes.
Bob

[stag36587]

Thanks guys will give that a go