Morris Minor Owners Club

Managed to get the door on but it's very slightly out still. I used my husband as muscle (much to his disgust) and a trolley jack to get it on but am struggling with getting it perfect!
I now realise that one of the reasons the previous door didn't close was the overly thick door seal, not a morris minor one. Have replaced that too.
Any simple tips to get the new door properly aligned?
Thank in advance

Have you checked the hinges - try grabbing the door at the back and trying to move up and down. Worn hinges will cause the door to be low at the back. Then loosen the hinges on the body and slide the door in or out at the top or bottom to get it flush/ closing properly. Good luck.

Thanks, will try that tmrw!

There are shims for fitting behind the hinges to bring the door forwards or backwards - top/bottom to align the rear of the door to the Minor 'B' post. The door hinges can also be slid in or out top/bottom to align the door to the 'B' post and rear of the front wing.
If you use the 'B post and the top of the door opening as the datum (because they are the only things that you cannot adjust so everything is relative to those) you can adjust the rear of the front wing to suite. That is why the wing has larger holes and slots on its rear end to enable you to adjust the wing to the door.
You can get oversize hinge pins to alleviate any wear in the hinge pin.
In practice it is usually a heave on the rear of the door to get it right.
When working in the BMC main agents and doing the pre-delivery it was quite usual to have to adjust the door fitment and again usually with a well placed heave or in the extreme a jack under the rear of the door.
At the end of the day it is all a case of suck it and see and using a bit of well placed judgement.

I wish I could find door seals that were the right profile.I fitted new on my rag top last year and they still have to be slammed.Tried catch adjustment,knocking in the flange etc to no avail.With seals removed the door shuts perfectly.I thought over time they would get better but not noticed it yet.Crap copies I reckon.

I find the black (plastic) push fit seals work best in this regard. The 'genuine' coloured ones are hard work to fit. I have heard that you can get a better fit if you gently bend the lip in wards where it is tight (Usually at the front) Have yet to try it myself.

Yes I've had exactly the same problem, doors fit perfectly without seals and not at all with the coloured seals so I am about to try tapping the flange in though I'm reluctant to muck about with the original flange positions so may try the black seals instead though they won't look as good

I knocked the flanges in too to no avail.

I have just fitted the black rubber seals and they seem good. Still need to lift the door 3-4mm though to get the door totally lined up, driving me crazy! Possibly the hinge pins are worn? Got new pins but am dreading that job....

It's not easy as I said, you might be better off getting some exchange ones which have new pins. I have done them before but sometimes had to use oxy acetylene to heat them up to knock the old pins out. Be careful not to expand the old pin when hitting it.

Hi all. I have a similar problem with my son’s door. What tools do you guys use? I’m trying regular socket sets but non will fit the bottom hinge. Also, does the adjustment come from the actual hinge to the car or hinge to the door (which look even harder to get at. Thanks in advance Shaun

Shaunteasdale wrote: ↑Tue Mar 11, 2025 12:21 pm Hi all. I have a similar problem with my son’s door. What tools do you guys use? I’m trying regular socket sets but non will fit the bottom hinge. Also, does the adjustment come from the actual hinge to the car or hinge to the door (which look even harder to get at. Thanks in advance Shaun

I suspect the fixings are BSF so you need Whitworth spanners/sockets. To cover everything in a Morris you need spanners/sockets of the standard AF Imperial type, Whitworth and BA. Basically, if you try all of your spanners and none of them fit it's going to be the other set of spanners! Never be tempted to use a spanner that doesn't quite fit or you will round the hexagon off and then there's no end of trouble.

Stephen

According to the post on this forum about spanner sizes: "DOOR TO A POST ¼ WHIT 13 MM IS A TIGHT FIT"
That's what it says, I haven't checked it on my car..............

Thanks for the advice guys much appreciated, I’ve dug through father in laws sockets and finally found one that fits, looks like I just loosen the bolts to re-align the door.

Whitworth sockets and spanners are marked with the size and “W” e.g 1/4 W. Sometimes marked BSW (British Standard Whitworth) or WW. Confusion can arise because 1/4 W refers to the bolt diameter and not the distance across the flats (AF) of the hexagon.

Door Bolts need a 1/4 Whit socket/spanner.

Adding to the above, BSW & BSF use the same size heads, but because BSF is a fine thread, the head is smaller. e.g. 1/4 BSW & 5/16BSF both use the same spanner/sockets