Mike in Morgantown asks about TR4A door alignment--
>I just dropped the body on the frame of my TR4A. It was quite a day.
>Everything lines up well. I know that door alignment is difficult at best and
>was wondering what tricks there are to getting this right. I have not bolted
>anything down yet. The fenders and doors are still off. The body has been
>fully stripped and repainted top and bottom. The sheet metal has also been
>reconditioned off of the car to get the best job. Do you ever have to use
>extra shims to get the door opening correct? What is the best method to decide
>how many shims to put in the main section of the car? Are there any tricks?
Mike: I just put my doors back on after taking them apart, cleaning and
painting
the insides. (Presently the doors are back on, car is primed, and I'll paint
it next day I get free when the temp is above 60F)
I found door alignment to be pretty straightforward. I suggest two people are
needed to get each door initially hung. I didn't find that any shims were
needed
(there are some sheet metal parts under the latch on the frame, but I think
they serve to keep the latch from moving around, not as shims).
Reinstall the wings first, as they are needed as targets for door alignment.
Fix the door in place with a couple of bolts, one in each hinge, with just
enough
torque that you can play with it without moving the hinges around. Decide which
parts need moving which direction, and loosen one bolt at a time and nudge it
into better alignment. (Study the bolts on hinge-to-frame and hinge-to-door to
learn which degrees of freedom are allowed by which bolts.) Occasionaly you
need to loosen two bolts at once, but try to avoid this. Get the door
aligned with the front wing first, then adjust the latch strike to align with
the rear wing. Then tighten all bolts, and install "draught excluders".
Having said that it's simple, I'll admit that my passenger door is still not
quite
right. The driver door looks perfect (to my amateur eyeball), but I still need
to tweak the other side, I think.
Don't rush this process, patience is your best tool here.
Regards,
Ray
-------------------------------------
Ray W. James, P.E., Ph.D.
Civil Engineering Department
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843
Phone (409)845-7436; Fax (409)845-3410
E-mail: r-james@tamu.edu
Date: 2/12/99 Time: 5:06:45 PM
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