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Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:34 am

If I'm trying to get the right panel gap on my doors, and I need to move the door back in the frame towards the latch side, is the accepted or proper technique to shim in back of the door hinge? I notice on the upper hinge that there is a slot in the A-pillar for the end of that hinge. If I need to shim to the point that the slot becomes too narrow, what do I do, make the slot wider?

Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:31 pm

Wow, 58 views and not even a nibble! Surely I'm not the only one with this problem on a 35 year old car!

Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:19 pm

I recently put my doors back on my ghia after paint. I had to make shims for one side, had the same issue as you. Looks and functions near perfect now. I made three sets of spacers til i got the correct thickness. Not sure if ghia and bugs are same but I had no issue with the slot interferance. I guess you could always bend it out a little if needed.

Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:47 pm

How far off is it? I have read about (and used) newspaper and folded cardboard that I place in the hinge jam near the hinge that needs to be adjusted. Close the door slowly, and the hinge will adjust a bit. Are you talking thousandths of an inch or more? This is on a bug, not a ghia.

Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:02 pm

I just did this a few days ago. I used 1/8 plywood scrap and placed it in the front door gap and shut it and pushed the door back. I read on here that some use paint stirring sticks and put them and shut the door, it helps get the hinge back into its original shape. Im doing bodywork on the car, so if your paint is nice you ma wanna tape up all the edges or use some other method

Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:51 am

2-3 layers of aluminum flashing?

Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:49 pm

Well when I was considering making some shims, I was thinking all along about making them out of some 18 gauge steel sheet stock I have. Just a matter of how many layers I have to go to get it to work.

Fab4Fan are you saying that when people are doing what you described to get the hinge back into its original shape, that they are somehow bending the A-pillar metal that the hinge is attached to back? I suppose I could look in to that.

The weird part is the the gap on the rear of the door is about a 1/4 inch, and the gap on the front of the door is not even there. Can't even fit a piece of paper in there. I have the body sitting on Saw horses, with the front saw horse directly below the A-pillar. I suppose the metal that the hinges are attached to could have moved, but that seems like a lot.

I might wait until I put the body back on the pan, but I'm sure I'm going to have to adjust the door some, I doubt it will move back that much. I'll try and put up some pics.

Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:12 am

beetlenut wrote:
Fab4Fan are you saying that when people are doing what you described to get the hinge back into its original shape, that they are somehow bending the A-pillar metal that the hinge is attached to back? I suppose I could look in to that.

I never actually thought about it :oops: , I just did what I read others were doing. And it worked.
But now that you mention it.. that may be the case or maybe one of the hinge halfs was slightly bent.
I guess the gap gets tight because the door is extended past its limit and I guess could pull the metal where the hinge is attached to. As you try to shut the door with the obstruction in the gap, the weight of the door pulls the hinge at the pivot(pin) part, so I dont think the hinge is spreading. Its either getting moved back in position or bending itself straight.
It did work for me though, just be really light when you start. it required very little pressure to get it back.
i've only done one side, the other doesnt look to bad.

Sat Mar 30, 2013 4:23 am

beetlenut wrote: I might wait until I put the body back on the pan, but I'm sure I'm going to have to adjust the door some, I doubt it will move back that much. I'll try and put up some pics.
your wasting time even thinking of this till the body is back on the pan, :wink: then you can just use a folded up shop towel in the hinges usually to get correct door gap.

Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:45 am

60ragtop wrote: beetlenut wrote: I might wait until I put the body back on the pan, but I'm sure I'm going to have to adjust the door some, I doubt it will move back that much. I'll try and put up some pics.
your wasting time even thinking of this till the body is back on the pan, :wink: then you can just use a folded up shop towel in the hinges usually to get correct door gap.

X2^... everything will change once it's back on the pan.

Hot VW's had an article on adjusting door gaps a few months back. They mainly used shims under the body mounts to "warp" things into shape.

Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:53 am

yup,theyre right. u gotta have the body on the pan and i always bolt it down to pull it down how it will actually sit. that hot vw article that was mentioned ...check it out,the body/doors are aligned at body mount points. in otherwords twist and uneveness that shims alone wont fix. dont over look it,good learning and reference.

Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:24 pm

60ragtop wrote: beetlenut wrote: I might wait until I put the body back on the pan, but I'm sure I'm going to have to adjust the door some, I doubt it will move back that much. I'll try and put up some pics.
your wasting time even thinking of this till the body is back on the pan, :wink: then you can just use a folded up shop towel in the hinges usually to get correct door gap.

Tried the rag idea yesterday.Never knew my door could close so nice.I left the rags in there for a few hours while I was tinkering around.
Thanx!

Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:56 pm

57heinz wrote: 60ragtop wrote: beetlenut wrote: I might wait until I put the body back on the pan, but I'm sure I'm going to have to adjust the door some, I doubt it will move back that much. I'll try and put up some pics.
your wasting time even thinking of this till the body is back on the pan, :wink: then you can just use a folded up shop towel in the hinges usually to get correct door gap.

Tried the rag idea yesterday.Never knew my door could close so nice.I left the rags in there for a few hours while I was tinkering around.
Thanx!

So if you had to guess, what do you think is actually happening there? Is the metal in the A-pillar that the hinge attaches to so thin that the shop towel technique is bending it back into proper alignment? Just trying to figure out what's at work here.

Thu Apr 04, 2013 8:51 pm

I think the hinges are being bent very minutely. By placing an impediment in the gap, and forcing the hinges to essentially bend around it, you are widening the hinge's gaps.

I agree that you should wait for this adjustment until the body is on the pan.

Thu Apr 04, 2013 8:58 pm

Ify!i would have to say its pulling the A pillar
Then again the gap grew between A pillar n front of door leading me to believe its tweaking the hinges the right way
Ill take a closer look at the lines tomorow.

Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:10 am

I'd guess it's PFM :wink:

Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:23 am

panicman wrote: I think the hinges are being bent very minutely. By placing an impediment in the gap, and forcing the hinges to essentially bend around it, you are widening the hinge's gaps.

I agree that you should wait for this adjustment until the body is on the pan.

My guess would be the metal of the A-pillar that the hinge attaches to is bending, since the hinge itself is made from 3/16 -1/4 steel plate, and the A-pillar that the hinge mounts to is at best 20 gauge. I'll wait till I get the body back on to try all this, but just trying to understand what forces are at work right now. This is moving from plain ole body work into that area of craftsmanship that comes from years of working on cars which I don't have.

Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:22 am

Quit over thinking this simple procedure. The hinges bend over time or the door gets caught in the wind thus bending them, or somebody messed with them with the body off the pan :shock: . Once you get the body back on the pan and go to do this (if needed :wink: ) you will see that it just bends the hinge, well I suppose you could bend the body metal if you get to aggressive.
and you don't need to leave the shop towel in there any extended period of time.
It really is a simple process, no big deal.

Fri Apr 05, 2013 9:57 am

I'm not overthinking, just trying to understand. There is a difference. The passenger door front is hard up against the A-pillar, while the rear has about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch gap with the B-pillar. I'm willing to concede that the body being off the car is a big part of that. I'm just trying to get a feel for how much that procedure will move the door if I still have a sizeable gap once the body is back on, and the car has a chance to settle. Besides on the days I can't work on it, what else VW related do I have to do? :wink:

Tue Nov 25, 2014 1:02 pm

Group:

Is there a PDF or web-accessible version of the Hot VWs article mentioned above?

Best,

Thom