TheSamba.com :: View topic - HELP Wanted: Door Gap After Heater Channel Replacement

Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:27 pm

Hello All,

I am having issues with my door gap after having installed the heater channel. The door gap was never good, even before removing the old heater channel.

Here is a video explaining the current predicament that I am in. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

tldr: I am able to adjust my doors perfectly with the cross bracing, but then when I loosen it after tacking the channel back in, everything goes completely out of alignment.

The work I have done so far regarding the door gaps/heater channels is shown in my thread. What isn't shown in the thread, is that I have now welded in the entire rear luggage tray, rear clip, and engine compartment side trays:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=120

rstrobel wrote: With the help of a couple of ratchet straps and cross braces, I was able to get the heater channel to be parallel with the door.

I'm still having difficulties with the doors. I had adjusted the cross braces until the doors fit perfectly. I used clecos for the quarter panel and spot welds for the A pillar to stabilize these moving areas. Welding/stabilizing everything didn't work completely. Although I no longer need to use the horizontal brace, the diagonal one still needs to be used to prevent the doors from sagging.

My initial worry was that the diagonal brace not only pulls the front up, but also the rear. This turned out to be true. As the diagonal brace was loosened, I could feel the rear quarter panel/body mount area lower a couple millimeters...even though it was resting on the body mount pads.

My next plan is to weld the rear back together (currently, everything is taken out...entire rear clip, luggage tray, inner wheel houses, etc.). I hope that doing so, while having the cross braces adjusted properly, or even "over adjusted, will hold it up as necessary.

I noticed that as the A pillars are pulled back, the quarter panels are consequently pulled down. To prevent any further unwanted adjustments to the front quarter panels, I'll weld the front clip on.

I had a super rusty beam laying around, so I cut it down to size. This allowed me to bolt the front clip down. Not only does this hold it in place, but it also mimics how it will be in the end.

I then slid the front clip over the quarter panels, added my adjustable braces, and started taking measurements.

I'll continue adjusting it a little bit to try to minimize the hood gap. [youtube][/youtube]

Mon Feb 03, 2025 8:50 pm

Sorry man. I have no advice for you, other than to start using screws to set all of the panels into place. Then start moving one at a time. You have so many of the panels in a state of limbo, being held in place with Clecos. I find them to be less than stellar on rigidity, especially with more than one panel in play.

Get the body dimensions from the photos and start measuring the door opening. Then get the fenders on the car and set everything up as ridgid as can be obtained with tack welds. Then go back and tweak away. Grind a few tacks off, bend, push or pull and the retack.

Mon Feb 03, 2025 9:18 pm

VW_Jimbo wrote: Sorry man. I have no advice for you, other than to start using screws to set all of the panels into place. Then start moving one at a time. You have so many of the panels in a state of limbo, being held in place with Clecos. I find them to be less than stellar on rigidity, especially with more than one panel in play.

Get the body dimensions from the photos and start measuring the door opening. Then get the fenders on the car and set everything up as rigid as can be obtained with tack welds. Then go back and tweak away. Grind a few tacks off, bend, push or pull and the retack.

Sorry, those pictures are a bit older. I have welds in all places now. The only areas that aren't welded are:
1. Vertical firewall lip to quarter panel
2. Firewall to heater channel
3. Front lower wheel well/quarter panel to heater channel

I tried showing it in the video, but I do realize there were some things I could've highlighted more.

Would tacking those areas in make a big difference?

Tue Feb 04, 2025 5:19 pm

Door gaps are adjusted by using the rear shock mount body mount and the front mount under the fuel tank. Using different thickness rubber blocks between the body and pan.

Wed Feb 05, 2025 3:41 pm

RLFD213 wrote: Door gaps are adjusted by using the rear shock mount body mount and the front mount under the fuel tank. Using different thickness rubber blocks between the body and pan.

I tried adding bigger mounts in the front, and that helped a little. However, I noticed when I tighten my diagonal braces, it pushes the front quarter panels (right above the gas tank) outward. Even with the clip and quarter panel fully welded on...

I’ll try:

1. Cutting the tacks
2. Loosening my braces and body to pan bolts
3. Putting the front fenders on
4. Readjusting my braces
5. Tightening all bolts
6. Tacking everything in place

Wed Feb 05, 2025 11:51 pm

rstrobel wrote: RLFD213 wrote: Door gaps are adjusted by using the rear shock mount body mount and the front mount under the fuel tank. Using different thickness rubber blocks between the body and pan.

I tried adding bigger mounts in the front, and that helped a little. However, I noticed when I tighten my diagonal braces, it pushes the front quarter panels (right above the gas tank) outward. Even with the clip and quarter panel fully welded on...

I’ll try:

1. Cutting the tacks
2. Loosening my braces and body to pan bolts
3. Putting the front fenders on
4. Readjusting my braces
5. Tightening all bolts
6. Tacking everything in place

AND USE A TAPE MEASURE! That way you know what to change and which direction the change needs to happen in!

Thu Feb 06, 2025 3:26 pm

VW_Jimbo wrote:

AND USE A TAPE MEASURE! That way you know what to change and which direction the change needs to happen in!

Tape measures are better than nothing but difficult to use in those situations.

If you can get some rigid metal such as threaded rod and put on a couple of adjusters at one end (say hex couplers), with pointed ends you can more accurately make the right size. For example the diagonal length F and G can only really be measured like this.

Thu Feb 06, 2025 7:55 pm

viiking wrote: VW_Jimbo wrote:

AND USE A TAPE MEASURE! That way you know what to change and which direction the change needs to happen in!

Tape measures are better than nothing but difficult to use in those situations.

If you can get some rigid metal such as threaded rod and put on a couple of adjusters at one end (say hex couplers), with pointed ends you can more accurately make the right size. For example the diagonal length F and G can only really be measured like this.

Good ideas. I’ll have to cut out everything from the B pillar back to the heater channel end cap, to get my heater channel free floating again. When everything is moveable, it should allow me to adjust the doors to VW spec, rather than adjusting them until the B pillar door gap looks good.

Fri Feb 07, 2025 1:51 pm

Also make sure both hinge pins are tight and both hinges have no slop in the rivets to door frame

Fri Feb 07, 2025 5:08 pm

Teeroy wrote: Also make sure both hinge pins are tight and both hinges have no slop in the rivets to door frame

Good tip. Luckily, my hinges are tight. I also made sure to tighten the hinge bolts quite a bit to prevent any slop there.