Door not fitting right??

[vwjedi]

I am trying to get my driver door mounted up, I have the spacers in place and just can't seem to get it just right. It won't close from hitting the top edge?? WTF?

The drip rail looks as though it may have a slight bend to it not following the body lines correctly, does this seem apparent to anyone else? Here is the passenger side lined up all pretty.

The passenger door has a nice tight gap at the front edge:

But it is like 8mm at the rear edge?

[/img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/319523.jpg[img]

Driver door front and rear gapped larger than 10mm?
[/img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/319519.jpg[img]
[/img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/319520.jpg[img][/img]
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1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

[KantDriveFast]

[randini]

vwjedi,

I don't know what the problem is but obviously it's mechanical and that's how I'd approach it. First, VW made only one size door for one size of car in any particular year so unless somebody messed with your frame at some unknown time you should assume the door was meant to fit.

(This is not always the case; 25 years ago I converted a wrecked Bug to a Baja configuration and spent too much time trying to make the parts fit. I eventually realized what the problem was and fixed it with a few swings of a heavy hammer, but this sort of problem is not to be expected.)

That lump on the top of the door is a deffinite stopper and should be fixed first because it is an obvious problem. Check inside the frame where it would hit and see if the paint is scraped. Get rid of the lump and see how the door aligns. It's deffinitely canted downhill toward the rear, but if that door should fit that frame and you put the shims back like you found them, maybe you aren't the first person to access the shims. It might have been easier for a PO to move shims than fix the ding, but there's no law against stupidity.

If this is really causing you to drop wood, take the door completely off the hinges, get a bunch of clothespins, and make sure it will fit in any position at all. The closepin legs (lose the springs first) make sweet shims for this sort of job and will show you if the door and frame are square to each other. Of course, you won't get the door aligned correctly the first time unless you're a lot more practiced in this than I am but you will get it aligned. Outline the position of the hinges with a fine pen before you remove them to give yourself a starting point for re-installation.

Good luck. I'm going to do about the same thing with my '67 Bug but I have the advantage of knowing that a +300 lb person owned the car before me and needed to hang on the door when she attempted to extracate herself from it, so I have a good idea where to start looking.

-Randy

[RareAir]

Spacers? What door spacers? What ever they are, remove them. Check the hinges themselves. Are they bent? They usually bend due to no check rod and being opened too far.
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1947 Typ 11a
1954 Typ 117
1956 Typ 151
1959 Typ 117
1959 Typ 265
1961 356B
1966 Typ 151
1966 Typ 241

[vwjedi]

Well, lets see?

1.The original door, which also was replaced at one time because the paint did not match the OG Ruby red of the rest of the car, was bent outward from the inside like a Lays potato chip= ditched that bitch.

2. Got a new door with hinges mounted, looked a helluva lot straighter than the first, perhaps needs some tweeking at the top edge? Otherwise looks pretty good.

3. I think the drip rail looks ever so slightly bent down from possible fat ass pulling himself out, the driver seat was all fucked up too but aren't they all?

4. Car was tapped in the nose and I welded on new apron, didn't seem to involve the front quarters?

5. Both doors have these little metal spacers at the hinges, I thought they were stock? I don't know this sheet mang, it was the first time I've pulled doors off for full bodied repaint.
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1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

[Scott Faivre]

How straight are the hinges? If the hinges are bent from hyper extension, you'll have a lot of fun trying to line those up. And if the door was on the car when the hinge got bent up, there's a chance the mounting spots on the B pillar jams are tweaked as well.
Let's hope that is NOT your case!

Scott Faivre
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66 Sedan & 64 Convertible
64 Vert Resto Gallery

[vwjedi]

[MacGyver]

I think it would look pretty sweet if you went ahead and left the doors off.
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I specialize in fixing whatever I can using Q-tips, feathers, and ball point pens.
I don't believe in guns.

[RareAir]

[Scott Faivre]

[vwjedi]

He,He....... he said Jugs.

Rareair and Scott allways seem to answer my questions well. Thanks guys.

Sweet leaving the doors off huh,....I don't think so mang.

Gainesville GA is about 4 hours from me, this little gem is starting to sound pretty appealling. Pop rivet on my MAF code and graft in my ragtop!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=394166
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1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

[Migit]

Don't you dare graft in a ragtop..... Guys like me who are constantly searching for a hardtop is good shape will hunt you down. There are more than enough OG rags out there to start your project please leave the hardtops alone.
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Looking for a 58 euro hardtop!

[vwjedi]