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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 4:10 am Post subject: Cabrio door gap |
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My drivers door has the annoying habit of jumping open on twisty roads. I replaced the door striker and then I realised that the drivers door gap at the rear was to large and that the corresponding gap at the front was too small. I had a look in my factory manual but there is no mention of this problem ,just the unequal gap top to bottom at the back. My question is if I take of the door off is it normal to pack behind the hinges move the whole door assembly back and are the hinge screws long enough fro this to happen? |
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pbenn Samba Member
Joined: November 21, 2007 Posts: 375 Location: Toronto
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 6:17 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Without pictures, hard to analyze... but is your top door gap parallel or slightly triangular? Does your bottom door line up with the quarter panel? You might have door opening/size issues from previous A pillar replacement.
But to your question, it is possible to cut a shim out of 18 gauge and place it behind your hinge against the A pillar to move the door back. Holes for the screws of course. |
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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 4:22 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Thanks pbenn here are two photos of the door I also did some measurements of the door gap.. REAR TOP .280" REAR BOTTOM .260" FRONT TOP .080" FRONT BOTTOM .055" On the passengers side,"this is a RHD car" REAR TOP .175" REAR BOTTOM .160" FRONT TOP .135" FRONT BOTTOM .110"
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Erik G Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2002 Posts: 13247 Location: Tejas!
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finster Samba Member
Joined: May 26, 2012 Posts: 7838 Location: north o' the border
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:12 pm Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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this car doesn't look likely to have rusty sill channels, plus I always thought if that were so on cabrios then the doors would open but not close - basically the rear gap would disappear - this car seems to have the opposite problem. |
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The Volkswagen Ranch Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2002 Posts: 699 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:22 pm Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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If your rails are ok, pull the rear tires off and look at the rear body supports by the rear shock mounts...a good chance that the thick rubber washers are gone,and will tilt the rear quarter... and will give you excess gap at the top of the quarter where it meets the door. If you need pics, let me know . These are also referred to in the Bentley under door adjustments on convertible. _________________ 1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie) |
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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:48 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Meranda's a totally rust free car,admittedly there is a .020" difference in the door gap so possible should change the rear tower rubber but what I can't get is the difference between the front of door gap and the rear of door gap,compared with other side of the car? |
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MMW Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2012 Posts: 846 Location: northern NJ
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 5:32 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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I would shim behind the hinges. The current door gap is almost equal top and bottom so you just want to move the door back. This would be the easiest option and is common to do. Screws should be plenty long enough.
I assume your measurements are inches? Shims about .080" or .100" should work. You can also use two or three thinner shims to come up with the right thickness. This may be easier, maybe get a bunch of .030" shims and then you have some adjustment. Top and bottom does not need to have the same exact thickness shims.
There are many reasons this could be happening. One being the hinges could be slightly bent forward from the door flung open to far. This can be hard to see with the eye and hard to correct without damaging the paint. Again I would say just shim it. _________________ Mic
1959 356 coupe
Missing the original engine 72488
Update - third pc. found!
Now just need the case halves.
1965 fenderless beetle |
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The Volkswagen Ranch Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2002 Posts: 699 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:12 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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I spent many hours getting my doors , gaps and height correct. One thing we often forget is that these cars were all assembled by hand ....MANY years ago, and things “change” over time. I have 2 verts, with production dates about 6 months apart, and yes there are differences in the door gap measurements. Shimming the front hinges is definitely an option. The hinges could be bent ( only takes a little bit to make a BIG difference). The rear body mount washer also can make a huge difference. Take your time and make little incremental adjustments, also the lower triangular plastic (?) wedge adjustment. And then you have the thickness and quality of the door seal itself. And then the locking hardware condition and adjustment . At some point in previous history, the rails and heater channels may have been replaced ( and then maybe only on the passenger’s side) and measurements were off. Lots of variables, just work the problem one step at a time. You will get it right. _________________ 1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie) |
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Erik G Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2002 Posts: 13247 Location: Tejas!
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:00 pm Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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MMW wrote: |
the hinges could be slightly bent forward from the door flung open to far. |
agreed, you can see it in the pic. the hinges are forward, there should not be that gap from the hinge to the door _________________ Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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The Volkswagen Ranch Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2002 Posts: 699 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:10 pm Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Hey.... can someone post a picture of what your hinges look like on passenger door so he has an idea for comparison? Hinges on my black 64 don’t have contrast in a pic so he can see the gaps.... _________________ 1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie) |
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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 3:24 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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If it's not raining tomorrow I will roll Meranda out and take some photos |
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The Volkswagen Ranch Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2002 Posts: 699 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 7:30 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Meranda, I meant someone else here that has a door that has good gaps could post a pic for you so that you could see what their door hinges look like. That way you could see what the normal gaps around the front hinges should look like. If your hinges are indeed bent forward, you will see a difference in the relationship of the hinge, the opening in the door “cutout” , and where the hinge is positioned against the vertical seam to the front quarter panel . In your pic, it looks like this seam is bent a bit forward around both the upper and lower hinges. _________________ 1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie) |
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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:41 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Thanks Ashley1 I now get what you mean.But I did roll Meranda out of the shed and in the light of day and what you Samba guys have said I can now see the problem. The hinges on the drivers door have been bent and in the case of the bottom one it has bent the raised molding on the body ahead of the door. I will be going to my local metal supplier to get some shim material and moving my door backwards .100" I have added a photo of the hinge in close up and also a shot of the passenger door hinge line. Thanks to all who have helped me in this.
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jason Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2002 Posts: 3443 Location: Garage
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 12:08 pm Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Verts do opposite of what you would think. The gap gets wider at top of pillar, front and back move away from each other. Door gaps in front are smaller than rear. I would suspect the tower and lower rubbers. I got my gaps correct and then used aluminum to make spacers instead of rubber. Not my pic but has measurements. Hammer and wood is your friend. Moves easy so dont swing hard.
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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:08 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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I think it's a bit of both, but I did do the towers some years ago,after I move the door I will revisit that area. |
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meranda Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2015 Posts: 277 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 3:02 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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For those reading this post I removed the drivers door today to insert,what I hoped was .100" shim between the hinge and the door jamb. Unfortunately the space where the hinge sits in the body only allowed me to be able to shim it to .080". Also when the door was removed I could see that the hinges seem to be bent,It's hard to see on the photos. Next I will have a go at the rear tower.
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The Volkswagen Ranch Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2002 Posts: 699 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 2:42 pm Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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Okay. Not the end of the world . One step at a time .🙏👍 _________________ 1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie) |
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jason Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2002 Posts: 3443 Location: Garage
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:45 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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You can open the area up a bit. Some do it so the paint doesnt get messed up. The front gap is alot thinner than the rear. |
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63RagDream4ever Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2018 Posts: 6 Location: Maryland
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Posted: Fri May 22, 2020 10:50 am Post subject: Re: Cabrio door gap |
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will missing rear body mounts cause door gap? |
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