front body mount help

[bigdog1962]

I have a 1965 vw convertible. If you haven't been following my novel, here are the basics. The car has recently been painted - body off complete rehab. When I picked the car up, I remember the doors being aligned. Something changed soon thereafter and now the left (driver's) door is low. (I put a thread in the body/paint section but really should have put it here).

I had tried raising the door, the hinges look good and then I discovered the front body mounts weren't flush with the beam. You could spin the rubber washer underneath. I thought I'll tighten down the front mounts and that should fix it.
Driver's side

Passenger's side - which isn't a problem - but you can spin the rubber washer.

Drained the gas tank and reached under to tighten them. They were already tight. I thought before I strip something out, I need to research the length of the bolt. It is correct 10x1.5x25 - just to be sure I took a brand new one out of the package, inserted it and same results.
This is the area I'm talking about.

Next, I thought I'd loose up the pan bolts and try jacking it up in the front - nope. I tried along the heater channels - nope.
So now I'm at a loss. I have not touched the 4 back mounts as I don't see that as the problem. I guess there could be many theories - did something get twisted? I don't know. I don't believe they were tight when the body was placed back on the pan.

So, next steps for getting the body flush with the beam and raising the front door?
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Oprn wrote: I'm getting to the age that any self propelled woman (no wheel chair or walker) looks HOT!! Oooo! look at that Babe! She made it from the dining room all the way to the TV room without help!! Hubba, hubba!!

[Eric&Barb]

Are those front threaded holes blind? Think not, but not sure.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[mukluk]

[bigdog1962]

E&B - I stuck a long screwdriver in there just to make sure I wasn't bottoming out. I then took off the metal plate on top to see how far the bolt would go down and it went past where it stopped with the metal washer in. So I'm thinking its the body that is preventing me from tightening down the bolt. I was afraid if I tried to tighten it down even further I would either break the body tab or mess up the threads on the beam. Is that a reasonable fear?

Mukluk - I tried adjusting the hinges/door. Here are a few pictures.

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Oprn wrote: I'm getting to the age that any self propelled woman (no wheel chair or walker) looks HOT!! Oooo! look at that Babe! She made it from the dining room all the way to the TV room without help!! Hubba, hubba!!

[The Volkswagen Ranch]

I don’t think you have the correct rubber mounting bushings in the front
They should look like this

I went through this on my 64vert, and it ended up being the rears. You would be amazed how much a little distance makes in door alignment on the rear mounts. Read every post on door alignment, and the same goes for the Bentley. Your door gaps at the front of the doors look good. It just takes time and minute adjustments .
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1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie)

[The Volkswagen Ranch]

The reason that I pointed this out, is because from what I see in your pics, they are not thick enough, and therefore the front mounts look like they are not tightened enough. Make sense?
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1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie)

[Eric&Barb]

[bigdog1962]

Ashley - makes sense. I measured mine and they are 10mm. I see where there are 10mm and 17mm online. I've read the Samba, Bentley and been on line. From what I understand, it seems as though the front use the 17mm thickness as you suggest and the rears are usually the 10mm in thickness. I'll be ordering the 17mm. I'm also going to check out the rears a little closer.

The doors were indeed lined up when I picked it up. I remember opening and closing them without any problems. A picture I took when I picked it up verified it. So they were lined up at one time and something changed afterwards. Maybe somehow they had done a temporary fix. I don't know. But I'm going to keep after it until I get it right. I'll have to see what works and make adjustments until I get it right. The solution is there, I just have to find it.

The day I picked it up after driving it around.

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Oprn wrote: I'm getting to the age that any self propelled woman (no wheel chair or walker) looks HOT!! Oooo! look at that Babe! She made it from the dining room all the way to the TV room without help!! Hubba, hubba!!

[bigdog1962]

E&B - without the metal washer on top, I can tighten the bolt down past the body tab. It's the body that's not going down. I think Ashley is right - I need the thicker pads, take a look at the rear and keep after it until it's right.
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Oprn wrote: I'm getting to the age that any self propelled woman (no wheel chair or walker) looks HOT!! Oooo! look at that Babe! She made it from the dining room all the way to the TV room without help!! Hubba, hubba!!

[bigdog1962]

I find it interesting that I can't find anybody talking about needing to shim the front body mounts - not in the Bentley manual or online. Guess they are meant to be permanent once tightened down. There are a lot of referrals to the rear body mounts and their adjustment.
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Oprn wrote: I'm getting to the age that any self propelled woman (no wheel chair or walker) looks HOT!! Oooo! look at that Babe! She made it from the dining room all the way to the TV room without help!! Hubba, hubba!!

[The Volkswagen Ranch]

When I got my car back from the body shop, just the opposite ! Doors did not line up as good as when it went in . They are a very good body shop, but like most, do not know all of the “tricks” and subtle little finessing that must be done to get a VW vert “right”. What I found was that the rubber mounts on the rear were a. Loose on the driver’s side , and b. The rubber mount was gone on the passenger’s side, it must have just finally fallen out with age. The little rubber mounting pads you can get from WW or WCM were not thick enough to get the height I needed... so off to the auto paint store, and ended up buying some hard plastic body trim ( that would not shrink and relax) to get the spacing I needed. Again , you will have to experiment, and you WILL figure it out. I read somewhere that one of the high end VW shops in Phoenix actually uses thick metal washers on sedans to get the spacing correct. And no, shims are not used ( or needed) on the front mount that I am aware of. You will need to adjust the height on each side , and go back and forth until you get it right .
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1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie)

[The Volkswagen Ranch]

Here is my driver’s side . Note: this side needed about 3/16” of spacing at the rear mount. Has been 2 years, and has not needed any further adjustment.

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1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie)

[The Volkswagen Ranch]

Sent you a pm...
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1963 Convertible (Lizzie) and 1964 Convertible (Patience) 1976 Westfalia (Winnie)

[motomwo]