I am having a bad time trying to make the gap on my door right. the gap on the bottom is alot closer than the gap on the top. I have replaced the pins and the bushings and the door is tight. I just cannot stand the gap. I can see from this pic that the door needs to go up just a little bit. but I have been messing around with this for about an hour. does anyone know any tricks or tips for getting this right?

I just want to get it all right before I put some paint on it. thanks for any advice

 

How is the gap on the back of the door to the quarter panel?If that is ok then you need to start adjusting the fender.Start at the quarter panel and work forward.

 

this is a pic of the rear of the door. also it seems like the door is in furthur than the fender. but it is not much.

 

Look under the car where the fender bolts to the body. Just behind the front tire. The tab is probably bent. There will be 2 bolts on the tab and most people use this spot to jack the car up. The tab should be straight up and down. Fixing that will fix the fact that the fender sticks out more than the door. It could also fix the gap.

 

That gap looks ok for the most part.You need to start adjusting the fender to correct the gap at the front of the door.You may have to bow the fender a little to get it right.This is not an exact science unfortunately.The lower fender mounting bolt is underneath on that "jacking flange"as gm laughingly refers to it.Normally that flange that the lower fender bolts to gets bent and knocks the lower fender alignment all to hell.

 

your door may also need shimmed, that would cause it to sit in further than the fender

 

thanks for all of the info. I was hopeing that it was not the fender. I have the hood gaps and all perfect. it is just my doors. thanks again for the info.

 

I went under my car to take a look at the mounting bolt. this is what I found. Is this supposed to be straight down? does anyone have a pic what it is supposed to look like. from this pic I can see that the fender is higher than what it is supposed to be. Am I right or am I wrong? thanks again.

 

Yep,that is supposed to be straight up and down.Sooner later some genius at some tire place tries to jack the car up from that flange and bends the crap out of it like yours is.Grab a pair of the biggest channel locks or vice-grips you have and try to straighten it out.That's why your fender alignment is all out of whack.

 

nice. isn't jacking up the car supposed to be done on the subframes? now is the entire peice supposed to be straight or just the part that I pointed to. I would check my other side but that is bent up a little too. thanks again for all of your help.

 

The entire piece is suppossed to be straight up and down.the fender mounting tab and that entire flange that it mounts to.

 

The mounting bolt should be perpendicular to the floor/ground.

 

I straightened out the peice. It did fix alot of the gap. now the top of my door is flush with the fender and the bottom is still in. does this mean I need to shim the lower hinge? thanks for the advice. I found some other stuff that needed to be fixed wile I was at it. some cut wires and a black plastic peice that clips onto the body behind the fender that was just laying in the fender. thanks again for any and all info.

 

If the fender is still out a little more than the door,likely it's still the lower fender you need to move inwards more,not shim the door outwards.Still need to do more bending on the flange and fender mounting tab to get the lower fender moved inwards just a little bit more.Keep in mind these things weren't very good coming out of the factory either.Quality control sucked in those days.Also keep in mind that the door needs to be a little more in than the fender or the edges will catch when you open the door.So be very careful with that alignment.