Door Gap help

[bullwinkle]

Could someone please help me out with some door gap information? I searched the site and haven’t come up with what I need unless I missed it.

I have an assembly manual but all I can find is:

Hood to Fender - .15 + or - .03
Hood to Grille - .18 + or - .03
Hood to Cowl - .180 + or - .03
Pillar to Cowl Top - .10 + or - .03

I am in the process of replacing parts of the floor, cab supports, kick panels, inner and outer rockers and cab corners.

I have the floor and inner rocker done on one side. Now I am trying to hang a door to see how the outer rocker will fit before I weld it on.

I need approximate door gaps between the rear of the door and the rear pillar.

My project truck started out as a bunch of parts that I am putting together. 71 GMC frame, 68 Chev cab & front end….. I don’t have a complete truck to check for gap. The cab is on a dolly so there are no fenders. I only have the back of the doors and around the window frame in the door to go by.

Thanks for any help.

[JimKshortstep4x4]

Sometimes some compromise is needed on the door fitup but in general you will want to have the same gap on the front and rear of the door. If you use the .180 + or - .030 as a starting point you will be ok.

Jim

[ChevLoRay]

"The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection" was not the catchphrase when these were built, was it? Remember when the Lexus and Infinity brands were new? Remember the marble rolling, guided by the consistent gap between the truck lid and fender? I've seen some older vehicles that would find that same marble falling into the gap

[LONGHAIR]

Yeah, as the others have said...nothing that was built back then was great, trucks were worse.
The real issue here is how much you are willing to fight with it. The biggest problem with "tight gaps" is that they were not consistant. (the ball bearing thing) If you get part of the gap looking good (modern) there will be a place where it is too tight. The shapes were a bit more "approximate" back then.
You can re-shape things to fit a little better, but the moving parts may still give you problems. They were never designed to fit that close, so the hinges may still not allow it.
For example, if you pull the doors back to get a good tight gap at the back of the door...you pull the fenders back to match them.....then you have created new problems. The leading edge of the door (at the wing window) has a big gap. That can be fixed...but it is pretty extensive surgery. Then what about the the hood meeting the cowl, since everything has been moved back?
It is probably easier to move the doors foreward and cut the jamb/cab and re-shape it to the back edge of the door.....(really?)

If you are not willing to go through all of that....and who really is? The best you can hope for is to "center" the door as best as you can and live with the gaps as they are.

[bullwinkle]

Thanks for the help. The .180 measurement is what I was looking for. It gives me a start.