Door alignment issues

[Rochlow]

I bought new doors for Bertha (69 Jimmy). When I put everthing together without the latches there is about a 1/2" gap between the door and the jamb. When I put the latches and striker plate I put about 6-7 shims behind the plate and it still won't latch.

Should I take the door off and trim out the holes in the hinge that mount to the jamb, so I can slide the door back? any suggestions would be helpful..

[greystoke]

hey man...if you could, try to get some pics to show what your dealing with. There's a lot of talented and experienced bodymen on this board that can give you great advice how to proceed.

[Rochlow]

You can kind of see it here.. Right now the very end of the latch hits the edge of the striker plate..

Other then filling out the mounting holes on the hinges, I'm not sure whatelse to do?

[E-tek Restorations]

To confirm: Are you saying the door is too far forward? If so:
Did you have the hinges off both the door and post, or just the door?
You should be able to slide the hinges on the bolts that are held to the post and/or door. Don't file anything yet. Report back.

[Rochlow]

had the hinges off both the doors and post. Currently the door is slide as far back as the slots in the hinges mounted to the post will allow and it still wont come close to latching.

[greystoke]

are the truck and blazer doors the same? if not maybe you accidently got a truck door instead of a blazer door...just a thought as i'm not a guru.

[Notrodder]

I hate to ask a question about your question, but how does the front of the door line up in relation to the front of the rocker?

[Richard H.]

Ok , first off those doors blow don't they?
Mine were off up and down ,fore and aft. I slotted my hinges ,but in retropect after thinking about yours and seeing your skills I thing fabbing up some spacers to put behind the hinges ... say 1/4 plate or so would be the ticket. Also you might want to tack the pinch seams near the hinges and striker on the doors . uh before they come apart.grrrrr

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by Notrodder

I hate to ask a question about your question, but how does the front of the door line up in relation to the front of the rocker?

The door is pretty straight compared to the bottom edge of the door. We used the rocker as our first reference point to line it up. Once we got that part the door without the latch would close fully, but there was like 3/4" gap betweend the rear edge of door and the jamb.

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by E-tek Restorations

To confirm: Are you saying the door is too far forward? If so:
Did you have the hinges off both the door and post, or just the door?
You should be able to slide the hinges on the bolts that are held to the post and/or door. Don't file anything yet. Report back.

The hinges are slide as far back as they go.

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by Richard H.

Ok , first off those doors blow don't they?
Mine were off up and down ,fore and aft. I slotted my hinges ,but in retropect after thinking about yours and seeing your skills I thing fabbing up some spacers to put behind the hinges ... say 1/4 plate or so would be the ticket. Also you might want to tack the pinch seams near the hinges and striker on the doors . uh before they come apart.grrrrr

Not sure where I'd put the spacers your talking about.. I thought about it for a minute (I know what your talking about now..) I will give that a try..

[k5blazin]

hey rochlow!! when you told me you were shimming , i thought you meant under the body mounts! that being said , i ran into all kinds of trouble like this with mating that bed to my cab! i ended up jacking the halfs together and then welding in my floors! also wondering if those aftermarket doors are some of the trouble? another idea might be to shim between the door and the hinge although your rockers would not line up. good luck

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by k5blazin

hey rochlow!! when you told me you were shimming , i thought you meant under the body mounts! that being said , i ran into all kinds of trouble like this with mating that bed to my cab! i ended up jacking the halfs together and then welding in my floors! also wondering if those aftermarket doors are some of the trouble? another idea might be to shim between the door and the hinge although your rockers would not line up. good luck

Yeah.. Seems to be a common problem with blazers. I think I'm going to try the 1/4" shims between the hinge and the door to push it back like Richard H suggested...

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by k5blazin

hey rochlow!! when you told me you were shimming , i thought you meant under the body mounts! that being said , i ran into all kinds of trouble like this with mating that bed to my cab! i ended up jacking the halfs together and then welding in my floors! also wondering if those aftermarket doors are some of the trouble? another idea might be to shim between the door and the hinge although your rockers would not line up. good luck

Seems like a common problem with blazer/jimmys. I think I'm going to try the trick that Richard H suggested of putting shims between the hinge and the door to push it back

[Richard H.]

Originally Posted by Rochlow

Not sure where I'd put the spacers your talking about.. I thought about it for a minute (I know what your talking about now..) I will give that a try..

I'm out of meat on mine and if I need to move the door back any more I will make matching shims.

[E-tek Restorations]

1. Make sure the doors are indeed correct.
- measure the length compared to the originals
- also, measure them against the door opening
- also, measure the top vs the bottom distances - is the hole square?
2. Shimming them will brings them back to meet the striker, but will also move them away from the rear fender edge - everything is connected!
3. If the door is too small for the hole - either it's the wrong door, or everyone ordering them is having the same issue. I would doubt that...

Q - did you replace the quarters? if you did and set them too far back....yikes.

If they are smaller than the hole and you decide to try and work with them (shim them at hinge or at striker), you'll either have to add metal to the door edge, or fender rear edge to close up a gap somewhere....

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by Richard H.

I'm out of meat on mine and if I need to move the door back any more I will make matching shims.

http://aluminum-spacers.com/

pre-made spacers?

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by E-tek Restorations

1. Make sure the doors are indeed correct.
- measure the length compared to the originals
- also, measure them against the door opening
- also, measure the top vs the bottom distances - is the hole square?
2. Shimming them will brings them back to meet the striker, but will also move them away from the rear fender edge - everything is connected!
3. If the door is too small for the hole - either it's the wrong door, or everyone ordering them is having the same issue. I would doubt that...

Q - did you replace the quarters? if you did and set them too far back....yikes.

If they are smaller than the hole and you decide to try and work with them (shim them at hinge or at striker), you'll either have to add metal to the door edge, or fender rear edge to close up a gap somewhere....

-I don't have the original doors. They were shot.
-I'll take the measurement of the door opening comparing it to the door itself
-The truck doesn't have a top. I took it off and won't put it back on. So the top to bottom measurement will be a little tricky

The doors are new from Tri-plus. The tub is a original rust free tub were the quarters have never been replaced. The problem is the same on both sides.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll give them a try and see where that puts me..

[E-tek Restorations]

Originally Posted by Rochlow

-I don't have the original doors. They were shot.
-I'll take the measurement of the door opening comparing it to the door itself
-The truck doesn't have a top. I took it off and won't put it back on. So the top to bottom measurement will be a little tricky

The doors are new from Tri-plus. The tub is a original rust free tub were the quarters have never been replaced. The problem is the same on both sides.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll give them a try and see where that puts me..

As for top and bottom measures, I mean top of the door (under window frame) and bottom of door - just to see if the door is square (I'm guessing it is, but there's an issue somewhere!)

If both sides are the same, I'll guess (hope) it's not the quarter installation, but I gotta consider everything....

Happy hunting. I'll check back tomorrow night!

[pat 70/71]

ROCHLOW, Not a pro but, I would try& mount the doors working from a fixed panel and go toward the front of the truck. that way imo, you could use common washers behind the hinges to get the reveal correct at the striker and then set up the front fenders to line things up. then measure the washers & make your shims the same thickness. I have done this in the past with after market doors and it worked for me. take your time and I know will figure this out. hope this helps you. cheers, Pat

[chas350]

1. I would mount the fenders and cowl to get an idea of proper door alignment, you can just prop the fronts up until the bolts are in. This will tell you alot!

2. Can someone get some measurements from original GM Blazer doors for you?

[sevt_chevelle]

One big thing I noticed, the truck is on jack stands, mount some tires on that thing and let it sit on the ground, but you'll notice some difference then.

Secondly, you should NEVER have shims between the hinge and cowl, especially not 1/4" worth of shims.

[Rochlow]

Originally Posted by sevt_chevelle

One big thing I noticed, the truck is on jack stands, mount some tires on that thing and let it sit on the ground, but you'll notice some difference then.

Secondly, you should NEVER have shims between the hinge and cowl, especially not 1/4" worth of shims.

I was think that it being on jackstands might be an issue, but I was finding hard to believe that it would be 1/2" difference.. Once I get the rear brakes done I will put it on the ground and see..

[E-tek Restorations]

Originally Posted by Rochlow

I was think that it being on jackstands might be an issue, but I was finding hard to believe that it would be 1/2" difference.. Once I get the rear brakes done I will put it on the ground and see..

Agreed. Measuring the items I emntioned will tell you a lot. When in doubt, measure. I learned this growing up in a body shop. Measure everything cross-wise to determine square, then from floor to frame points.

[Richard H.]

Originally Posted by sevt_chevelle

One big thing I noticed, the truck is on jack stands, mount some tires on that thing and let it sit on the ground, but you'll notice some difference then.

Secondly, you should NEVER have shims between the hinge and cowl, especially not 1/4" worth of shims.

No I said between the door and hinge ,the cowl is not the problem yet. I did have to slot my hinges that bolt to the "A pillar" at least a !/4" to get my door to go back . I would advise anyone to use the original door if possible as the repops are junk.