Whats everyone's experience with doors fitting properly?

djnee Officially Full-On Dubber

341 posts · joined Mar 2009 · 23 Apr 2009, 1:35 pm

#708572

I posted in the tech bit a while ago that i'm having a job getting my doors to fit properly on my 68 Beetle.
I had a few replies and followed the advice, but no matter how i jig them about i still can't get any joy 🙁

I've tried taking the striker plate off completely, but even with that off and pushing heavily on the door to close it, the door still won't shut flush with the body, basically the most the door will physically close is how you see it in the picture below, plus height-wise i can't get the chrome trims to line up either.

It looks like the previous owner had probs with this too as between the hinges and pillars i found it packed out a bit with metal washers.
What's the best bet....some different doors?

The hinges look slightly bent...as if the doors have been opened a bit too wide a few times, but i'm reluctant to take the doors off and re-bend them straight just in case it makes things worse!
Any tips on how you guys got your doors to fit...or is this one of those things that with it being a 40 year old car i'll probably just have to live with!?

Many thanks

Neil

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vw54 Administrator Always Waiting 4 Friday

16,723 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Apr 2009, 1:49 pm

#708577

make sure the hinge pins are good and not loose or worn grab the door at the back and move up n down to check out the pin wear

fir the door to the car with out a rubber or striker plate get the gaps even if possible
and the seam aligning with the rear seam on the body work under the window and above the chrome strip

dont worry about the chrome strip as yet untill all the above is good

if the hinges are bent then you may have to use a FBH to bend but will damage paint unless you protect with cardboard

also fit the doors with the glass and winder mechanisms as this adds weight and will make the door drop if added later

as per yr picture do u have the door rubber fitted there if so remove the rubber and try the door again you may have to clean the gunk out of the door rubber slot with glue thinners or similar

hope this helps

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djnee Officially Full-On Dubber

341 posts · joined Mar 2009 · 23 Apr 2009, 2:33 pm

#708589

OK....

Pins appear to be ok, so i took the door rubber out and it was exactly the same. Behind the rubber was clean and nothing needed clearing out from behind it.

After further investigation I'm beginning to think it's a combination of many things, and i'm not sure which way to go with it.

Here's some more pics

This is taken from the inside....i notice the middle of the door seems ok (from the inside at least) but there's a massive gap at the bottom. Does anyone reckon the whole door could be bent?

The top hinge looks like it's bent to the left slightly....

...whereas the bottom hinge looks like it's bent the opposite way to the top!! (grrrr...ffs!)

Sorry to bother everyone with such mundane questions, but this really niggles me and i'm not sure what the best remedy is.
Do you guys reckon i'm better off looking for straighter doors or is it worth trying to do something with what i already have? Any help is greatly recieved as i'm on a budget of not-a-lot!

Thanks again 🙂

Neil

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donn Wolfsburg Elder

3,515 posts · joined Nov 2005 · 23 Apr 2009, 2:41 pm

#708592

How long have you had the car? has it been like this since you have had the car? Sounds / looks like it may have been in a major bingle and the body is way out of wack, doros may twist a bit but this can be straightened to a degree but if the body has been distorted and not put back into shape properly then you have a major job on your hands.

I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 · 23 Apr 2009, 2:43 pm

#708593

If you can get nicer doors for not-a-lot-of-$, try those instead. Bent hinges mean the doors will never sit straight in thier apertures (assuming nothing else is bent, of course...)

Pay your debts, CxxT

djnee Officially Full-On Dubber

341 posts · joined Mar 2009 · 23 Apr 2009, 2:47 pm

#708594

donn wrote:How long have you had the car? has it been like this since you have had the car? Sounds / looks like it may have been in a major bingle and the body is way out of wack, doros may twist a bit but this can be straightened to a degree but if the body has been distorted and not put back into shape properly then you have a major job on your hands.

Yikes!

Not had the car long, about a month, but they were like this when we bought it. I wasn't overly concerned as i realise that due to the age of the car things may not line up properly and was prepared to try and get them to fit better....but after trying and failing i thought i'd ask here.
I'm praying it's the door and not the body....scary thought 🙁

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68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Apr 2009, 2:53 pm

#708595

Hinges look bad...
You don't see many bent like that...

especially the bottom one..

and if the hinge is bent that bad,
then inside the door where the hinge attaches...
must also be bent...

so that door looks Bad...

Just hoping the door hinge attaching piece inside the door jamb of the body isn't also bent....

best of luck

LEE

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

djnee Officially Full-On Dubber

341 posts · joined Mar 2009 · 23 Apr 2009, 2:56 pm

#708596

68AutoBug wrote:Hinges look bad...
You don't see many bent like that...

especially the bottom one..

and if the hinge is bent that bad,
then inside the door where the hinge attaches...
must also be bent...

so that door looks Bad...

Just hoping the door hinge attaching piece inside the door jamb of the body isn't also bent....

best of luck

LEE

It's deffo a weird one in the sense that i can appreciate that bent hinges would make either a larger / smaller vertical gap between the door and the body, but the door would still probably close flush with the body...even with bent hinges??
(hope you can follow that! not exactly the best description ever!!)
Or am i way off?

Either way it's not great though...lol

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Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 · 23 Apr 2009, 7:07 pm

#708660

ok looking at your pics what you have is typical of a door thats been opened to far
comes about from people swinging on the doors, doors being hit by things when open or people letting them fly open when facing down hill

the top hinge gets bent and the lower hinge doesnt bend its the door skin that does which is also obvious by the hole in the outter doorskin behind the lower hinge

its common as muck, at least 3 of my bugs have been like it
easiet fix is to get another door but another alternative is to find a rusty or dinged up door with good hinges and swap them over

oh yeah in the first pic "big gap" is normal
the 1mm gap between the door and the front pillar isnt tho, should be about 4mm

555bug WRX Bug Boy

1,123 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Apr 2009, 9:36 pm

#708695

That A piller looks like it may have seen better days, i'd check it for rust also as part of your work.

djnee Officially Full-On Dubber

341 posts · joined Mar 2009 · 30 Apr 2009, 12:13 pm

#709814

555bug wrote:That A piller looks like it may have seen better days, i'd check it for rust also as part of your work.

Yeah, i'll probably end up trying to sort it properly. Im presuming there's a replacement panel that i can get welded in?

Thanks for all the advice guys 🙂

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