After reading some old threads I learned NOT to remove those lower screws on the rocker. I popped the rocker down from the pins that protrude from the plate and discovered that the back 6 or so pins/holes were either missing plastic retainer clips or they were badly broken. In addition, whoever it was that put the fender on didn't tighten 2 of the 3 mounting screws on the underside; they were half hanging out.
I need to replace a bunch of plastic retainer clips, but I've been able to position the fender correctly and get it pretty darned close to perfect (within the realm of Delorean fit and finish that is....) Time to clean up and re glue the outer door seals since they were totally gummed up with old contact cement.
This car is going to need a good cleaning to get all the fingerprints and grease off the stainless after all this work.
All the advice given to adjust things was based on a stock car that did not have body work done. Once things are disturbed it is imperative all of the parts are put back in proper alignment. There is no way you can "adjust" for things out of alignment. There just isn't enough adjustment. Even of the door was not damaged, it may have been tweaked out of position either when the fender was damaged or when the replacement fender was installed in an attempt to line things up. To adjust the striker pins it has to be assumed the door is in good alignment with the fiberglass tub and the other panels. The door should be aligned to the tub and the other panels then adjusted to fit around that. Very hard to do, especially if you have never done it before. You cannot align the door by adjusting the striker pins. You must move the hinges to do that.
While I've got the door closing well and have the rear fender matching up decently, I went and took the T panel off since it looks like it needed a slight re positioning. The driver door would scrape it a bit when opening. With the T panel off I took a good look at the height of each door and compared them. There is no doubt in my mind that the driver door is is a bit 'higher' than the passenger door at the back hinge area. I looked and neither one appears to have been shimmed. The driver rear hinge is pretty globby with factory-looking RTV goop. The bolt up through the hinge on the passenger side looks like it has a couple of more turns exposed above the nut (pics), again supporting my believe that the driver one sits a bit higher. Don't worry about the level in the picture, it is for reference not for determining level. Look at the positions of the hinge bolt and the head of the piston on the driver versus passenger door (pic). I was careful to not distort this in the camera angle.
The roof box is in good shape, no separation, no gaps. Years ago I took Dave Swingle's advice and drove some screws in from the back to keep everything from loosening with age. Good advice.
Perhaps it has always been like this and I've never really noticed. One of those factory fit and finish items I suppose........ I'm going to try and increase the padding under the T panel a bit and raise it to make the whole top level. Need to replace the rubber that runs over the gap between the door and the T Panel. You know, the $20 piece that DMCH sells. The one that lasts about 5 years before it tears..... anyone know of where to get just a piece of thin rubber to cut my own?
Owen, your driver door could be closing further too and that's what the difference is. Think of it as going further into the striker pins and grabbing the latches deeper. And kind of sucking the door in a bit further than flush. You might be able to see that sort of thing if comparing how the closed door looks to the fenders on either side. Though if you've moved your fenders around to try and match this, then maybe not.
Best advice is to not mess with the factory adjustments if they were never touched. When they did the doors they had experience, you have none. The chances of you doing any better are low. The doors were aligned to the fiberglass body to close well. All of the other panels are then adjusted to fit to the doors. All adjustments are a compromise to get everything to fit as good as possible (not perfect). Try to move the Tee top over a bit but again, don't expect to get it perfect. Be careful of all the sharp edges. When drilling out the rivets for the outer door seals protect the torsion bar and use a depth stop so you don't touch the outer skin with the drill bit.
Looks like Owen is already using screws instead of rivets so he should be fine there. I also agree not to touch the door adjustment unless it's the bitter end and you've no other options.
Originally Posted by David T
Best advice is to not mess with the factory adjustments if they were never touched. When they did the doors they had experience, you have none. The chances of you doing any better are low. The doors were aligned to the fiberglass body to close well. All of the other panels are then adjusted to fit to the doors. All adjustments are a compromise to get everything to fit as good as possible (not perfect). Try to move the Tee top over a bit but again, don't expect to get it perfect. Be careful of all the sharp edges. When drilling out the rivets for the outer door seals protect the torsion bar and use a depth stop so you don't touch the outer skin with the drill bit.
I was reading some other threads about torsion bars... ugh. I decided to put a feeler gauge behind mine and couldn't. Right up against hinge. No apparent sign of nicks or wear however. Passenger side is fine. I took another good look at things and there is absolutely no sign of roof box movement.
So it is this one hinge area that seems to have the issues. Too 'high' and rubbing on torsion bar. Lots of factory RTV. I'm not sure what I could even do if I DID decide to take the door off. I suppose the hinge could be ground a little to provide clearance for the bar to pass. If there is no shim under that hinge raising it up, how would I even lower it.... Maybe they had to raise it BECAUSE of torsion bar clearance.....There does not appear to be a shim moving the hinge outward either.
If it has lasted this long with no issue I see no reason it won't continue to last. My fear is that something has indeed shifted/moved that I just can't detect and I'm now going to have issues. I have always tried to maintain the least amount of stress on my bars as possible. I'm not one for doors flying open! Perhaps a prudent move would be to remove the bar and slightly grind the hinge to ensure that it isn't rubbing. Leave the door on and carry on.
Wrap your fingers around the torsion bar and pull on it. While doing that slide a 2 X 3 inch piece of flat rubber in between the bar and the hinge. Do not try to grind the hinge to lower the door.
Wrap your fingers around the torsion bar and pull on it. While doing that slide a 2 X 3 inch piece of flat rubber in between the bar and the hinge. Do not try to grind the hinge to lower the door.
I wasn't advocating lowering the hinge by grinding. I was suggesting to mildly grind the side face of the hinge that is up against the torsion bar, creating the necessary clearance. Simply pulling the bar and slipping rubber behind it sounds easy but essentially bends the bar a bit. Preliminary inspection would indicate that I wouldn't be able to get any rubber behind it in any case.
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Originally Posted by David T
