I've had my DMC-12 for 2 years now and after resolving many issues and greatly improving the car there remains only a small list of things I want to do with it. All of my panels and doors are aligned perfectly except my front right passenger right. I've included 3 images of my alignment to show how far its off and I'd like to seek advice on how to correct this. I know that there are shims/washers under the top attachment points that can be adjusted on the stack-up when you open the hood and peal up the rubber edge cover. but what else can be done? are there any more points of adjustment to consider and how far down does one have to dive in to adjust this? I'm really hoping to avoid having to remove the front fascia but if it must be done then so be it. I'm up for hearing anything that'll help me along with this. 20211223_083327.jpg20211223_083300.jpg20211223_083245.jpg
Additional pictures that show that the height of the door is the issue. I don't believe its a striker pin alignment issue but the overall sitting height.
I see you have an "early" car with the clock in the console. It can be really difficult to get the gaps better on the early cars, often you do the best you can and live with it. You adjust the doors to the body and NOT the panels. Once the doors are adjusted, THEN you adjust the panels to the doors. It may be possible to remove some shims on the front hinge of the right door to lower that front corner but then you might start hitting the rear door jamb with the lower corner of the door. If the door is closing well I would leave it alone.
This is my perception, maybe not fact but what I believe to be true.
Over 40 years the front of the roof sags as a result of the doors opening and closing, roof box issues (even the slightest) and perhaps careless windshield replacements.
As a result the front of the door sits low compared to the fender. This makes for a much more complicated issue which is far easiest just to live with. I assume this is why matt was asking for the pictures he did.
There should also be shims under the top edge of the fender in the trunk, you can try to pull those out as well as loosening the screws behind the outer door seals. This may make your hood no longer line up nicely though.
You can try to move that front striker pin up a little so that the door doesn't go so far down when it closes. When the latch pulls itself into the second lock position, it's going too far. Make careful note of where the striker pin is (up, down, left and right) and then loosen it up enough to move it, and raise it perhaps an 1/8th of an inch up in the arc'ed direction the door travels. Then close the door and see how the panels line-up.
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Originally Posted by DMCJosh85
