Door adjustment

[mluder]

I'll do ya one better... My door is bowed. If I adjust the strikers so it closes evenly along the top the bootom edge overcloses at the rocker panel. If I adjust the bottom edge correct, the top stands proud of the roof panel.

Argh! I see a new door in my future $$$$$!!!!

Steven

[dn010]

My question is at what point does it become a quarter panel adjustment issue and not the door itself. Right now the door closes evenly and smoothly but there still is a gap between the rear quarter panel and the door at the bottom fit is good at the top of the door and the door is aligned perfectly with the front quarter.

If the doors close smoothly then I'd start with trying to adjust the fenders. On mine - first off all my panels seemed to be out of adjustment. The screws that hold them in place were either rattled loose or just gone. Some of them don't even hold -even while they are tight...some don't want to tighten but rather just spin; it's a cluster.... If adjusting panels doesn't work - move down the list to of things to try ending with door hinge adjustment being the last thing....

Obviously, there are more catastrophic things that can happen where no matter what adjustment, nothing will work [See Steve's post above].

[Jeff K]

I was looking at an old photo of my car and as you can see the passanger side door is off a bit. I had adjusted the the rear panel to help with looks, it closes fine, but do you think i could add a shim to the front door hing to bring the door up for better alignment.

I have the exact same issue on my 83. Man it bugs me! Did you find a solution? DeLorean makes a factory hinge shim.
http://store.delorean.com/p-9468-shi...-dr-hinge.aspx

I was told the front roof needs to be raised and re-glued. It has sagged down about 1/2 inch over time. This is a big job, remove doors, windshield, top panel, headliner. Uugghh!

Maybe one of the gurus can give some advice?

[David T]

Only under certain circumstances do you want to attempt to mess with the door hinges or shims. If the doors and hinges were never disturbed since the car was built and the door is not damaged you DO NOT mess with the hinges. There are so many angles that have to line up just so, if you try to adjust the hinges you will make things worse, not better. You adjust everything else around the doors to fit to the doors, not the other way around. Besides, it is a big job and if you never did it before you will probably wind up making things worse, not better. For starters you have to remove the torsion bar.
As for the Tee panel, that's minor. A few screws and it comes off. You replace the foam block in front to hold the front edge up so the doors don't rub. When you reattach it you make sure it is centered and the gaps at the tops of the doors are equal. You probably also should replace the outer seals if they are shot.
David Teitelbaum

[Brisfx]

I am having opening issues. My drivers door was working perfectly then all of a sudden it sticks when opening. I jiggle it pretty hard and then it opens. If i open and close it a few times it seems fine. Then if left for a period of time it sticks again. Any suggestions

[jawn101]

I am having opening issues. My drivers door was working perfectly then all of a sudden it sticks when opening. I jiggle it pretty hard and then it opens. If i open and close it a few times it seems fine. Then if left for a period of time it sticks again. Any suggestions

Lube the striker mechanisms and try the lock and latch setting procedure?

[dtjk592]

Is there anyone around the long island area with experience adjusting the strikers I am at my wits end with this probably opened and closed the door 1,000 times and still have a 3/4 inch gap in the front so far that the interior lights don't even turn off.

[tyb323]

Check out rob at pj Grady's, he did door work on mine, came out much nicer than when it went in (I'm a dummy who drove into his garage with the door open, do not recommend doing that now...)

[DMC3165]

Rob is definitely the best at adjusting the doors. If he's not available I could try to give you a hand one day. I've adjusted mine a few times just so they would close a little better. But if its a serious alignment issue where the door would have to be removed, then Rob's your guy. What part of the island are you from?

[dtjk592]

I'm in Huntington, I don't think its too seriously the doors were aligned pretty well before but it took a good deal of force to get the door to close.