Check out the gaps in my doors.. Ugh!

[krs09]

Well i've posted some of my issues on this fourm and all you guys have been life savers so i figured to see what you think about one of my new problems. My doors have some pretty big gaps in the roof around the T panel. The doors feel like they do need to be aligned but it seems even if i do get them aligned im not sure it would fix this issue. What do you think. One pic shows a top shot where you can see the rear of the doors look pretty flush where as the front is rasied pretty high. The other side shot you can see the door of very off line. What can i do? I read about striker adjustment but will that really do the trick?? What you think ??

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[Michael]

When it comes to Deloreans, gap thickness is not an exact science. As long as your doors are closing and latching properly, I wouldn't mess with them. If the gaps bother you, you might try to adjust/shim the adjacent panels, but don't mess with the doors.

If I recall, the later production cars had the doors fitted and adjusted first, then all the other panels were attached and adjusted to fit the doors, not the other way around.

[ramblinmike]

Well i've posted some of my issues on this fourm and all you guys have been life savers so i figured to see what you think about one of my new problems. My doors have some pretty big gaps in the roof around the T panel. The doors feel like they do need to be aligned but it seems even if i do get them aligned im not sure it would fix this issue. What do you think. One pic shows a top shot where you can see the rear of the doors look pretty flush where as the front is rasied pretty high. The other side shot you can see the door of very off line. What can i do? I read about striker adjustment but will that really do the trick?? What you think ??

1262812629

I noticed the T-Panel looks asymmetrical. Better make sure your torsion bars aren't rubbing hinges or your roofbox isn't separating from the fiberglass.

[Kenny_Z]

Remove your tpanel and take a look at this area:
http://uploads.m-cgi.com/kennyz/Delorean/Projects/tpan02.jpg

As you can see my Tpanel looked like yours.
http://uploads.m-cgi.com/kennyz/Delorean/Projects/tpan09.jpg

It was being forced up by that piece of fiberglass coming loose which was also causing the torsion bar to touch the hinge. I'd start here to get the Tpanel in line with the doors. I don't think it'll do much for your door gap but it will save you a thousand or so in repairs if that driver's bar snaps.

[DMC5180]

It's more important that the doors open and close properly. (free from binding, twisting, dragging against the inner door seals etc.) All of the other panels can be adjusted to fix gap issues. When working with the door fitment it is a compromise. The doors may have twisted over time, the doors may be centered in the openings but when compared to the opposite door may seem out of alignment front to back. Compare the gaps at the front and back edges on the roof. What do the gaps between the T-panel and doors look like when both doors are full open. If can post more pictures of the doors Open , Closed , Front and Back it would help us visualize the situation and allow us to make recommendations to correct the issue.

[David T]

To properly do the striker adjustment you need door seals in good shape. Once the striker (anchor) adjustment is done you do NOT adjust the doors to other panels. You align other panels as best as you can to the doors. It is all a big compromise, you can't get perfection. To adjust the Tee panel all you can really do is adjust it side-to-side to make the gap at the top of the doors even for both doors. Even then many cars will have the doors rub the Tee panel when the doors are fully open. Make sure when you do the anchor adjustment you do both anchors, the heads of the pins do not strike the door, both latches click simultaneously and you hear both latches click TWICE into the second locking position. The doors should not rattle when driving and you should not have to slam them to get them closed. You should be able to push the door closed with one hand from the outside. From the picture it would appear something (the right door or the right rear quarter panel) was replaced at some time in the past.
David Teitelbaum

[mluder]

You may also be dealing with the issue I have - Bent door.

This can happen a few ways.

Most common is over tensioned torsion bars which cause the doors to bend like a taco around the point where the tol curves down to the glass. I have a little of this as my doors line pretty well along the top edge and then appear to over close below the rub strip. It's not a panel adjustment because the front fender and rear quarter line perfectly with the rocker panel.

I have also heard that the doors which are two pieces of metal sandwiched, crimped, and welded together (front and back / inside and outside) can break their welds and the door changes shape as the panels move independant of each other.

Finally - What I think happened in my case - My previous owner backed out of the garage with the door opened and the door hit the jamb causing it to tweak. This allows the back edge of the drivers door to line up clean to the quarter panel but there is a bow along the a pillar which cannot be corrected. It also means that the rear striker pin has had to be ground down (shortened) or the door won't fit over it.

There are no easy fixes for any of this short of getting new doors. I have learned to live with it though it bothers me every day. Most people don't even notice it. One day I will fix it.

Cheers
Steve

[Ron]

To properly do the striker adjustment you need door seals in good shape. Once the striker (anchor) adjustment is done you do NOT adjust the doors to other panels. You align other panels as best as you can to the doors. It is all a big compromise, you can't get perfection. To adjust the Tee panel all you can really do is adjust it side-to-side to make the gap at the top of the doors even for both doors. Even then many cars will have the doors rub the Tee panel when the doors are fully open. Make sure when you do the anchor adjustment you do both anchors, the heads of the pins do not strike the door, both latches click simultaneously and you hear both latches click TWICE into the second locking position. The doors should not rattle when driving and you should not have to slam them to get them closed. You should be able to push the door closed with one hand from the outside. From the picture it would appear something (the right door or the right rear quarter panel) was replaced at some time in the past.
David Teitelbaum
+1

If the door(s) must be realigned (usually because someone has messed with them trying to get perfection), the trick seems to be to double check that the roof box is sound then align the bottom of the door first (The only way I saw to do this was to relieve the pressure on the torsion bar so I didn't have to fight the pressure while moving the hinges or have it shoved against anything -- But I had to allow for the tension...so it takes a few tries. A PITA), and finally align the rest of the panels last, as said by others.

[AirmanPika]

I have similar door alignment issues that have plagued my car since I got it. Mainly on the passenger's side where I think there was damage to the car in the past (the old doors were rather beat up). I think I'll ultimately just have to take my car to a vendor to get the right alignment. My attempts have all ended in vain. The main issue I face is the alignment is chewing up my weather stripping. Visually I'm about the only one who ever notices the alignment issue since I know my car.

[krs09]

Hey guys (and girls). Wanted to show somemore pics of my F'ed up doors. My passenger door is worse for sure but they are both pretty bad. Im thinking of taking it up to PJ Grady's to see if they can help me out. What do ya think?? Looks like a pretty big gap along the pillar and along the front of the roof (im sure theres gonna be some nice wind noise). My other problem is the huge gap between the windshield and black trim piece above the windshield (shown in pic 4). Any idea how to fix that?? Looks like a good bit of work. Ugh.

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[David T]

This is the kind of thing best done by an owner if possible. It is a trial-and-error kind of adjustment and takes a LOT of time. If you have to pay someone to do it, it can be expensive. The good news is if you do take it to someone like Rob who has a lot of experience, he will do it a lot faster than someone less experienced. Try it yourself. If you can't do any better or you mess it up it probably won't matter if you later decide to take it to Rob. You do have to remove the torsion bar. Don't even think about trying to align the doors better without undoing the torsion bar! Do not try to align the door to the panels, concentrate on the upper edge and "A" pillar and the door sill. Once you have things pretty even all around you adjust the front and rear panels to the door.
David Teitelbaum

[Jonathan]

krs09,

Could you take a few pictures of your weatherstriping to show us? With the door open, take some photos of that (inner) sealing edge that circles the entire door opening. If that weatherstriping is swollen, or misshapen, or just generally not seated how it is supposed to be, it can push out and up on the door. Not sure if it would cause exactly what you're seeing there, but a good thing to rule out at least initially. Heck, if it looks like you're going to replace the weatherstriping soon anyway, you might consider taking it out completely and then seeing how well the doors close and line up.

It is number 26 on this page:

http://store.delorean.com/c-308-8-4-0-doorsstrutsseals.aspx

[Henrik]

I have an issue with the driver's side door rubbing hard up against the weatherstripping just where it makes a little "jog". Basically above/behind the driver's head, see picture. The door fitment is generally good (so I am hesitant to get into any sort of door adjustment) but, because it tends to rub at this spot, you have to shut it kinda hard.

What's the best way to address this?
20660

[MML]

I have an issue with the driver's side door rubbing hard up against the weatherstripping just where it makes a little "jog". Basically above/behind the driver's head, see picture. The door fitment is generally good (so I am hesitant to get into any sort of door adjustment) but, because it tends to rub at this spot, you have to shut it kinda hard.

What's the best way to address this?
20660

I had a similar problem. The door seal juts out a little and sometimes it used to catch against the door B-pillar trim piece, yanking it away from the door.

Eventually the fir trees in the trim piece loosened so much the trim caught the seal every damn time. The only way to fix it was to stuff pieces of foam inside the trim moulding, pushing it inwards and away from the edge of the door (and the seal).
Fortunately it hasn't caught since.
The seal still sticks out a bit like yours though, but nothing catches against it.

[DeMopar]

I have an issue with the driver's side door rubbing hard up against the weatherstripping just where it makes a little "jog". Basically above/behind the driver's head, see picture. The door fitment is generally good (so I am hesitant to get into any sort of door adjustment) but, because it tends to rub at this spot, you have to shut it kinda hard.

What's the best way to address this?
20660


How old are your seals? May be distorted or possibly shrunk a bit? If your door closes well otherwise, I wouldn't mess with it either. For $50 (if you can buy just one side) you may want to try a new inner seal. Also check your door pillar trim to make sure it's not binding against the door.

[krs09]

I have an issue with the driver's side door rubbing hard up against the weatherstripping just where it makes a little "jog". Basically above/behind the driver's head, see picture. The door fitment is generally good (so I am hesitant to get into any sort of door adjustment) but, because it tends to rub at this spot, you have to shut it kinda hard.

What's the best way to address this?
20660

Have the same issue. The weather strip got so chewed up I just tore it all out (closes great now too). I am replacing all the w/s after I finish POR'ing the roof box and bolting it down(finally), hopefully this weekend:yesss: .. After that's done Ill have to figure this out too.

Totally terrified about the bolting of the roof box thing btw:vomit_1:, wish me luck.

[Josh]

Hey guys (and girls). Wanted to show somemore pics of my F'ed up doors. My passenger door is worse for sure but they are both pretty bad. Im thinking of taking it up to PJ Grady's to see if they can help me out. What do ya think?? Looks like a pretty big gap along the pillar and along the front of the roof (im sure theres gonna be some nice wind noise). My other problem is the huge gap between the windshield and black trim piece above the windshield (shown in pic 4). Any idea how to fix that?? Looks like a good bit of work. Ugh.

128931289412895128961289712898

My passenger door is similarly tweaked. I did notice the torsion bar was much tighter than the drivers side when I took it out.