engine and drivetrain Door hinge alignment problems bent - (warning photo size)

[felix_666]

Having trouble with RHS door/glass, nothing will align.

From the beginning:

Destroyed the door the first night I got the car when reversing off the trailer (1 owner car with no prior accidents - bummer).

Got a replacement door, filled it with the internals of the original door (years later).

Didn't really check the hinges, but do remember the bottom one being stiff.

Have now fitted the door, can't seem to get it to align with the body. And the quarter window is way off as is the main window regardless of any adjusting. Re-fitted the left side with no markers and got it to line up perfectly, the door, window and quarter window.

It now seems, through a hard lesson, that I have a bent hinge.

What is the best plan of attack (car is now painted etc)?

Take the door off, try to remove the hinge and replace with another? I'm afraid I will bend the part of the hinge that is welded to the body, reading other posts.

It's not been a good week, from the door to the engine and the diff.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, my brain is starting to meeeeelt.

[Mike Self]

attached to, not the hinge itself, which is pretty thick steel compared to the structure it's welded to. Many larger body shops have all sorts of hydraulic pullers and pushers etc for straightening out just the kind of problem you have.

Suggest asking around for the best body alignment shop in town and having them look at it. If you're lucky, they may be able to pull it out without heat so as not to mess up your new paint.

Good luck...

mike

[felix_666]

Hmm i was hoping that if something was bent it was the hinge, not the sheet metal.

Before I do anything I will get a picture of what it looks like now as it surprises me how close to fitting it is. The door lines up pretty well, I thought this might not be possible if something is bent.

Any suggestions on how I might determine if the hinge/sheet metal is bent, plum line or something similar?

Before I take it to a shop I'd like to investigate myself, car isn't running and a shop fix I'm guessing will cost me dearly.

[pkbinplano]

slot those holes so the door will fit if thats what the issue is. Dont forget the striker plate is adjustable also. Its easy to get the vent window out of wack. Work on the door first. ( window down ) get it situated then go to vent then the roll up glass

[Guest Anonymous]

can be checked by pulling the pins, finding a suitable dowel rod that can slip in both hinge halves. That will tell you which way the bottom needs to go.

A BFH is actually how the factory did the final adjustments before welding it up entirely. For an example- go to youtube - search for made by hand ( porsche) about 3/4 way through.

It's possible to partially slot the existing weld on the body hinge and reweld if really bad; once you're sure what direction it needs to move.

It's more likely both the door side and the body side need tweaked. I'd start with the door- hinge halves on, rod through it. Then move on to the body side.

I'm doing this right now.

[edgefinder]

I would take the door off the other side so you have mirror image unkinked parts to measure and compare with to determine where the damage is. Good luck and don't dwell on how it happened cause we've all done something simular.