OK, so i have decided to have the bodywork done on my car as i have found someone whose work is honest and is affordable. My buddy and i removed the old doors, which were a little rust on the bottom and attempted to install a set of rust free doors off of a 71 parts car that i got back in 1998. The passenger door lines up very well, top, rear, and bottom (so far anyway as the front of the car is still off). It was a little sketchy at first until i loosened the bolts, jiggled it a little and it popped into place quite well. The drivers side door, on the other hand, fits nicely on the bottom and bottom rear, but its having a real hard time catching the latch all the way and the top rear corner of the door, down to about 1/2 way down is a good 3/8" to 1/2" out from where it should be. Is there something i need to do to adjust this, or is it possible that the door is bent? The original hinges that came in the parts car doors are the ones that i kept on the doors and am using. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Chris

 

I think your hinges are worn. I had hinges that were worn and the door sagged. Driver side doors are open and closed more than passenger side. You can rebuild or buy new.

 

My Chevelle buddy who helped me with the doors was thinking that maybe the weatherstripping was preventing the drivers door from sitting properly. He reminded me that we had to remove the weatherstrip on the passengers side before we could make it fit perfectly. We didn't do that on the drivers side. So I'm going to try that and report back. Ishish, I don't think it's sagging hinges. These doors are off of a 35,000 mile car so they are practically brand new. My old doors, in contrast, are from my 168,000 mile car and they were fine. If all else fails, I'll try a new set of hinges though. Thanks guys!
Chris.

 

Well i tried taking off the weatherstripping, reloosened the hinge bolts, attempted to adjust the door again, retightned, and i still have the issue with the top rear of the door sticking out a good 3/8" to 1/2". The gap between the door and the quarter also seems to be larger than it should be compared with thr passengers side. When i loosened the hinges, i attempted to push the door as far to the rear as i could but it didnt seem to move rearward at all. Any ideas? Thanks!
Chris

 

Are you adjusting the door with the striker in place?

 

Yes. Striker is locked into door latch. Is this the correct way to do it? Thanks! Chris.

 

I never have. The striker can raise, lower push in or out on the latch. I always remove the striker, adjust the door and then reinstall the striker. Then the party begins. It's total trial and error from there. You'll want to hold the button in and look for a fit to the striker with no drag. Biggest thing? Don't get frustrated.

Also, is the body back on the frame yet? If not, others may disagree, but i would do a final alignment when it is.

Good luck!

 

Thanks 1968 post. Yes the body is back on the frame. I will definitely try removing the striker as you are suggesting because I'm about to cry I never would have thought that placing the body back on would be easier than aligning a door lol! Thanks and I'll let you know how it goes.
Chris.