Rear Door Adjustment_Series III

[jpetropoulos]

We are wrapping up a body off restoration on our '72 Series III 88". Of course there have been lots of challenges along the way. But this one is a bugger. The rear door hangs about 3/8" too low leaving almost no seal along the top. Unlike the front door, the holes for mounting the rear door in the tub and roofsides are fixed so there is no real way to adjust these doors up. I am considering machining some elongated ball bearings for use between the hinges but this seems like a kludge. Is there another way to raise the rear door?
Thanks in advance
Jack

[erik88lr]

I think I'd loosen all the hinge bolts and gently jack up the door with a floor jack, then tighten all the bolts. I would think there would be enough play in the door and body bolt holes to do the job.

[jimrr]

i suppose you've dealt with this by now but you didn't say whether the door was square with the body or just hanging low. if it was not square with the body i'd suspect the cab is sloughed one way or the other, if it's low then it's a hinge issue. would like to know how you fixed it?

[vlad_d]

Not sure if you're still dealing with this, but might help others. My 1973 Series 3 has a little play in the hinge bolts. When tightened, there is no play, but when loose the bolts can wiggle in their sockets a bit. It's not much, mind you. But, a 1/32" wiggle at the hinge pivots the door about a half inch at the latch...just because of the arc. This can be used to nudge the fit. Also, I noticed, that the weight of the door has an effect. So, I jack up the door as erik88lr said and tighten everything up, and when I remove the jack and let it hang on its weight...things shifted about 1/8". So, I ended up tightening the hinge bolts with it 1/8" high to account for the settle, and the body lines line up now. FYI.

I put some(easy release) masking tape on both sides of the door seam by the latch and mark a line across on both sides. Then adjust and mark another line in a different pen. Then measure the marks to figure out the sag offset. That helped me.

This all assumes the door frame is square. Britannica Restorations YouTube channel has a great demo all about squaring the frame:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UwHOYGmtGN4