rear door gap adjustment on 57 210 sedan

Chris
10 months ago

is there any way to gain clearance on the back door of a 57 , I am very tight in the bottom back corner. IF I adjust for that my door won't line up and trys to hit the rain gutter.

Mr. Bowtie

Chris, The 1957 door clearance, between the bottom edge of the door and the rocker panel, should be in the range of 1/8 – 1/4 inch.

The clearance between the front and rear door edges should be 1/16–3/16 inch.

To get these clearances sometimes it is necessary to get close, then move only the upper door hinge bolts around.

Chris
10 months ago

This is what I ended up doing. I took my hinges to the machine shop and had them mill 1/8 off the pilliar side of the hinges now the door fits perfect.

Rob
4 months ago

Those rear doors are largely non-adjustable. You can shim the hinges but sometimes that doesn't give you what you need. If you have the room between where the door meets the quarter, shimming the bottom hinge will pick up the bottom corner. But, it will also reduce your door-to-quarter gap in the bottom corner. If you go too much the gap from the top of the door to the bottm may become too irregular and noticeable. A little at a time is the way to go.

Gaps can also be altered by shimming body mounts. Search around for info on that or just give it a try. I would only recommend this if you have new body mounts. This will equalize the way the body sits on the frame and give you a starting point.

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