1969 mach 1 door alignment after rebuilding hinges

[rindel]

I recently rebuilt hinges on 1969 mach 1 driver side with new bushings and bolts. Now I can't get my door aligned. If I get it to close right with duke clunk then front door hits fender as I open it. Can I adjust fender movement with taking it off?

[Mustangmike]

You can adjust the door and the fender. Did you remove the door to repair the hinges? Was the fender on the car before you changed the hinges? If so, did the door interfere with the fender then? If you start tinkering with the fender you can throw off other alignment points and gaps. If the fender was on the car and it did not interfere with the door, I would guess your problem resides with the door alignment.

Post a picture of the door/fender alignment when you get a chance.

[rindel]

Prior to removing the door, it did not hit the fender. I did not remove the fender. Just door and hinges. When I put them back on, the door started hitting fender. I tried adjusting about five times, removing door and putting back on. It seems when door can close perfectly, it hits fender and bottom gap is wider than top.

Btw - can I buy bushings St advanced auto parts or napa? Wondering if they have assortment of sizes that will work. The ones I bought online seem to be a loose fit with some play when I put them in the hinge.

[Mustangmike]

You need to make sure the door is hanging level. Take a look at the gap between the bottom edge of the door and the rocker panel. This gap should be even all the way across the bottom edge of the door. If not, you should adjust the door so the gap is consistent. Sometimes a small adjustment is all it takes. This may adjust the door where it won't interfere the fender.

[Mach1FatherFigure]

+1 on the even gap thing. I guess the door was fine before the hinge repair. If you get the door evenly into the middle of the hole and it fouls, could it then be the lateral (in-out across the car) that needs adjustment?

[SWPruett]

Hinge rebuilds are often a frustrating experience when trying to (re)establish door alignment and fender fit on these cars and most folks don't understand the magnitude of change that can come with rebuilt hinges.

Consider this: if the hinge repair resulted in correcting 0.010" of play at the hinge, the resultant change at the B-post of the door is about 3/8" when the gap should normally be about half that! With this in mind, it illustrates how exceedingly rare it would be to be able to rebuild one hinge at a time and ever expect the door to align properly.

The advice previously recommended is the only way to go. The door simply must be aligned to the "anchor" panels from scratch to get the gaps right and avoid crashing the fender edge. By "Anchor" panels, I mean the "structurally fixed" rocker and B-post. Every gap forward of the door is virtually dictated by the fit along these two edges, including fender, hood, cowl and valence fit.

By careful alignment of the lower door gap and the B-post gap first, with emphasis on character line alignment as well, the fender should be able to be easily aligned to the door without much drama, comparatively speaking. It's rather hateful work, but pretty much unavoidable even though a hinge rebuild seems so simple. Hope this helps!

[JTS71 Mach1]

Hinge rebuilds are often a frustrating experience when trying to (re)establish door alignment and fender fit on these cars and most folks don't understand the magnitude of change that can come with rebuilt hinges.

Consider this: if the hinge repair resulted in correcting 0.010" of play at the hinge, the resultant change at the B-post of the door is about 3/8" when the gap should normally be about half that! With this in mind, it illustrates how exceedingly rare it would be to be able to rebuild one hinge at a time and ever expect the door to align properly.

The advice previously recommended is the only way to go. The door simply must be aligned to the "anchor" panels from scratch to get the gaps right and avoid crashing the fender edge. By "Anchor" panels, I mean the "structurally fixed" rocker and B-post. Every gap forward of the door is virtually dictated by the fit along these two edges, including fender, hood, cowl and valence fit.

By careful alignment of the lower door gap and the B-post gap first, with emphasis on character line alignment as well, the fender should be able to be easily aligned to the door without much drama, comparatively speaking. It's rather hateful work, but pretty much unavoidable even when though a hinge rebuild seems so simple. Hope this helps!

Very well said, JTS 71 Mach1

[Steven Harris]

Ditto on the above advice.

Have you found a source for your bushings and pins?

[rindel]

i bought my hinges and bushings on ebay. Bushings had some play on some of the hinges. i guess the holes were worn. i bought an assortment of bushings from advance auto parts and lucked out on a few sizes that worked. I managed to align driver side door by trial and error. On passenger side i only removed hinge from door. before i did that i used tape to mark position. doors now close perfectly with no slop.

[Steven Harris]

Good to hear.

Well done.