trying to line my doors up AHHHHHH

[86chevyk20]

hey guys my k20 is all painted and im wanting to put the front clip back on. me and a buddy tryed lining up the doors and all the gaps on the door and this sucks. What is the trick if there is one for getting the doors lined up. GM doors, new bushing in hinges.


help??

 

[Jims86]

hey guys my k20 is all painted and im wanting to put the front clip back on. me and a buddy tryed lining up the doors and all the gaps on the door and this sucks. What is the trick if there is one for getting the doors lined up. GM doors, new bushing in hinges.


help??

Did they line up before the paint job? These trucks wer crap from the factory as far as panels ligning up.

 

[Swims350]

trick is you line them up, that's about it. Might require shims or elongating some holes. line up the body line with the cab, then the rest of the cab etc. then work your way forward.

 

[crazy4offroad]

Get some wooden shims, like you use when installing windows and doors in a house, and mark them at about 1/4"-3/8" thickness and use one at the top and bottom of the fender/door gap. Try 1/4" first. Then tighten the bolt at the top of the fender/cab and the one at the bottom of the fender/cab. Verify the door opens and closes ok then cinch down the one between the door/fender. Hope this helps.

 

[Swims350]

or use paint sticks it's a nice tight gap but highly doubt it'd all be that same thickness.

 

[86chevyk20]

well i bought a bunch of harbor frieght body shims...time for fun!

 

[HotRodPC]

well i bought a bunch of harbor frieght body shims...time for fun!

I think you're on the right track now. Keep in mind, it might not be the doors out of alignment either. It could be the front clip and fenders out of alignment. Those come with shims from the factory. Just sayin, consider all avenues. I think I'd get my doors on so they shut and latch properly, then align everything to match the doors accordingly. You get the doors aligned where you THINK they look right, then they might not latch or hit the striker just right.

 

[bucket]

If the hinges bolt to the door and cab (opposed to welded), which the squarebody trucks do, there is almost never a need to use shims because the bolt holes are slotted.

There's really not much to it. About the only trick is to remove the striker (the retainer plate can fall behind, so have your hand back there when removing the striker) and adjust the door without the striker effecting how the door shuts. Then when the door fits the cab just right, bolt the striker back on and get that setup properly. Also make sure the striker has a bushing on it. Then adjust the fender to match the front of the door (assuming you have the fenders off).

 

[86chevyk20]

well i went to a local car show and looked at a whole bunch of squares and other nice shinny trucks and cars, and came to the conclustion ( keep inmind im 20 im learning) that most older cars just dont line up very well from the factory and they just dont lineup right anyways. sooo later that night i went to my shop and got my doors as good as i think i can get them and then got the front clip on. i think i did quite well

 

[smurph20]

Pics man we wanna see lol aslong as they arent hitting and they close good and then i say role with it

 

[86chevyk20]

ill take some pics tonight!!!!

 

[Old77]

I want to see pics too! I had a hard time getting my doors to line up as well. I got mine CLOSE but they're definitely not "show truck perfect". But like you said, they didn't always line up that well on the dealership parking lot back then let alone when dealing with reproduction parts Unless it's a show truck then I'd say get as close as you can and maybe fine tune it later on. Next time I paint my truck I'll see if I can get it even better on my '77.