Installing / Adjusting doors

[firefighter]

Hi guys,
I'm making some progress on my 1976 truck rebuild. I'm getting close to painting the cab.
Since I'm painting all the panels individually, I thought I'd hang the doors and get them adjusted properly and then simply remove the hinge pins to remove the doors while I paint the cab. This is possible, right?
I've already installed hinge rebuild kits so the hinges will be nice and tight.

That said, could I please get a few pointers on where to start this door hanging / adjusting process?
I can actually see where the hinge bolts were before so I thought I'd just start there. I am using new GM doors however.
There seems to be a lot of adjustment to the hinges so do I just want to try and achieve equal gaps top and bottom and like maybe 1/4" gap between the rear of the door and the cab?
How do you know how "deep" to set the door into the cab?

Thank you in advance for any pointers you can direct my way. I do appreciate your time.

[zieg85]

In theory your idea sounds great however I don't believe that is going to be possible with our type of hinges.  I am sure others will chime in but I would paint the doors after they are installed/adjusted to your liking.  Unless you have at least 2 other helpers you will most likely skin the new paint all up... But I could be wrong, been wrong before.

[Engineer]

On my '77 K-30, I aligned the doors before painting, then took the doors back off to paint. This was to get the bolts tight so the finish coat on them didn't have to be disrupted.

The bottom pin will lift out, but due to the body curve you will have to unbolt the top hinge from the door only. Remember to paint your hinge bolts so that they match the rest of the truck. Before unbolting the top hinge, I made some small center punch dents around the washers so that the doors go back on correctly.

Don't forget to align your door strikers at the same time.

I also painted the affected fender bolts while I had the paint mixed.

[bake74]

     As the 2 previous post have stated, I only want to add that hanging doors, and doing it right, is a pain in the rear.  You just have to take your time and do not get in a hurry. 
     Do yourself a favor, make a lot of small adjustments instead of a few big ones, you will have more hair left when you are done.  No matter how many times you hang a door on one of these trucks, it is a process to get it right. 

[firefighter]

The bottom pin will lift out, but due to the body curve you will have to unbolt the top hinge from the door only.

Ahhh yes.... I now see that.  I bolted the doors on last night.  Hmmmm.........
I am now contemplating installing the top hinge pin upside down so I could remove it when the doors are adjusted. I would drill and tap a 6-32 hole in the end of it so I could install a small screw (with loc-tite) and washer to keep it from ever falling out.

Anyone see a reason why this may not work?

[firefighter]

Boy this door adjusting is sure a pain !!
The passenger door turned out fairly well after many subtle adjustments, changes and expressive words.
The drivers door is fighting me with every adjustment. When I adjust to make the top rear go in, the bottom front comes out. Then sometimes the front top is in way too far. I just haven't found the right combination to for a happy medium.
I find myself doing more of the adjusting with the hinge to door adjustments as it seems the hinge to the cab adjustment is more for where the door is setting front to back, and how the door seam lines up at the back.
If anyone has ever fought this and may have a few suggestions, I'd sure love to hear it.

Again, am I just trying to achieve a fairly equal gap all the way around and to have the outside skin of the door be fairly close to the outside skin of the cab?
The more you stare at it the more anal you get and the more perfect you want to try and get it.
I'd rather rebuild an entire motor than try and align body panels.   

[PromiseKeeper]

The thing about getting it "right" is also remembering that fit and finish on these trucks were never "right" by today's standards. I'm assuming you are also installing new door seals? Those will take you back to the starting point if you haven't done that yet! It is a lesson in patience for sure!

[bake74]

     It is also much easier if you have help, not impossible by yourself, just harder for sure.

[thirsty]

I hung mine on my cab a few times by myself while I was doing the rockers. It's a lot easier when somebody is around for sure.
I plan on painting my doors off the truck and putting them on after. With my cab being gutted I will have a lot of work to do inside and without the doors on it will be much easier. I know it will be harder to put the doors on with fresh paint but I think in my case it will be the lesser of two evils.

[firefighter]

Ha Ha !!
Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, I'll be putting on new rubber door seals.
I'll be spending Saturday in the garage working on adjusting the doors and will let you know how much hair I have left at the end of the day.
I just want to get this cab painted so I can switch over to assembly instead of dis-assembly of this project.
I'll let you know how it goes.

[HAULIN IT]

  A few things I've learned over the years that may help.
(1) Leave the striker out until you have the door where you want it...then install it to hold the door shut. It is not intended to "position" the door, just hold it shut. I've found it often just confuses people as to what adjustment the door really needs. (2) If your doors are empty, you need to have the bodyline of the door to the cab an 1/8" high so once the weight (glass, regulator, trim, ect. all add up) is put in, the door is where it belongs...not an 1/8" low, then guys try to use the striker to manipulate the door up to look correct. (3) Your "pull the pin idea can & will work well. As mentioned, on our trucks the top needs put in the other way. Newer model fullsize & S-10, ect. have them that way. There are pins with retainer clips that can be used, push-on "hat clips" or you could drill & pin as you mentioned. One other way that works well to help align once you have painted is to drill an 1/8" hole through the hinge, door & thread plate once you have the door where you want it, then after painting you start the bolts and use a 1/8" pin punch to align the parts, tighten the bolts then pull the punch out.
  As to the question of the "how deep do you set the doors in". The bodylines, shape, ect. pretty much take care of this for you. The fender can only go in so far, the cab corner is where it is. One fellow already mentioned the door seals. I will add, they need to be on the truck when it's done so you need to know where you are in relationship to them...too far inward in the front will put a bad bind on the door & make it hard to shut. New seals will put some resistance on the door while closing it at first. In extreme cases the doors, striker, ect. may need to be adjusted out slightly few a few months until the seal "takes set" then move in to where it really belongs.
  Also someone has already mentioned the "less than perfect" fitment on our years of trucks. Really I think these trucks are the worst for panel fitment of any GM style truck in history, unfortunately you have to keep this in mind while working with these trucks & "happy medium" some things here & there along the way. Hope this helps in some way, Lorne     

[kfoz]

Looking for a nice front valance for my '74 C2500!

HELP!!?!?!?!?!
Thanks members!!

Kelly
815-227-4877

[firefighter]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write so much about my question Haulin It.

I'd read somewhere before not to rely on the striker when adjusting doors. I have not even installed them and won't until after paint.

I wondered if the door would sag a bit after adding the weight of the windows, cranking mechanism etc...  The passenger door is just a tad high at the rear and I was planning on leaving it that way. The drivers door is right on now, so I think I will adjust it up just a tad so it will settle in as I finish the door off. Thank you for bringing up this point.

You know, my machinist buddy told me the same thing about drilling two 1/8" holes through the hinge into the cab. That way when you go to bolt the hinge back to the cab, you can have it exactly back in the same spot. Great minds think alike I guess. Great suggestion!!

I actually got both doors adjusted on Saturday to where I was fairly happy with the fitment. The passenger door went really well to where I thought "Heck, this ain't so bad".
Well then came the drivers door. I fought that thing for a few hours and then all of a sudden, everything just seemed to gel and I just kind of honed in the adjustment. I must have found the sweet spot and was able to get it close from there.
I would not want to do this for a living. I'd go broke.

Thanks for all the help guys. I really appreciate it.

[Blazin]

More times than not I have had to put a jack under the back end of the door, and tweak it a bit to get it right. also have had to use a block of wood between the ,door and the cab on the hinge end to bend the door a bit one way or another to get all four corners looking correct.

[firefighter]

also have had to use a block of wood between the ,door and the cab on the hinge end to bend the door a bit one way or another to get all four corners looking correct.

And here I didn't want to fess up that I had to give the door a little "tweek" on the rear drivers side. I could not get the top rear and bottom front to ever both go in far enough. I'd adjust one and it would affect the other. It's like I was rocking on a center pivot. I found by measuring that the drivers door had a little different arch to it than the passenger door.
I just manually "corrected" the arch. I felt like I was back in High School wrestling doing a leg lock and cross face all at the same time.  But hey, I won !!   

Thanks for your reply Blazin.