Hi guys. My 68 has doors that fit quite well, but i am bugged by the posts that say they can close with fingertips! Mine takes a good swing. Eyeing it closely, it drops a quarter inch when unlatched and this takes the design crease in the door about a quarter inch below the matching line on the rear quarter. I assume i need to remove latch, put jack under south end of door, loosen both hinges on the body, raise a bit, then retighten. sound right?? Before i bust my knuckles, is it possible to so loosen those hinges aagainst th body with the front fender in place?? thanks,

Hi guys. My 68 has doors that fit quite well, but i am bugged by the posts that say they can close with fingertips! Mine takes a good swing. Eyeing it closely, it drops a quarter inch when unlatched and this takes the design crease in the door about a quarter inch below the matching line on the rear quarter. I assume i need to remove latch, put jack under south end of door, loosen both hinges on the body, raise a bit, then retighten. sound right?? Before i bust my knuckles, is it possible to so loosen those hinges against the body with the front fender in place?? thanks,
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If it drops upon opening, the hinges need to be rebuilt. Grab the door and lift up; there should be zero play. And yes, they should close with a very light touch. Mine do.

Answered in your other double post.

Yes, you can reach the hinge bolts with the fender in place. But as was answered in your other post (you only need one by the way, sometimes it takes a day for a few responses:thumbsup:) It sounds like the hinges need a rebuild.......You may be able to tweak it a little but you may suffer alignment issues......I do not think adjusting the latch is possible but the striker is adjustable and is usually left out of the equation until the door is aligned.

Many of us have struggled with this issue so you are not alone. If the door is not opening and closing without slamming it shut, I would try some adjustment....until I could address the hinge problem. One way would be to buy new (or used and have them rebuilt,) change them out and sell off the ones you have now to try and re-coupe some cash. If you decide to rebuild yours there are rebuild kits available aftermarket.

In the future you can just search for info on the site by doing a couple of searches on your problem...Like this Search: Door alignment, Search: Hinge rebuild, Search: Door not closing get the idea....instead of waiting for quick responses or starting the thread in a different location.

FWIW posting a picture of your problem always seems to get more responses then just explaining what your problem is....

Good luck,

And one more thing.....it is a lot easier with a helper instead of the jack.........

Mine take a nice hard slam. Got to compress all that metro seal.

Have your hinges been redone?

sorry about the double post in Camaro Tech as well - wasn't sure if Paint and Body was the correct posting location. There is some slight movement in the hinge area (about the same as the "drop" when it comes off the striker) so it sounds like i need to do hinges. saw the excellent hinge redo article in Chevy Punch, so i think even i may be able to do that. Couple of questions - do you think i need to replace the rollers or just the hinge pins and bushings? Also, what does this door (with panel and window in place) weigh when i get it off? Two man job? thanks,

It won't hurt to do the rollers while you're at it. Might as well.

You're not gonna want to be hoisting a fully loaded door around by yourself! A bare shell maybe.

Doors are fitted without the striker installed; once you have it fitted the way you want it, then install the striker and adjust it for free latch entry and to set in-out flush to the rocker and quarter panel, and tighten it. All the striker does is to set the in-out at the rear of the door, and the door should close easily (unless you've just installed new weatherstrips). If the door wants to climb the striker when closing or drop off the striker when opening, the striker isn't adjusted correctly (assuming the hinges aren't worn).

:beers:

John: Yep, its climbing the stiker and there is about 1/4" movement up and down when i work the aft end of the door, so it sounds like hinges.

Thanks to all - i will report back after hinges rebuilt.