1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

[Bruce Boatner]

Both doors on my 1964 coupe have too much of a gap between the top of the door and the roof allowing water to leak into the car during a heavy rain or wash. I checked the service manual and AIM, but am a little bewildered as to how to make the necessary adjustments. The last thing I want to do is blindly loosen bolts and make the alignment TOTALLY out of whack. I would really appreciate any guidance in the door alignment area as my paint and body skills (along with many others) are beginner level at best.

Thanks Guys!

[Terry F.]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

If the door fits the contour of the rest of the body, there may not be much you can do about it. But, I don't know C2's that well. Someone else should comment on this. I believe the C2's were made in two different locations. It is possible the doors on your car cam from another car causing a mismatch situation. Does the rest of the door fit look good?

Terry

[Bruce Boatner]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

The rest of the door fits very well on both doors. Just a slight gap along the top at the roof line allowing water to come in. The gap also opens up more at highway speeds to the point I can daylight coming through. The gap is about the same for both doors. I did adjust the door "catch" (not sure of the proper term) on the body when I first bought the car and that helped close the gap somewhat, but it seems that adjustment at another point is in order. I would rather have a slight gap at the bottom of the door instead of the top if that's an option.

I doubt the doors came from another car as the overall fit of the rest of the body is straight and tight.

[Terry F.]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

Somebody posted a similar topic in the past. I believe there are shims inside the door that can be removed to bring the door in and out. Do you have a service manual or assembly manual? Also, a parts catalog will show shim locations. If it were a C3, I could tell you right away. Good luck, Terry

[Stephen L.]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

There are shims located at both hinges inside the door. You need to remove the inside door panel to get to these. You may be able to correct some of your problem by shim adjustment. Do you have the rubber rail screwed to the body above the door as well as a door gasket completely around the door? Are they in good shape or deteriorated?

[Wayne W.]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

I wouldnt remove any shims if the door fits everywhere except at the top. A big burly friend can bend the window frame to fit at the top.

[kelly theaker]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

i had read in an excellent book on midyears only ,that there was a problem with early doors from a supplier outside , the drawings that were given had incorrect dimensions and that caused a 1/4 problem at the top of the door and the roof. I thought it stated that it was in 63 but since i was building the 69 i did not pay enough attention. You may have an early 64 and this is the build of the product , educate yourself well before attempting changes. I read the fix on the line was to put your knee into the door and pull the top portion of the door in, first off i would get the book, it was an excellent read . IT was the second edition of? these guys will know. I always wondered why these midyears looked excellent for fit above the door to roof when this problem existed. Do they get points deduct for the fit being perfect? you have asked the right forum , keep digging.

[Bruce Boatner]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

Steve,

I do have the rubber rail along the roof line as well as the complete door gasket. All were recently replaced and are in excellent condition. I was thinking that a thicker rubber rail could be a stop gap type solution, but I really want to find the proper fix if there is one. I did see mention of the adjusting shims in the service manual and will look into this--not really a big deal to pull the door panel. I just hate to plunge blindly into something and create more problems than I had before.

Thanks for your help.

Bruce

[Bruce Boatner]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

Kelly,

Thanks for your input. I would really like to get a copy of the book you mentioned. Can you recall the title or at least the author?

Thanks!

Bruce

[kelly theaker]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

I am not absolute , all i can tell you it is a second publish and you have to call the writer to get one or buy used , the author was'nt Bizzoco,Dobbins,or Prince. Someone that plays with mid years will jump in here . this book covers the complete mid year . It may have been Tripoli. As far as i am concerned it was an excellent book for the mid year owner - a must have. Look in the NCRS library.And ask

[Stephen L.]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

I'm a little sceptical of "bending the door frame". Potential for stress cracks in the fiberglass at the base of the window frame loom in my mind.....

[kelly theaker]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

your correct, it does tend to slow the window up a touch if over done. I was only quoting what the book quoted as to what the fix was on the line. The drawings were wrong.

[John H.]

Re: 1964 Coupe Door Alignment Question

The doors were correct - the roof panel mold halves were incorrectly designed to the inner surface instead of the outer surface (.100" difference), which made the roof panel outer surface .100" low to design. It was never fixed, due to the cost of making a complete new set of molds, so coupe door fits were always a compromise between matching the peak lines to the fender and quarter and creating a flush fit to the edge of the roof. "Reefing" the door above the belt line was a common "adjustment" to achieve the compromise.