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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Re-hanging doors

I'm not quite there yet, but I'll soon be ready to reassemble and re-hang my passenger door.

What order do you recommend doing the work in: Reassemble before re-hanging or hang first and then reassemble?

I figure that it will be much easier to reassemble the door off the car, but then a bare door will be much easier to handle and mount with a lower risk of knocking and chipping the edges.

I thought that wrapping the door in plastic and taping over the edges might protect it from my clumsiness while mounting it on the hinges prior to final adjustments.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

Colin
C Mee

I put mine on first so you can get the right angle for the quarter light to the windscreen, mine where new doors so a lot of fiddling to get them to look right with the gaps.
mark heyworth

I prefer to assemble the door once it's on the car.
Dave O'Neill 2

I hung my doors then reassembled. Less weight to deal with while fitting the fasteners. Don't forget the check strap!!

Clare
Clare Ravenwood

The check strap can actually be fitted afterwards, due to its very clever design.
Dave O'Neill 2

Much easier fitting all the bits to a door that isn't getting moved around and would inevitably result in paintwork damage. Hang it first and immediately add the door check strap before you do ANYTHING else. Damage at the A post edge is far and away the most likely result otherwise. From there on the door is at a convenient and easy work height for fitting out.
GuyW

Colin. Google, MG Experience Midget and Sprite door assembly, by Norm Kerr. It explains in which order to fit everything, so that you don't have to take something out again to fit another part. Plus what Guy said about the check strap.

Bernie.
b higginson

Definitely on the car especially if it's already painted.
Jeremy MkIII

Well that's pretty consistent and conclusive - hang first it will be!

Thanks for the Norm Kerr reference Bernie - I've actually got it downloaded already and it was helpful when I was dismantling but only talks about assembly, not hanging.

Thanks for the reminder about the check strap - I just might install that before I do anything so I don't forget it and regret it!

Many Thanks

Colin
C Mee

Colin,

ISTR you noted the doors did not fit well previously (sticking out rear edges ?) and you have repaired them also?
I would fit them as shells, add the rubber seals, locks/strikers and get best fit with hinge locations and them 'adjust them' as necessary to get best fit - may need a 4x2" etc within the shell to twist the 'bottom in a bit' if required. This is of course not possible with a built up door !

R.
richard b

Thanks for the reminder Richard. It's the other door that's got the sticky out problem. At the rate I'm going it's beginning to look as though I won't have enough time to do that door before I want to run the car at Easter. When I do get onto it I'll make sure I do a thorough trial fit and adjust before I start painting.

This door has only(!) had a 2" repair strip along the bottom. Having made the repair section to fit the frame closely, I was horrified, when I did a trial fit, to see how uneven that gap along the bottom was - but when I checked photos, it had always been like that and I'd just never noticed!
Fortunately that was before I fixed anything permanently so I was able to adjust the repair panel placement so that the gap should be a bit more even.

I was hoping to get some colour on the door this weekend but sanding back the primer this evening has shown up a few high spots that will need priming again, so it will drag on a bit longer!
C Mee

Assembling doors is the hardest and worst job of the entire car

I'd assemble loosely, hang it, then final adjustment of all the parts then adjust the door to fit, then more then most likely repaint the door (agian)

In the future assemble the door THEN Paint the door and hang on the car would be the proper order

The MG experisnce library website is your best friend
1 Paper

This thread was discussed between 24/01/2018 and 26/01/2018

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