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MG MGB Technical - Door alignment or adjustment

New dog leg panels have been installed - very well done. However,the lower back edge on my passenger side door doesn't line up. For example, it isn't flush with the new panel. Though the car was repainted many years ago, before I owned it, I wouldn't know why the door is like this. Does this have something to do with adjusting the door hinges or the door hardware? Or could it be some other problem?
bld Doughty

If it's just the bottom corner and it fits well everwhere else I don't think adjustment of the hinges will help. I should say the problem is with the new panel.
c cummins

Are you saying that it has always been like this in your ownership? Then it is probably down to the way the cover panel and sills have been installed, as there was a factory 'adjustment' to correct misalignment here. Once all the other alignments have been corrected from the hinges and lock i.e. vertical and horizontal positions and alignment with the front wing and upper half of the rear wing, the lower rear corner was set by putting a bar that clamped onto the upper and lower edges of the door at the rear, and the whole carcass twisted. Not something you can really do on a painted door without risking the paint.
PaulH Solihull

Hi,

I adjusted mine with a piece of 1" angle iron. Remove the door trim, bolt the angle iron to one of the holes where the window rail is bolted and with a piece of wood at the top to stop scratching the paint pull hard. Have the door open as far as it will go otherwise there is enough give in the door pillar to soften the pull. Also allows the door to contact the body and chip the paint - experience.
See photo

Herb Adler

Crikey, you don't give yourself much leverage there!
PaulH Solihull

I did the same using a piece of Dexion shelving angle iron. I used a nice long piece for extra leverage as Paul mentions. It fixed the door but there was a bit too much leverage and I bent the angle iron!
Simon Jansen

Thanks, very helpful thread.

Herb, the image explains it, I've never seen that done before. Oviously, the doors are very sturdy.

Paul, I'm pretty sure the sills and surrounding panels are original, so I thought that perhaps the door was removed years ago for a paint job and that maybe it wasn't correctly adjusted. That particular owner during that paint job is disceased and I didn't meet him so I'll never really know some things about this car.
bld Doughty

I have been told by someone who worked in a body repair shop that twisting the door was standard procedure and do not be put off by the sound of tortured steel during the " adjustment". He recommended a large , well muscled friend, to help.
AG Martin

If the door fitted perfectly, then was removed and replaced, then I would expect any misalignment to be in two or more positions. You can't get three points correct i.e. top and bottom of the front edge and top of the rear edge aligned yet still have the bottom rear sticking out unless the carcass has been twisted from how it was before.
PaulH Solihull

After reskinning my doors I carefully twisted them to match the car, which had had new inner and outer sills so realignment was necessary. It's amazing how much movement there can be between skin and carcass. I then even more carefully added some tach welds at four or five points to anchor the skins to the door carcass. Really solid now and fortunately nothing moved when welding.
Richard Coombs

This thread was discussed between 24/07/2010 and 29/07/2010

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