Bought my 72 Skylark Custom convertible like this 4 years ago. Was told it was restored in the low 2000's and came from NC and overall seems fairly solid, floors trunk in good shape but I am not smart enough to know exactly what sheet metal has been replaced or filler added before it was painted. Most panels fit well (except for fiberglass hood but will get into that later). The door seems to have a decent/even gap at the front. at the rear it sags a 1/4 inch, a little inconsistent gap and at the bottom sticks out about 1/4 inch. Almost like it is sagging but when I open it and try to lift up there doesn't seem to be any play in the hinges or pins.... bottom of door looks original. Any ideas on how to fix this? (move door hinges in, raise the door etc.)? or do you think the quarter panel in front of the wheel was replaced poorly but the door jamb looks good... I don't know but it bothers me every time I walk to that side of the car. thanks for any advice.
Looks like door bottom was filled (last pic, thick edge at bottom). Whoever did work didn't pay attention to body contour transition between panels...didn't test fit door before finishing. From pics, rear of door needs to come up quite a bit and bottom has to come in, but pics can be deceiving. Someone skilled needs to look over entire right side...
Here's a good reference after a quick internet search. http://www.hotrod.com/articles/panel-alignment-like-a-pro/ I would put a layer of masking tape on any edges that could possibly come in contact,use a floor jack with a block of wood under door and most of all take your time and be patient.
This picture looks like the door is too low, look at the top edge, its much lower than the quarter panel. Seems like the door has to go up and the bottom rotated in. Not a fun job aligning panels, I have been looking at my poor door gaps for 15 years and I have not put the time aside to dig deep into the project and aligning them better.
Thanks for the link. Will watch later. I agree with everyone it needs to go up and bottom in. But am afraid that the front door/fender gap will get changed...
After you get the door lined up, you'll wind up having to adjust the fender, then the hood then the other fender and the drivers door
Please keep us posted. My door looks very similar to yours as far as the bottom sticking out slightly. I suspected poor body work, but am hoping it's an alignment issue. So I am very curious to what you discover. I haven't yet tried to adjust my door
Or just sand bottom of doors with that black round tube twisting back in forth left and to the right. Then reprime paint doors fix the rust on Qtr.
Also since it hasn't been mentioned , make sure your door hinges are not worn bad enough you can lift up the door slightly by picking up on the handle. You're just asking for headaches adjusting with those and you would want them replaced later anyways and all your hard work for nothing!
