1934 Ford Truck Door Adjustment

[Teacher John]

Hey there! I have a '34 truck that we took apart to make repairs and paint. For some reason, the doors are hanging too low (about 1.5 inches). How in the hell does one adjust the height of the doors? I really need some guidance here.

[FlatheadTed]

The cab is likely not square ,you need to move the roof forward ,The door jams where the hinge mounts may be bent also .

[Teacher John]

I'm not quite following you Ted.

[OhioRick]

Originally Posted by Teacher John

I'm not quite following you Ted.

Moving the roof forward will in turn move the top hinge forward lifting the back side of the door.

[Karl Wescott]

If Teds advise does not fix it... post some pictures, that may give some of us some ideas as to what is going on and how to fix it.

[jimTN]

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As much as you say its out could mean that the wood between cab and frame is not right and may need to be shimmed. I had the same problem and had to also straighten the frame to get a sag out of it.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by OhioRick

Moving the roof forward will in turn move the top hinge forward lifting the back side of the door.

[sugarmaker]

John,
Welcome! Yes we need some pictures. I can't imagine 1.5 inches of droop? But I have never taken an old truck apart that far. I have taken the doors off my 32 but the cab was not removed.
Hope this is something simple?
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[FlatheadTed]

Maybe you can use a ratchet strap to pull the top of front pillar forward and pack with the wood blocks under the body as the others have suggested , there are about three blocks on each side ,Mack Hills of Moberly has them I had to make mine from what was left ,Bits .

[NealinCA]

My 32 pickup had about 3/4" of sag on the doors and most was taken out by shimming the cowl. The hinges did need a little straightening and tightening up, but the majority of the problem was corrected with body shims.

[FlatheadTed]

Yes ,not so much roof forward ,

[DavidG]

When you painted the cab did you detach the roof from the cowl/windshield assembly and back panel? Starting fairly late in in '32 production the roof became readily detachable. Are your cowl hinge pillars exactly at 90 degrees from the adjacent floor sill tops? And the latch pillars also 90 degrees from their adjacent floor sill tops. If the answer to those two questions is yes, then likely your hinges are bent.

[Karl Wescott]

The "simple" test to determine if you have a shim/body/door issue vs an improperly bent hinge issue is to remove the hinges from the body (and door, on a pickup), the door strikers and dovetails. Then (with a helper or two) by hand fitting attempt to fit the door to the opening. If it fits... hinge issue. If it does not then alignment, or distorted body or door structure. Be sure to try for an even gap between the front face of the door and the matching face of the cowl (or body on suicide doors).

[deuce lover]

Originally Posted by Teacher John

Hey there! I have a '34 truck that we took apart to make repairs and paint. For some reason, the doors are hanging too low (about 1.5 inches). How in the hell does one adjust the height of the doors? I really need some guidance here.

I had this identical issue on a 32 tudor sedan I built in the mid 1990's. I did not have the original frame.Had the bodywork done then installed it on a reproduction frame.My doors hung 2 inches low.
How did the doors fit before you took it apart? Was the cab taken off the frame? Pics?