how do i fix this roadster door problem

[rob63mess]

oops....here's the pic. from the rear looking forward.

[rob63mess]

The fit is pretty good at the top. The door is square in the opening and opens and shuts well. It just sticks out at the bottom about 5/8 in.

[Bob/Kansas City]

Roadster doors can be pretty flexible. That said, you may be able to adjust this by unlatching the door, putting your foot on the running board, bracing your leg against the back edge of the outer door face, and then pulling outward on the top rear of the door with a little pressure. This may force the rear bottom edge of the door back into better alignment with the door opening. Don't go all Dirty Harry on it ...Just use a little tweaking at a time until you get the fit you want.

[Dan Ewing]

Uh oh!

Marco's website has an excellent dissertation on roadster door alignment.

However.... here's what your problem most likely stems from. Over a period of time, and this is most common on the driver's side of a roadster, the body gets pulled out at the top. This is usually caused over a period of time by people tending to hoist themselves into the car by grasping the top of the body adjacent to the door opening and pull themselves into the car.

What this does is "stretch" or bend the top outwards a bit. When the door is closed and due to the vertical angle of the body being changed, the door will have a larger gap at the bottom.

How do you correct this?

One of the better ways is to attach a cable from the top of the door near the top iron bracket and to the bottom opposite side with a turnbuckle. Tighten the turn buckle and gently pull the body in a bit. Be very careful and take measurements before and after. Don't get aggressive and buckle the body panel. It is best to have the package tray wood removed. I don't know if this can be accomplished with wood and upholstery still in the car.

If you can do the calcs, it does not take a lot of movement at the top to make a large gap at the bottom of the door.

I would welcome other folks to weigh in on this; Marco, Brent.

[SAJ]

Hello Rob. Over the years the rear door post sags outward. A crack can appear where the level changes near the roof bow pivot too, making the outward sag of the door latch post worse. If you lean on this rear door post to push it inwards the gap at the door bottom will decrease.
Marco Tahtaras posted a good explanation somewhere.
I followed this, inserted a reinforcing piece between the several steel layers where the crack had formed, pulled the post in with a ratchet strap fastened scross the car and spot welded the reinforcement in to avoid burning too much good paint. The repair is invisible and my drivers door shuts nicely with a rigid click, since the rear door post flexes much less now.
I hope you can follow this. I am posting from my Samsung Tablet which is not very easy.
I may be able to find some pics if this would help.
SAJ in NZ

[ericr]

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I had the same problem and did what SAJ did. I have since wondered if one could have the roadster door hinges at the cowl post slightly slotted (and countersunk of course) by a machine shop to gain adjustment there. The '29 Roadster hinge is of course not adjustable originally and whether this idea would work is problematic to me.

[Bob C]

Here is Marco's explanation of your problem. http://www.abarnyard.com/workshop/door-2a.htm

Bob

[rob63mess]

thanks very much