Good LORD!!!!!! I know that door gaps aren't perfect and it is important to make sure you have the correct hinges on the top and bottom of either side but I had no idea what a pain in the a55 this would be!!!!!
As this is my first mini to rebuild and by far the furthest I have ever dug into any car restoration can you guys offer any advise for me as a body noob?????? Once I get these things back on I am going to have to take them back off again to massage the paint again. Everything fit fine as a dry run after I re-skinned the doors but now I am fighting with them.
Any thoughts on the matter or tricks you guys have picked up over the years would be helpful.
I feel like everything I have done so far throughout the build has consistently made things a bit worse than they were (Except now there is no rust which is good)
Thanks guys!
MikeB
Yes they can be a pita. But, you'll just want to test fit as metal work is in process and done, note shim placements, then it should fit just as well after painting.
Also I have had to slot holes a little even grind back a door edge until it was right and re weld the edge. and after you put the seals on they won't fit right again. Thats normal they get better with time someone posted a link on my 60 restoration thread of the best fitting door seals you can get I would recommend you do that because the ones I got are crap, I had to cut the bulb on one side just to get it to collapse enough to sorta work and let the door close.
This was the seal place
http://www.phoenixtrim.co.uk/Portals/Phoenix/Mini%20Cat%20Leaflet%202015.pdf
I've also been told Phoenix Trim has the best stuff.....
Try fitting mk VI doors and you'll think your current job is easy. The lower part is about 1 cm wider than the opening and the upper part is about 1 cm narrower.
When you are fitting MK-VI doors to a MK-I opening, ...
They were just a "tad" different.
Actually one of the biggest problems of doors on restorations is that many hinge pins are worn. Even 1 mm allows too much play at the end of door. This requires hinge replacement, sleeving the old hinge, or a larger diameter pin. Fortunately for minis they are readily available. For my other cars it has meant a trip to the machine shop.
Yup, my early brass ones were so shot the new bushings would just fall through so I drilled them and made custom 5/16" pins.