MTFCA Forum

What is the best way to get these doors back into alignment? 1924 Tudor. I searched but didn't find alot of advice. Its on both doors.

Remember this is NOT a Toyota. With all metal bodies the metal can be stretched or shrunk to adjust the panel fitment. I guess you could do the same with wood construction. Just remove the skin and added or remove wood in the appropriate spots.
I’m certain as long as the door close, Ford in 97 years ago didn’t care.
So can they be adjusted - of course. Is it economically worth it, definitely not

It may be possible to adjust and tighten the woodwork inside the door to improve the fit. Some doors have a turnbuckle arrangement inside that allows alignment. Looking down the side of the car, the molding lines seem to be right where they should be, suggesting that the hinge alignment is correct, but the rear portion of door has lost some curvature, probably due to looseness in the woodwork joints. It's a common problem with very old cars. Your car looks pretty good, and it may not be too difficult to repair the problem, and doing so will give a much solider feel to the car. If you can find an illustrated listing of reproduction wood parts for your car, you may be able to get an idea how the door is constructed and how to go about repairing it or replacing some of all of the wood in the doors, if necessary.

TonyB, lol, good points but the gap catches my eye every time. But in the end, I'm not sure it will be worth it either. I say that not knowing what it will take to correct it. But have in my mind to give it a good attempt!

TXGOAT2, thanks for the feedback. I'm hunting for illustrations now. Do you think reshaping the old wood is even worth it? Being a noob, my first guess was to shave off the wood inside the door in the areas that stick out? Or is that me just being naive?

Look for the simple solutions first.

1) Can you push the door completely closed by hand to make it tight? If so then it may just be a latch adjustment to keep the door in place.

2) Do you have rubber bumpers where the doors close? If so are they too thick holding the door away from the jamb.

3) Check for frame twist or sag.

As a very last resort and I mean last resort would I ever shave the wood jamb or door panel to make it thinner. The wood was made that thick to take the stress and strain of a car moving down an uneven road and if you make it thinner it may split or crack under the strain. Old wood will absorb moisture and swell which could be the cause and if you do decide to shave it down then treat the wood to keep it from swelling again.

Perry, thank you. On the drivers side, when the door is closed I can push on the top and bottom and the gap closes, but as soon as I release the pressure it goes back. Where the latch is in the middle of the door there is no gap. The drivers side gaps on the top and bottom are not bad. Maybe 1/2 inch. The passenger side door is the one with the larger gap from top to bottom. I'll mess with the latch on that side, assuming I would need to move in inward.

I pulled the rubber bumpers out already thinking that was the issue but no luck there.

To check for frame twist and sag, I'm assuming I'll need to pull everything off the frame first or is there an alternative way?

I have a 24 Coupe and the doors still shut pretty tight and don’t rattle BUT they do have a slight gap the length of the door when they latch. Not much but a little. Possibly when it was built the doors probably fit a little better. It’s been like that as long as I remember since I inherited it in 1958 or 59. Can’t remember exactly when!
I’m not convinced all of Fords cars coming off the assembly line were perfect in every way. I’m betting that they weren’t. When I finally restored it the doors weren’t the problem but it was the trunk area that needed work and other areas of the car.
I figured I better leave the doors alone and be satisfied the way it was. The doors shut well and fit snug and that’s good enough for me for an almost 100 year old car.

I wouldn't do anything to the doors other than perhaps very carefully tightening any loose screws, etc without some advice from someone with automotive woodworking experience. Is it worth fixing? Yes, definitely. Fixing the problem may or may not be difficult, but regardless of that, fixing the problem will do much to improve the appearance and value of the car while preventing further deterioration, improving occupant comfort and safety, and making the driving experience much more enjoyable. There are several people around the country who make wood parts for Model T bodies, and you may be able to get advice and pricing for any needed parts from one or another of them. I would not alter any of the parts of the doors. Even if wood parts need replaced, your present parts may be among the best available for patterns to make new parts from the correct type of wood. The doors should fit correctly, and they should open and close easily and they should latch securely. They should not sag when opened, and they should not need to be slammed to close them. They should not shake, rattle, or squeak when the car is on the road. Wind noise, if any, should be minimal, and you should be able to drive the car in cold weather without drafts of cold air entering around the doors or windows.

Assuming the rubber bumpers are the correct ones, they are not your problem. They are necessary to prevent metal to metal contact and paint damage and to cushion the door and to hold some tension on it when closed.

Third try posting this.Hope you are still there. If your door have a steel plate to carry the window winding mechanism, you have a good start. Looking at your photos, I would only be concerned with the back edge of the right hand door.
If you remove the trim panel, you can see where to start. The top of the door rear edge needs to be pulled in. You can do this by removing the screws at the rear edge of the panel, and twisting the panel in somewhat at the top. When you refit the screws they will pull the top in towards the twist. You may need to adjust the amount of twist to suit the amount you need to draw the top of the door inwards. once you have it sitting correctly, liquid epoxy can be used to penetrate loose timber joints to firm things up somewhat.

On colonial built bodies here in South Australia, Duncan and Fraser fitted a twist bar to make these adjustments when biulding their bodies. They use a piece of 2" x 1/8" flat mild steel for the task.

Hope this helps,
Allan from down under.

Thank you Allen from down under! I'm still here and excited to try that.