MTFCA Forum

Hey All!
I am working on my 1916 touring and I am starting to fit the doors back in the body. I have no similar car to compare. Could you advise me about what gaps other people have between the doors and the body?
Thanks,
Campbell Tellman
Beaufort, NC

You will find that the door gap is dynamic… ever changing with the humidity and terrain. The T frame and body are fantastically flexible, and the doors openings act as stress reliefs while twisting. The doors should operate freely on level ground… but most have minor interference due to shape variations of wood and sheet metal…

The hole in the body is fixed. The shape of the door is fixed. You can juggle the set of the hinges and the striker plates to get a better fit within the hole.
You can also affect the twist in the door to make it better fit the body lines by fitting a twist bar if necessary. Duncan and Fraser used a 2" wide piece of 1/8" thick flat steel for this. It has two screws at each end to attach it across the wood frame of the door. Screw one end to the frame and twist the bar before screwing the other end down. The twist you might have in your door will dictate which way you need to twist the bar. For a neat job, the ends of the bar can be recessed in the frame so the door trim panel can sit flat.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.