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Door adjustments and painting sequence
Posted: October 14th, 2023, 7:33 am
by wild4679
I have my '31 82-B cab at the body shop for door restoration, glass installation, and then body filler and paint. The rusted out parts have been replaced. I read about how the doors are adjusted for fit after bolting on to the frame. As I read it, the hinges and doors are adjusted by bending/twisting until the fit is obtained for proper latching. This sounds like a "heat and beat" process.
Does one mount the unpainted cab on the frame and adjust the hinges and doors, AND THEN REMOVE THE CAB, and return it to the body shop for painting? Or, are the adjustments done in a more gentle process than the way a blacksmith would do it, and therefore performed with a finish painted cab?
Re: Door adjustments and painting sequence
Posted: October 14th, 2023, 1:21 pm
by Neil Wilson
wild4679 wrote: ↑October 14th, 2023, 7:33 am
I have my '31 82-B cab at the body shop for door restoration, glass installation, and then body filler and paint. The rusted out parts have been replaced. I read about how the doors are adjusted for fit after bolting on to the frame. As I read it, the hinges and doors are adjusted by bending/twisting until the fit is obtained for proper latching. This sounds like a "heat and beat" process.
Does one mount the unpainted cab on the frame and adjust the hinges and doors, AND THEN REMOVE THE CAB, and return it to the body shop for painting? Or, are the adjustments done in a more gentle process than the way a blacksmith would do it, and therefore performed with a finish painted cab?
Originally there was no glass installation until after painting. The cab should have the doors aligned before painting and should therefore be installed on a straight AA-chassis (including body blocks with pads). All wood should be installed. The hinges should be straightened to original. They are not pent/twisted to make the door fit. Body shims would be used to align the door (belt moulding to belt moulding). Shim locations and numbers must be recorded for when the cab is reinstalled after painting. The rear edge of the door should align to the quarter panel when shut. Twisting of the door is used to get this alignment. Ford painted the body with the doors installed. Just my opinion.