Windshield pillar to vent window gap excessively large...
Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 2:27 am
I have a body issue on my 1965 convertible that perhaps someone else has come across… if so any advice/suggestions would be very welcomed...
The gap between the windshield pillar and quarter window on the passenger side is excessive. I have manipulated every conceivable adjustment point to correct this – both door hinges (on body and in door) and quarter window fasteners. I have spent hours (and hours and hours) trying to correct this (I am obsessive) - all the while being careful to maintain reasonable forward gap between the door and fender. The gap is so large I cannot imagine that is how it looked when it left Lorraine.
Until now my hack fix has been to double up the seal on the passenger side (I cut off the flexible portion of an old seal then used the remaining hard base underneath a new seal - effectively making the seal ~1/8" thicker than it is supposed to be).
However I now have my car stripped and I will be doing some body work before painting. To wit: Now is the time to finally correct this nagging issue. However I can't fix this when I don't know what the problem is exactly...
One theory I have is that my windshield pillar is too “tall” on that side. When I measure the (naked) floor pan to the (naked) pillar I am finding the passenger side is 37” exactly and the drivers is 36.75”. It doesn’t seem like .25 inches would cause the effect I am seeing... and its hard to imagine a collision scenario that would cause the pillar to "rise" away from the floor pad...
A second theory is that the door on that side was damaged and/or replaced. Perhaps the replacement door had different tolerances on how far forward the quarter window slides relative to the leading edge of the door. I have not looked at this carefully but I wonder if I could correct for this by modifying the door a bit (I can’t remember just now whether the forward slide limitation was a function of the window channel or the fasteners in the door).
A third theory is that the fender on that side was damaged/replaced and was sitting to far rearward. This would then "push" the door back (given a reasonable gap). I'm a bit skeptical that would be my problem because the gap at rear edge of the door is about right (e.g. I worry that if I try to really push the door forward I will end up with an excessive gap where the door latches).
Anyone out there struggled with this issue already or otherwise have any theories?
The gap between the windshield pillar and quarter window on the passenger side is excessive. I have manipulated every conceivable adjustment point to correct this – both door hinges (on body and in door) and quarter window fasteners. I have spent hours (and hours and hours) trying to correct this (I am obsessive) - all the while being careful to maintain reasonable forward gap between the door and fender. The gap is so large I cannot imagine that is how it looked when it left Lorraine.
Until now my hack fix has been to double up the seal on the passenger side (I cut off the flexible portion of an old seal then used the remaining hard base underneath a new seal - effectively making the seal ~1/8" thicker than it is supposed to be).
However I now have my car stripped and I will be doing some body work before painting. To wit: Now is the time to finally correct this nagging issue. However I can't fix this when I don't know what the problem is exactly...
One theory I have is that my windshield pillar is too “tall” on that side. When I measure the (naked) floor pan to the (naked) pillar I am finding the passenger side is 37” exactly and the drivers is 36.75”. It doesn’t seem like .25 inches would cause the effect I am seeing... and its hard to imagine a collision scenario that would cause the pillar to "rise" away from the floor pad...
A second theory is that the door on that side was damaged and/or replaced. Perhaps the replacement door had different tolerances on how far forward the quarter window slides relative to the leading edge of the door. I have not looked at this carefully but I wonder if I could correct for this by modifying the door a bit (I can’t remember just now whether the forward slide limitation was a function of the window channel or the fasteners in the door).
A third theory is that the fender on that side was damaged/replaced and was sitting to far rearward. This would then "push" the door back (given a reasonable gap). I'm a bit skeptical that would be my problem because the gap at rear edge of the door is about right (e.g. I worry that if I try to really push the door forward I will end up with an excessive gap where the door latches).
Anyone out there struggled with this issue already or otherwise have any theories?