Drivers door would fit a lot nicer if this 4mm gap between the hinge and 1/4 panel folded seal wasn't there. Shuffled the car around in the garage so i could open the passengers door wide enough to get to the outer hinge bolts and its fits slightly better than the drivers side but still needs adjustment. The hinges are as far as they'll go though in their adjustment though. I'm wondering if i managed to twist the door slightly when it had the bottom repaired. The profile down the side (i took a templete off a good unmessed with door) matches the rear 1/4 though. The door needs to pivot round the top outer hinge bolt really and it needs to come up about 5mm to line up the swage line and chrome trim. 5mm too far in and a bit low too. Quick shot before i closed the garage doors.
After having a bit of a play around with the passengers door it seems to fit a bit better. Lifted 5mm and it clears the heater channel and lines up nicely at the swage line. Gap is a bit tight at the B pillar though. Gap along the top is nice and even too. Top needs moving out about 8mm to line up with the rear 1/4 panel. Bottom still sticks out and needs moving in by a similar amount. Gap seems even all the way down B pillar but is a little tight.
Still not got the passengers door to fit. Its either twisted from having the inner frame and outer skin replaced or the A pillar is welded in the wrong place. If its the latter it'll soon be up for sale or you'll hear on the news about a garage fire in Maryport. 12mm too far out at the bottom. 7mm too far in at the top. Fits right here though. and here isn't that bad. Front end. Back end.
I don’t know much about body work but I’ve seen panel beaters just grab a hold of stuff and give it a good old shove and tug to make it fit. I heard them say if it’s made of metal you can make it do what ever you want it to.
I twisted it a little and reduced the gaps by a couple of mm but a bit more brute force is needed to fully persuade it back into the correct shape. People have said it could have twisted when the bottom was repaired. When this much was cut out of an already badly repaired door its highly likely.
Went brutal with the door and its now only about 5mm proud. Still seems like it could twist a bit more maybe. Got the majority of the old lacquer off the last of the 8 spoke replicas. Just needs a sand, maybe a small amount of stopper and some paint now.
still got original sound deadening behind engine in, planning on removing ours as most not fixed too well and worried it will get stuck in fan. will silent coat inside of car and fit something else in engine bay over winter.
A couple of big washers welded to the sides to pick up on the bottom two wing mounting bolts and a speed nut on each side which is hidden under the engine lid seal when its shut. I also added a 3rd captive nut on the rear bumper mount so i could bolt it through from the inside of the engine bay.
Decided to try using a jack under the rear of the shell with the bolts all loosened to adjust the door opening like suggested in the VW dealer workshop manual but the floorpan lifts too.
I watched supercar superbuild on Discovery Turbo last night and it showed the Porsche factory 'adjusting' the door gaps on the 356 using a bit of fence post and a big funking hammer. I don't feel so bad doing the same to my bug now.
After having a play around at the door gaps again i've got it OK in the middle: Slightly wide (a couple of mm) at the top: but still tight at the bottom back corner: It only sticks out around 5mm now though measuring the seal channel against an unrepaired door shows the return lip is around 3 or 4mm too wide which will be why its now catching the heater channel when closed. I also chipped the rear corner of the door moving the jack.
Removed the door again to touch up a few scratches. The door gap is still a bit big at the front and small at the back though i can't get it any better. Checked the door seal folded channel along the bottom of the door and it varies by 10mm in depth in places. Nice bit of QC klokkerholm. Trimmed it down to size and will touch up the paint on the cut edge. The seat belt i've been waiting for finally arrived this morning so i can get that fitted once i work out how the bolts, washers and spacers fit. Inlaws are away on holiday on monday for 2 weeks so not gonna be within walking distance of my garage for a while, meaning progress may slow even more than it currently is.
Its getting there. Atleast after tackling the passengers door i know how hard i have to hit the drivers one to make it fit.
Fitted the new seat belt this afternoon and touched up the paint a little. Its mostly hidded from view so i just brushed some on. Need to wire in a buzzer for the towbar and found this for £4.90 on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEM1A-12...-TOWING-TOWBAR-TRAILER-ELECTRICS/322719014964
Don’t think it needs a buzzer but fit one if you want one. Something like built after 1988 needs a buzzer. My van and bug have both had or have towbars and never had a buzzer. No issues with MOT.