hanging in the balance

As detailed in the last instalment, things were looking grim regarding the shell, door fit etc. I tried to find body dimensions in manuals and online with no success. I went on a Jaguar forum to be advised on the one hand that 'you haven't braced the shell enough fella & should be using an as new shell for reference' and on the other that 'there was scope for at least an inch adjustment at the various hinges'. I preferred the second guy's opinion! I also read that the shell can flex if not sitting on it wheels - which was worrying as I had mine high up on axle stands throughout the whole operation!!


The car duly came down off the stands and there was definitely some improvement which was great. I could also get the rear passenger door to open and close perfectly by adjusting the position of the hinges on the B post but this caused top of the rear door to touch the rear edge of the front door. Close inspection of the rear door seal shows it was split where it passes by the curved chrome trim at the vynil roof base. I wondered if perhaps the door had been fitted badly since 'day one'! The drivers door closed fine but touched the rear door which was a problem.


Next I moved round to the driver's side. This side was worked on some time ago but only the bottom 3 or 4 inches of the inner sill was removed and replaced (details will be in future instalment). Both doors were removed during the work and refitted without paying much attention to alignment as I had no fears about movement because the whole top of the inner sill has never been disturbed. The rear door here shuts very well with no contact on the body and I didn't need to adjust the hinges to any extremes to achieve this. The front door was really bad but this is common on the driver's door on any car. I decided to take the front wing off on this side as it makes it easier to reach the front hinge bolts and couldn't believe how much difference some adjustment here made. This door now closes perfectly!! There does seem to be a little play in the top hinge for the LHS rear door which is strange because the others are fine. Why would this one wear? NB the front door hinges have not been disturbed at all on the A posts - only where they meet the door frames. On the rear doors the opposite applies (I just found it easier to reach the B post fixings).



Anyway, all the above made me conclude that the shell isn't distorted so I could press on with welding the LHS inner sill in fully - woohoo!



More on that later but I'll finish of with one picture of the finished job in Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator paint......simply because I can't really show the work done on the hinges.