Recently I
decided to try to rectify the problem of the front doors dropping (about ��) at
the latch when opened.
Previously I
suspected the timbers inside the doors but found no problem there. I then took
out each brass hinge in turn and replaced each hinge pin. This improved the
operation of the hinges but the door still dropped.
When I had done
considerable work on the front of the car and the front mudguards and mudguard
baffle panels were still removed I was finally able to observe clearly what was
going on. With assistance from my apprentice (Maureen), and with the door
opened, I got Maureen to take the door at the handle end and try to move it up
and down. Very soon I could see the problem. The lower part of the door pillar was
moving front to rear. OK then why is it so. I got onto the floor creeper and
had a look under the door pillar and asked Maureen to repeat the process. Part
of the cause became instantly obvious. The two screws at the front of the
plywood step and attached to the lower door pillar were loose and moving around
considerably. I removed the step. The plywood in the step was showing early
signs of dry rot. The bigger surprise was that the vertical metal panel, seen
when the door is opened and which holds up the step, was rusted along almost
its entire length where it supports the step. This rust was concealed by the
step. This is not good because the bottom of the door pillar attached to the
step and to this panel. I had a new panel manufactured � this is fairly
straight forward and consists of a 2 � 3mm thick flat sheet with a right angle
bend at the top and bottom. With a new panel and a new step fitted the door
pillar has stiffened up considerably. The door now closes and opens, as it
should.
Anyone with the same
problem should carefully run their fingers between the chassis and the panel
holding up the step, to feel for rust. Using a screwdriver one can test the
condition of the underside of the plywood step. The front edge of the step
seems to be the susceptible area. To replace the step you will need to remove
the baffle panel. Incidentally, I had two new baffle panels made as well. Our
car spent a few years in the
I have replaced
the rear steps because they were in the similar but not as bad condition.
Regards
Joe Vavra