Thread: 1932 Ford 3 Window Coupe Door Issue

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Hi I am new to the forum here, thanks for accepting me to the forum.

I about a week away from purchasing a 1932 Ford 3 Window coupe Street Rod, it seems to have one issue going on with it. It only has 1,000 miles on it since being built and has suicide doors on it.

Question is the drivers door at first glance and operation is that it has a little sag in the drivers door. It does not seem to shut easily and you can see where the front of the bottom of the door is rubbing on the door seal. Also after the door is shut it does not seem to be closed all the way.

Is there a way to shim or adjust the door to stop the rubbing and have the door shut a little easier.

Welcome to the site. Nice to see you here.
It sounds like "someone" did a conversion and probably only used 2 hinges where it originally had 3. Many times when a top was chopped one of the hinges would be eliminated also.. As far as adjusting, without pictures I don't know how to answer that. If some kind of kit was used, like a hidden hinge kit, then maybe.. You'll really have to see if the body is flexing or the builder just didn't adjust things properly.

I believe I'd have the person you're buying the car from fix it or drop the price accordingly. BTW, steel or glass?

OK, just to clarify things for you - 1932 Ford 3-window coupes all had suicide doors from the factory, so it's not something that was added later. The stock original 3-window bodies had 3 hinges on each door. Sometimes, when chopping the top, builders would eliminate the top hinge. If this is an original steel body and it was improperly chopped, fixing it could be a real challenge...

If it's a fiberglass body, most fiberglass 3-window bodies come with hidden hinges and there are usually only two on each door. The sagging door could be incorrectly adjusted hinges (easy fix), it could be caused by improper shimming of the body mounting points (not as easy), or it could be a combination of both. Regardless, it's fixable. Let us know how we can help.

Thanks for all of the input guys! It is a car built from “kit” form I suppose. Fiberglass body and steel fenders and hood. And they are hidden hinges.

Supposed to pick it up in a week to ten days. Excited but noticed this this past Saturday and hoped it would be an easy fix or adjustment.

I will look at it a lot closer when I get it home.

As far as having them fix it where I am buying it...... not gonna happen.

Been around and worked on cars and trucks all my life but this is my first Street Rod.

J. Robinson would this be an adjustment on the hidden hinges or need to be shimmed?

As I said above, it could be either one or some of both. It might be easier to tell if you can post some pictures when you get it. If the door is dragging at the bottom front, it could be that the upper hinge is adjusted out too far or the bottom one is in a little too far. Look at the door gap at the rear of the door as you try to close it. If the gap is wider at the top, then the hinges are out of adjustment. You will need to remove the interior door panel to access the forward/aft adjustment...

However, you said the door doesn't appear to close all the way. Is it sticking out at the top, bottom, or both? If it's out evenly from top to bottom, the problem could be a latch adjustment problem or a too thick door seal (or both). If it's out at the top and not at the bottom, or just the opposite, one or both of the hinges could be in or out. Different bodies use different hardware, but most of them have some in-out adjustment available on the rear half of the hinge. You will need to remove the interior panel behind the door to access the rear of the hinges. Some hinges have adjustment slots, some have to be shimmed; you won't know until you can see them.

The last possibility is if the body was improperly shimmed underneath when it was bolted down and the bolts actually pulled the door opening out of shape. If this is the case, you may need help from somebody who has "been there, done that". Post some pics when you get it home and maybe somebody here can pinpoint the problem.

Photo attached.... not sure if you can tell anything from it or not

Now that you mention It the last look Saturday it appeared to be out almost evenly top to bottom

Jim covered the matter pretty thoroughly so I'll just add an additional commentary that might not brighten your day. There have been all manner of folks who got into the glass body business in the hot rod hayday a few years back. Not all them knew, and some didn't care, how well the body and it's components were fabricated. One common issue was the hinges were made of material too light duty for the job. When that door is open there's considerable weight leveraged out there, the hinges bend either in the strap or the box that they usually pivoted in (mounted inside behind the opening framing). Sometimes the fiberglass or the bond to it holding the metal component will be failing, again because it wasn't sturdy enough. Hopefully it's not this more dire scenario, but fore warned is fore armed.

Hard to tell from that picture, but I saved and enlarged it so I could see it better. When I blew it up it appears that the rear door gap widens slightly at the top. If that's the case it may be just an adjustment problem or it could be the hinges deforming as Bob suggested. When you get a chance, shoot some close-ups of the door gaps, front, rear, top, and bottom.

Thanks guys for the input! I will get another look at it tomorrow and get back to you with some better pics.