Thread: 41 willys door's wont alighn

Tweet

Hey, so I put up some pics and now some questions. I have just found out that the car doors close and lock but the passenger door has slightly less than a half inch gap between the body and the door. This car is an original steel body and so are the doors but I have my doubts if the passenger door is from this car or another. Before my father in law passed and I got the car there was talk that someone might have shifted the body slightly to make it a" cheater car" whatever that means ! Is this possible ? Why would someone have done it ? How do I figure out if its true and lastly how would I fix it??? Any and all advice would be so apreciated.

Never heard that term either. Maybe someone else will know.

As for the fit problem, what you have to do is compare the right side to the left, taking exact measurements from various points on the car to see if both sides are the same. If they are , then measure the doors to see if they are the same width. By doing very careful measuring you should be able to see where the misalignment is occurring.

American cars of that era were not very exact dimensionally, there were a lot of areas that did not line up or fit well. Willys was one of the manufacturers who were known to be a little sloppy in their fit and finish. They were an economy car sort of, and consequently had some shortcomings. That being said, most of us would love to have one, I know I would. They make great gasser type vehicles, and are just plain cool looking. Very desirable cars.

Don

where is the gap ? top, qrt panel .

Even the new 'plastic' cars don't fit the best. I have had to cut up a door to make it fit properly on mine. There is only about 5/8 inch all around the door for the weather seal so getting the door in the opening can be a problem. My guess is that the body was cut up and not supported properly and the door opening was distorted. You are just going to have to start somewhere and this would be a good place. Keep focused on an area untill finished and you will gradually make progress. I'd surely try to get the body squared up before going too far. Even add some temporary supports to hold it there.

It looks like your car was modified to be a gasser at one time as were most of the steel cars. I can see a problem with the firewall and toe board. There is not much foot room in these cars and with your toeboard, firewall and trans tunnel pushed back you are going to have the seat very far to the rear. This will severely blind your view out the sides. Try adding a crate seat and steering wheel and you will see what I mean. I would really consider re-doing this as a 2nd project. You can buy a plastic dash if you want to save some work.

The motors were set back 10% of the wheelbase back in the gasser days according to the gas class rules. This is why there is the big relief in the firewall. There was also a crankshaft above the ground rule but I don't remember the number. It's also possible that the body was shifted to the right side an inch or so. This was one of the so called 'cheater' modification done. Logical measuring points were reworked to hide this. It caused about 50 pounds of load to be transfered to the right side.

Here is where to buy replacement parts.....be sitting down when looking at the prices. It's the only place I can find for headlights, tail lights and misc hardware.

http://www.willysreplacementparts.com/

Anyway have fun on the project. I'll be glad to help but I'm not the world expert on 41 Willys but I have been in every nook and cranny of my plastic car and done it all myself.

One thing that was done sometimes was to move the body slightly toward the rear of the chassis. I know a Superstocker that did this. I don't see how that alone would affect the doors, though. You could check the body mounting points for signs of modification.

You might also see if the door openings are tweaked a little, and no longer square. This sometimes happens in a accident, or under heavy strain. If this were the case, you have to stretch the opening diagonally, using a hydraulic jack and some wood or pipe to reach the two corners that are too close. I've had to do that myself.

Just study the door "fit", and common sense should tell you what needs to be done.

Sounds like I have my work cut out for me. Making some phone calls I did discover that the car was a gasser back in the day before my father in law bought it. The car might have been measured and set up for his stature. I mean the location of the firewall ect ? He was 6 foot something and around 375 bills . Big guy trying to squeeze his self into a small car.. Oh well ! I will try to figure it out. Thanks again for all the advice.

ITOLDYOUSO and anyone else: I have a fit problem too. With a Model A trunk lid. I measured both sides of opening and both sides of trunk lid. From left to right, the dimensions are the same but I have a gap in the bottom that goes from 3/8" down to 3/16" as you look at the back of the car left to right. Top gap to body is okay.

Well, probably the problems both of you are having is due to a couple of things. First of all, as I mentioned in my earlier post, early cars were not nearly as well put together dimensionally as modern cars. You have to remember these were for the most part put together by hand, using the tools and technology of the day, and in no way can they be compared to a car put together using modern day technology. Gaps and overall measurements varied greatly on these old cars we love so much.

Secondly, I think in the case of this '41 Willys, it has had a rich history and sometime in it's life probably met the same fate as many of it's Brothers........it was turned into a drag gasser. The methods used by the early racers were not exactly precision, the goal was to git r done by any means possible. Speed came first, looks and fitment came second. I would guess the floor and firewall were modified by pretty much eliminating them and new ones welded in to allow engine setback and lightening. I would bet money the body was never squared up on a proper jig before it underwent the surgery and subsequent replacement of those parts.

In any event, this is a very special car, both from the stand point of the Family history, and also in the kind of car it is. All steel '41 Willys are among the coolest and most elusive cars out there.............we all want one. My suggestion to you is to have a professional rod shop (a good one........there are lots of flakes out there) look at it and give you an opinion of what needs to be done to make it right. Or perhaps you are up to the task. I don't know your credentials rod-wise, but what needs done is to take the body off of the frame and affix it to some sort of jig so that it can be measured and if needed cut apart and redone in a square manner. I think the floor is the offending item and was probably put in not square (longer slightly on the one side, thus forcing the door jam wider)

I also don't know how much you can or want to invest in the project, but this car will be a high dollar one when done, if the work is performed correctly. These are getting out of reach pricewise, and have been that way for quite some time.

Don

BTW, our Bob Parmenter is sort of up your way, maybe he can recommend a shop that would be fair to deal with.