Thread: How do I get my doors to shut perfectly?

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Yeah-don't overlook the Soffseal link.They made their rep from making seals for the older cars.

Originally Posted by 1gary

Yeah-don't overlook the Soffseal link.They made their rep from making seals for the older cars.

i think steel rubber has more shapes and sizes ? check out there peel-n-stick at www.steelerubber.com i used there stuff

IMHO softseal products never fit properly, perhaps because they buy the old factory tooling to make their seals, and the tooling is worn out meaning that the resulting product is too large. I have had to use a cutoff blade on a die grinder to remove as much as half the material in order make seals work on a 56 T-bird. Try Steel rubber for much better (and softer) products.

I've found that with the closed cell foam that vaseline put on the rubber and then leave the door closed a day or two, causes it to take a set that won't pop out.

I had to do that with my friends '71 Chevelle and my 77 Chevelle to get the windows to seal.

I'll look into those weatherstripping links. I've also never heard of the Vaseline trick.

Has anyone ever used springs or magnets to get the door to close better? Modern doors are spring-loaded and much heavier. They carry a good bit of momentum. Early V8 doors weigh maybe 1/4 of that and have no "help" closing, so it's no wonder it doesn't take much to keep it from closing consistently.

I was thinking about maybe using a compression spring inside the door over the door stop arm. I was also considering using some magnets along the bottom of the door or simply putting a few pounds of steel inside the door towards the rear to give it some momentum. That would be the easiest way.

Did you investigate yet if there is actually any room for a seal. They weren't designed to have any room in there, the windlace around the interior sealed the door opening. On my car the inside edge of the door actually touches the body in a couple spots, I could never get any kind of seal in there.

As Shine mentioned earlier, use some clay to provide you with a clearance measurement to act as a guide.

adding springs, weight or magnets will no change anything. you have to adjust the doors period. you need to get them set right starting with the front then work back to the latch.

There is a 1/8" to 3/16" from the top to the bottom. The main problem is that the gap is wider right at the belt line. To close that gap required some pretty thick strip that is too thick for the rest of the door.

The doors are set about as perfect as can be done. Like I said in my original post, I spent a lot of time doing that. Without any weatherstripping along the rear edge, it closes great. I'm not trying to force a misaligned door to close like a Cadillac.

then you are as good as it gets. there is no seal that i know of that works on the rear edge. if the door does not latch in the second latch it is a little tight. the first is a safety latch. one common problem is the door panel hits the kick panel. 35 to 40 is just a pia to adjust.