Door sprung

[Jimburnaugh]

Hey guys, didn't really know where to post this, but here goes.  I recently had some upholstery and steering work done, by two different shops and when I got the car home discovers that the drivers side door was sprung.  I don't know which shop did it so I'm hosed there.  I spoke to a couple of guys that sell used parts and they said what happens is that the door is jammed too far forward and it pulls the sheetmetal away from the rest of the body.  They said one way to fix is cut open the cowl and place hydraulic Jack and force it back into place.  I don't want to do that because car is already painted.  Anyone had this experience and if so how did you correct it or is it fixable without cutting open the body?   Thanks.

[RICH MUISE]

That stinks...sorry to hear that. I've never had a sprung door, but I'm sure you'd do this anyway....before you take anything apart, try and figure out where the deformation is...could be the jamb, the door, the hinge, etc., or do you already know where it is?
With that said, I'd talk to a body shop (that knows older cars) first anyways. What they are telling you doesn't make sense to me...I'm not sure where they are talking about that the "sheetmetal is pulled away from the rest of the body" I would think at worst you're talking the door jamb/side cowl area, not "sheetmetal" as we normally think about it. I don't know what area they are talking about that would require cutting into that you couldn't get to from the outside...with fender removed if needed. The other reason I'm thinking cutting to get inside would not be necessary, is if what they said is true, the "sheetmetal sections of the door jamb/cowl would be pulled out, meaning it would have to be pushed back in, not out. Seems like that could be done from the outside, not having to get inside. Hope my thinking I've made clear enough to understand. Hard to tell without seeing it, but mostly, as I've said I've never had the problem, just thinking outloud here.
Rich

[rmk57]

I've heard of placing a small block of wood between the hinge and door post and push the door closed to bend the hinge back to its original position.

Never had a sprung door and have never tried this method but it seems plausible.

[John Palmer]

I've heard of placing a small block of wood between the hinge and door post and push the door closed to bend the hinge back to its original position.

Never had a sprung door and have never tried this method but it seems plausible.

X2, Take it to an old "grey haired" bodyman.  It likely will not take much, but it's important to make sure you bend the correct (top, or bottom?) hinge.  Don't watch, just leave it, and let him work his magic, you will feel much better not watching.

[John Palmer]

Hey guys, didn't really know where to post this, but here goes.  I recently had some upholstery and steering work done, by two different shops and when I got the car home discovers that the drivers side door was sprung.  I don't know which shop did it so I'm hosed there.  I spoke to a couple of guys that sell used parts and they said what happens is that the door is jammed too far forward and it pulls the sheetmetal away from the rest of the body.  They said one way to fix is cut open the cowl and place hydraulic Jack and force it back into place.  I don't want to do that because car is already painted.  Anyone had this experience and if so how did you correct it or is it fixable without cutting open the body?   Thanks.

I agree with Rich, this is "bad advice".  A good old school body man will fix this with a couple of 2 by 4's in short order.  What is important is checking the fit, figuring out exactly how it's bent, and coming up with a plan to bend it back.  I had stall next to the body shop in a large Ford dealership during the 1960's, and this was a daily repair in the body shop.  Almost every panel needed "tweeked" to correctly align before it was installed.  Every bodyman had his custom selection of boards for fitting.