Driver’s door just not right. Solutions?

tvmaster

True Classic
Since we got her, this has been a problem, the driver’s door that shuts, can be locked, but never looks closed. That’s as closed as it gets. Who can rectify this, a body shop, or someone different. Is it the hinges bent out of shape by age, or could a collision knock the frame out of whack?

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If they didn't use the right door seal (maybe a generic that's waaay too fat?), it might make aligning the door to match the door jamb difficult. They might have decided to just take the path of least resistance and set the strike plate out too far.

One thing that ALWAYS catches my eye 😧 on your car, either in your pix or when watching the episode, is the total hack job done on the targa top corners of the door seal!!! Let us know when you are ready to tackle that! :D
 
What Dan said on the seal, it is worth looking in to. I put a non-stock seal on my 78 and afterwards I had to SLAM the door to get it to close and be flush with the rest of the car. First test is to take the seal out and see if the door closes flush. If it does, get a new seal. I used the seal MWB offers on my 85 and it fit well. I didn't bother working on the corners at the targa, since I have the roof on 99% of the time when driving. The quality of the seal in that isn't that important to me, so I just ran the seal over the corners and called it done. :)



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Agree on the seal possibly being a problem. If it is, they would have had to have moved the striker post out as well, as it tightly controls the position of the door when closed. If they didn't move the striker post out, you simply would not be able to get the door to completely latch.

Having recently replaced the seals on another (non-Fiat) vehicle I own, I had the same problem - I had to adjust the striker plate outwards, and it took a REALLY hard slam to get the door to latch all the way. Everyone on the vehicle forum said that the seal will relax over time, it's been several months and it really hasn't relaxed much at all.

One other thing that was pointed out is that the seal is kind of a big balloon. In the case of this seal, it ran continually around the door, and then plugged back into itself with a tube. When the door is slammed, there is no where for the air to go, and it compresses and springs back against the door, making it much harder to close. It was then pointed out that the factory seals (Ford, in this case) had holes it in every foot or so, to allow the air to escape and lessen the spring-back effect. The aftermarket seals I installed did not have that. I experimented with carefully poking a few holes with an Xacto razor, it seemed to help a bit. I don't know if the X1/9 door seal is a continuous balloon, or if it has open ends for the air to escape.
 
If they didn't use the right door seal (maybe a generic that's waaay too fat?), it might make aligning the door to match the door jamb difficult. They might have decided to just take the path of least resistance and set the strike plate out too far.

One thing that ALWAYS catches my eye 😧 on your car, either in your pix or when watching the episode, is the total hack job done on the targa top corners of the door seal!!! Let us know when you are ready to tackle that! :D
Would that also lend itself to the amount of air that whistles through while driving? Surprisingly, the passenger door doesnt look like this. I’ll inspect the seal more carefully there and compare. The rubber corner pieces seem to be what Henk’s selling on his site. Maybe you can post a pic of yours and detail why you think mine’s a ‘hack’.
The fact that the window brake is misadjusted doesn’t help either, but for that, the door card has to come off, and I can’t seem to figure out how to remove the metal trim at the top. There’s supposed to be a tiny screw somewhere I haven’t found...
 
Agree on the seal possibly being a problem. If it is, they would have had to have moved the striker post out as well, as it tightly controls the position of the door when closed. If they didn't move the striker post out, you simply would not be able to get the door to completely latch.

Having recently replaced the seals on another (non-Fiat) vehicle I own, I had the same problem - I had to adjust the striker plate outwards, and it took a REALLY hard slam to get the door to latch all the way. Everyone on the vehicle forum said that the seal will relax over time, it's been several months and it really hasn't relaxed much at all.

One other thing that was pointed out is that the seal is kind of a big balloon. In the case of this seal, it ran continually around the door, and then plugged back into itself with a tube. When the door is slammed, there is no where for the air to go, and it compresses and springs back against the door, making it much harder to close. It was then pointed out that the factory seals (Ford, in this case) had holes it in every foot or so, to allow the air to escape and lessen the spring-back effect. The aftermarket seals I installed did not have that. I experimented with carefully poking a few holes with an Xacto razor, it seemed to help a bit. I don't know if the X1/9 door seal is a continuous balloon, or if it has open ends for the air to escape.
Thanks, I’ll investigate the strike plate / seal further. I’d be happy if that was the problem, as opposed to reshaping frames.
 
My track car has no door trim at all, so here is a picture of the little hole. It is about 1.5" from the rear edge of the door and the screw is very small and you have to search thru the window felt seal to find it. Hope that helps.
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My track car has no door trim at all, so here is a picture of the little hole. It is about 1.5" from the rear edge of the door and the screw is very small and you have to search thru the window felt seal to find it. Hope that helps.
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Yes, it does. Do you imagine this screw is on all model years? Better use the magnetic driver. And that’s the only thing holding the top trim in place - no glue, etc.?
 
Yes, it does. Do you imagine this screw is on all model years? Better use the magnetic driver. And that’s the only thing holding the top trim in place - no glue, etc.?
It is most likely on all model years. The trim has built in clips that grab the top lip of the door. I think the screw is there to ensure the window doesn't push the trim off during operation. So maybe it was a production learning process and the first years don't have it? Like the distributor access panel that didn't arrive for a few years.

The first time I found one I found the screw was when I pulled the trim off without knowing about the screw. Oops.
 
It is most likely on all model years. The trim has built in clips that grab the top lip of the door. I think the screw is there to ensure the window doesn't push the trim off during operation. So maybe it was a production learning process and the first years don't have it? Like the distributor access panel that didn't arrive for a few years.

The first time I found one I found the screw was when I pulled the trim off without knowing about the screw. Oops.
Oops indeed. Sounds like something I‘d normally do. I’ve read there’s a tool to remove those clips. Have you used it?
 
Oops indeed. Sounds like something I‘d normally do. I’ve read there’s a tool to remove those clips. Have you used it?
I used a putty knife. The actual tool is a flat blade with a gap in the middle to allow you to pry on both sides of the clip. The trim has built in clips that garb the top lip off the door. I think the screw is there to ensure the window doesn't push the trim off during operation. Example tool kit on Amazon.
 
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The windows can catch on the targa top trim making it difficult to close the door properly. Wind the window down and remove the door trim and then see if it shuts
 
Okay, did two things: adjusted the strike latch, moving it inwards. Didn’t solve a thing. Then, removed the rubber trim seal. Door closes flush. Here’s what the seal trim looks like. No idea where they got it, but if it came from MWB, now what does one do? Is the correct trim available, somewhere?

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While not a great picture, you can see the MWB item doesn't have the flat ribbed strip extending into the jamb area. The MWB just has the bulb in contact with the door and glass. My example is the one piece MWB lists for the 79+ Xs, I have no experience with the 2 piece set they offer for 74-78 Xs. Give MWB a call or email and see what the difference is in profile for those items.
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