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Old 03-30-2015, 12:51 PM
jrockdiddy jrockdiddy is offline
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Default 55 f100 driver door/cowl gap

Hey guys,
This cowl was replaced by previous owner. The upper gap is good, and bottom is also good. The middle not so much. The door sticks out 1/4" than the cowl. See pics. I know I'll have to do some kind of relief cut, but not sure where to cut and how. Can anyone explain to me in "dummy language"?



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Old 03-30-2015, 01:30 PM
weldtoride weldtoride is offline
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Jason, I have the same truck essentially, although mine is a '54.

Before cutting anything: just a suggestion to see if the cowl is indeed off, and not the door. Have you compared both this driver door and cowl to the other side? Posterboard templates would be simplest, but if you have a shrinker/stretcher set you could also do it with sheet strips bent to fit the door and cowl tightly.

Back then car panel fit and finish was to a different standard, and truck fit and finish was terrible, I have a lot of time in my door fitting and it still isn't great, but mine isn't going to any shows.

Your bottom photo shows small dents in the edge of the door panel, almost as if the crimp were flattened more, the sort that are made by an unprotected body spoon when trying to pry a skin outwards into alignment. I would also check this door against the other with a fore-aft pattern in the area of the dents, to see if the door is the culprit, not the cowl.

Seems to me if the door is off, that it would be easier to bring into alignment than the cowl.
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Old 03-30-2015, 02:21 PM
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Marty Comstock Marty Comstock is offline
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I have worked on a number of these, and have found few that truly match from side to side. They were not built well, and as long as the doors open and closed without rubbing too much paint off, they were shipped.

You can lightly tap the door edge to round off to meet the cowl better, or

You can make a vertical slice in the door jamb that is perpendicular to the body surface. Open that gap to a point where it meets the door better, then weld it back up. This is not fun on the front opening because its not fun area to get to when the door is hung, and aligning these doors is not my idea of a fun afternoon. Drill a small hole, and use an air saw to make your slice. There is room for this. keep widening slice with your prydriver until it looks good. Cut new trim piece(s) to tack weld in place to hold and check the flow. Remove door, and finish nicely.

Keep in mind, this is a last resort method, and use only when you exhaust all door alignment fitment issues, and making sure the doorskin follows a fair curve rear to front.

I have done this a number of times on these trucks, its not all that uncommon to find what you are seeing. Good luck.
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Old 03-30-2015, 02:36 PM
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The profile of the door skin at the rear edge "appears" to be better matched to the cowl shape, as if someone's door skin repairs at the front corner have altered the shape of the door. Door looks suspect to me, cowl looks correct. Subject to verification, of course..
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Old 03-30-2015, 03:38 PM
jrockdiddy jrockdiddy is offline
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Passenger side is perfect.
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Old 03-30-2015, 03:38 PM
jrockdiddy jrockdiddy is offline
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I guess I'll further inspect the door...
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Old 03-30-2015, 06:33 PM
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Old 03-30-2015, 07:01 PM
TripleF TripleF is offline
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If the truck was hit in the front drivers side resulting in the cowl being driven backwards, the bow may be the result of door skin was damaged by opening/closing. At some point it was repaired but it's a pain to fix something like that and be dead on.

I would take a straight edge to the door, starting at the leading edge of the door. Test at the top and the every 4" to 5" down. Look for a faint shallow depression mid door in the first 2" of the door or any rippling. The top and bottom of the door will probably be dead on. This would be a dead give away of a prior repair.

Just a guess, good luck.

Tim
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