VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Sagging Door on 29 pick up

the passenger side door on my 29 1/2 ton pick up saggs about two inches at the top but the sides look straight the bottom over laps about an inch the driver side door is very close to being straight all the way around. can some one tell me what needs to be done to fix the passenger side door? thanks

First let me state that diagnosing an alignment problem without actually seeing and measuring is risky. There are many possible problems and interactions between parts to be considered.

Two problems are most likely. One is the door itself has sagged down at the back (latch side). The wood has either warped or the glue joints have loosened. A possible fix is to raise the rear of the door by installing a rod with turnbuckle at an angle across the door frame running from the bottom back corner to on the front post near the bottom of the window. Care must be used as tensioning the rod will lift the back of the door but also tends to pull the bottom of the door inward. The other possible problem is a lack of a shim under the second cab bolt (from the firewall). It is located near the front door post. Adding a shim will raise the back of the door. Also be careful in adding shims as they also effect other parts of the cab.

Chipper,
thanks for the information. I will look under the skin at the wood. I will also look at the cab bolt for the shim.
Bill

I suggest that you check the driver's side for shims before adding some to the other side. Also check the back cab bolts for shims. One removed from the back of the passenger side will also drop the main sill and back door post. If you add a shim under the front door post it will tend to open the gap between the bottom of the hood and cowl. Properly shimming is not rocket science but does take some experience or common sense to get it right.

Again thanks this is my 1st attempt at restoring. the truck has been restored at some time in the past and is not in bad shape but the guy I got it from was starting to change things to more modern equipment and then ran out of money and I got it with the idea that I would hot rod it but my 89 year old dad talked me out of it so i'm going back as best I can. Dad is a lot of help but only drove the old cars when they were newer but was not a mechanic. your help is priceless thanks. Bill