VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 29 shims

If I need to put on shim in my 29 for my driver's door sagging issues, can this be done without taking the whole car apart? How?
What can I use for a shim? or Who has them. The Filling Station does not have them.
Thanks

As several of us have mentioned in a previous posting, a shim will probably not help you since your door sag of three to four inches is extreme. If you have rotted wood and you install a shim, the problem with the door sag will return.

You have to make your own shims and you have to loosen the body bolts so that you and raise the body in the areas where needed so that the shims can be inserted. Check out your 1926-31 Fisher Body Manual and it will give you instructions on adjusting doors, shimming and etc.

I miscalulated my measurement. I sags an inch. So what can I use for a shim?

You can buy your shims or you can fabricate them yourself. I have cut my shims using various thickness of conveyor belting.

hoppy

I'll invent something. Thanks. How is this done. Loosed the bolt and slide this shim in??? Thansk.

Check your 1926-31 Fisher Body Manual. It tells you where the shims should be placed for door sag and how.

Looking at the Fisher Book and looking at recommended placements of shims depending on sag.Some of these "placements"dont APPEAR to make any logical sense.The shimming is actually pushing up on something to make room to close the door correctly.I have a sagging front passenger door and Fisher directs me to shim an area that just doesnt look like it would work.Need to just try it and see!

Adding shims is the easiest adjustment to make. If that does not work then more extensive repair will be necessary. If one thinks about the placement of shims it should make sense. For a few adjustments two different places might appear to work but be careful as it may effect another fitment. That is precisely why the Fisher Manual is written that way.

There are many definitions of simple! While lifting the sills away from the frame to do this exercise is not overly complicated, it does require some time and care, especially if you do not have a hoist. The bolts at the location to be shimmed have to be fully freed and pulled out to allow shim to slide in place and so you can see center hole to permit replacing of bolt. Also the neighbouring bolts have to be loosened by sufficient amount to allow car sills to be raised away from steel chassis enough to allow shims to be slid in and hole in shim lined up so bolt can be replaced. I used a steel bar as a pry to lift wood sill away, and shoved a thin piece of wood between the sill and frame to hold them apart as I fit the necessary shims. Takes several tries to get just the right amount of adjustment and in the right places. If you have the 3/16" canvas belting type main shims, you may want to use 1/16 steel shims for the adjusting as they will slide in better and give you the full 1/16 adjustment as they do not compress. You may need as much as 1/8" in some places. As per the manual, you should also make sure the hinge pins are relatively snug first, since they can cause a small sag if worn unevenly top to bottom, particularly if worn at the top.

If the shims are slotted (as are commercially available ones) then there is no reason to remove the bolts. In fact taking out the bolts can be a problem and complicate the process. Yes all the bolts on the area being worked on need to be loosened but that is much easier than replacing or adjusting the internal structure.

The philosophy of doing the easiest and less expensive first holds true here. Making sure that the parts are not deformed should be the first thing done. Adjusting or tightening the hinges would be next. Shimming and finally replacing structure would follow.

Shimming to correct a 1IN misalignment is not your solution.J.Y.D. is correct,look further for a greater problem.More than a small amount of shims will definitely cause misalignment elsewhere.Measure and compare the door frames(the space the door fits into)horizontally and diagonally,left and right.Check for front pillar movement as you lift and lower door.Check for hinge movement the same way before you do anything.A quick fix is likely not the answer.

Thanks one and all. I'll get it done after X Mass.