Uneven door gaps

[TomoHawk]

I have noticed that the door gap on S30 cars isn't exactly even, or the same all the way around. The front & rear gaps are, or can be, the same ( about 3mm) but the gap at the top-front corner ( where the mirror is) seems to be noticeably bigger.

Is that correct? I have had a few musclecar guys tell me I need to adjust the door gaps, but after I told them what I have is normal, I get some crazy looks, and show judges (at non-z car shows) say the same, and since you can't tell the judges what's what, so I get hammered point-wise.

I can get a picture.

thxZ

[hls30.com]

TomoHawk,

That area is a normal "slack" area-most Zs I have seen have that issue until an owner takes issue with it and corrects it.

Before your next re-paint sand the surface clean and fit and weld a section of metal coathanger to the door-make the gap uniform by grinding the coathanger, sand it flush to the surface of the door, and add a touch of filler if needed, then continue with the repaint, and your gap is uniform...no more lost points, and no more Muscle head issues!

Will

[TomoHawk]

Maybe I'll just bondo the gap closed :lick: then grind a very precise 2mm cap with a mototool? (j/k)

The only other thing I can think of would be to raise the door just a hair.

thxZ

[hls30.com]

When you have one area with a problem, don't make three more to cure it...Raising the door is not the best answer...

Will

[sblake01]

For the hassle involved in correcting that gap, I'd just leave it alone. Mine looks pretty even. And looking at my car, I'm wondering if the issue you describe would really be with the doors or the fenders.

[TomoHawk]

Thanks.

Those muscle-brain guys are peculiar, anyway. How would they know what's right on my car? One guy told me my carburetor was missing! (It's sopposed to be on top, between those two cylinder heads, and half your spark plug wires are missing...)

I don't know if he noticed that my hood opened up on the wrong end.

thxZ

[sblake01]

I tend to stay away from those guys. I recall at a show years ago that one of them asked me if my 1970 1600 roadster was a kit car.

[Mat M]

Stephen, you slay me! That may have been my Dad!

He was at a gas station when he noticed a lady fueling up her brand new small convertible and said, "Nice car! is that a new Miata?"

The lady scoffed, and got in her brand new Z-3 and drove off.

Bwahah ahahah ahha

[ph240]

Hey don't sweat it, American muscle cars are great don't get me wrong, but they all suffer from that same 60's-70's build quality that all manufatures had. The $100K + restorations is mainly in the labor to make the doors line up correctly! I've seem many a restored muscle car and everyone complain about how the body fits together and how much time they have in fitting it properly.