51 chevy truck door trouble

[garyt]

i am in the process of adjusting my truck doors and i get them perfect, everywhere with a good fit except where they meet the top rear of cab. there is a radius on that part of the cab that just doesnt and wont fit. and it happens on both sides, before i take a grinder to my doors am i overlooking a more obvious fix ? its as though my cab has either moved or has sagged over the years because it is on both sides and these are the original doors on the truck...any suggestions would be much appreciated thanks garyt

[Atommik]

Unfortunately, that's probably just the way chevy made them. I've got a 51 also and getting perfect gaps is a fight! I added metal to the jams in some places, ground out metal in other places...Most old trucks were "just trucks" and fit of panels was not a priority for the manufacturer!!

[parkwood]

Like the last post said if you want good door gaps you have to work hard for it. Grind some weld some, grind some more...

[parkwood]

sometimes you have to add metal to the edge of the door to fill the gap.

[garyt]

well thanks again i got a grinder and thats what im gonna do, tired of playin with it....... i am certain thats what needs to be done, sparks are flyin come mornin, i'd do it now but havent figured out how to put a silencer on that noisy thing.... thanks guys, garyt

[mr48chev]

As Atommik said, GM didn't do us any favors as far as body panel alignment on these trucks when they built them and the bad fit on the doors often has been there since they left the factory.

Make sure you have the rest of the fit perfect before you start grinding though.

Also I'd make sure that the cab mounts are good an that the cab is setting right on the frame as that can make a difference.

That is have the front and rear gaps adjusted as closely as you can get them before doing anything to the top.

I've had to take a porta-power to the door jambs before to move a cab back into shape because it had been in an accident in a previous life.

The "Chevrolet truck shop manual for 1948 to 1953 that you find on Ebay or Amazon for about 30 bucks does have instructions for adjusting the doors and hood and fenders in it. Section one is worth the cost of the book even if you don't have one stock mechanical piece on the truck.