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I am having troubple with the fit of my driver door. The alignment fender to door is pretty good but the top rear corner of the window frame hits the door opening. We have tried to move the door up/forward but then the door will hit the fender as it closes. Do the hinges have a tendency to bend/ sag after almost 30 years? I have owned the car since 1985 and have had it stripped down completely and did not see any evidence of a collison.
thanks
Gary
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THE TOP CORNER OF MY DRIVERS DOOR, AND PASSENGER DOOR, BOTH LIGHTLY TAP AS THE DOOR IS CLOSING! THEY LEAVE SLIGHT SCRATCHES THERE, AND THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT THEY WERE DOING IT LONG BEFORE I OWNED THE CAR. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN HIT/WRECKED, THE DOORS ARE ALIGNED PERFECTLY, AND ARE NOT SAGGING AT ALL. I HAVE JUST LEARNED TO LIVE WITH IT! MARLIN.
I think your window frame may have saged over time. One day when I was at Wilkensons years ago, he said that the treatment is to use wood and a sledge hammer, applied to the window frame to stratghten it back up. I am not sure of the actual method, so maybe check with him. I know it sounds scary, but he said that is the fix (this seems like your situation, because the body parts of your car line up). I thought Mike also a fix listed on his website.
http://www.panteraplace.com/
Panel alignment is a specialty of some body shops but not all. I've seen it done with a floor jack under the open door. Be careful- the hinges are cast aluminum and can be broken! The window frames adjust a little (slotted bolt holes) if you remove the upholstery panel, as do the latch and guide on the doorpost. Over 30+ years of driving on good & bad roads, the body/chassis of the monococque Pantera tends to move. This can be checked to a degree by the angle your rear a-arms make with the ground, and whether you run negative camber due to no adjustment being left.
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