hi there, just putting my rx2 sedan back together and just putting doors on. ive hung them but just wondering if anyone had some hits or tips on aligning them as seems there are so many ways to adjust. just thought id see if anyone can give me some advice before i start spending hours going the wrong direction.
any info would be greatly appreciate. oh, also missing some of the bolts which bolt the doors on anyone have any idea where to get more bolts from
cheers
matt

So is the car painted ?

Generally speaking I'd start with the rear doors and work forward. Have all bolts loose and start tightening the ones on the doors (not as adjustable). Once they are tightened up, you should still be able to make the door sit where you want it to sit, if not loosen the ones you have already tightened and start again until right. If the door will sit right with the door bolts tightened then move on to the pillar bolts. Trial and error, no magic. The door will move at different angles depending on which pillar bolts are tightened first. If you tightened the top bolts the door will generally start to angle upwards and throw out door to (Front or Rear) guard lines. Adjust them all gradually as required.

If you have 2 people the job will be much easier.

Best way to do it I think is to do all your alignment during body prep stage prior to painting the exterior.
Paint jambs and door shells.
Align doors and guards.
Give the side a final blocking to make sure all lines match.
Paint with the doors attached to car. (guards dont matter so much)

Doing like the above will save lots of heartache. All panels will fit slightly different. Trying to align after painting is hard not to mention you'll end up scratching and chipping the paint. If you have painted the body and assumed your lines will be right without first checking you're going to be in for a rude shock unless the car still wears the same unrepaired panels it left Mazda with.

Things like aligning panels can take ALOT of time to get right especially if you have a bitsa car or you have replaced the original panels with better rust free ones. These are hidden labour costs that I'd image most amateurs don't consider when getting quotes and is the same reason I'd imagine why a good paint shop would be reluctant to paint a disassembled car without doing the bodywork, and handing back to you a disassembled painted car. They know you'll be back complaining that things don't fit !

If its painted already, mask up all your edges to avoid chips and scratches. You should be able to get a reasonable fit..

as above, but i would also get some washers incase you need to space the hinges out more, they act as shims, yo shouldnt be able to see them and they work a treat if you need that little bit extra adjustment,

if you work from the back forward like gypsy said, you end up wit a better outcome as the rear 1/4 panels are set, they cant move, if you start from the front with the guards of bonnet, by the time you get to the rear, you most likely have the start over as all the front panels are adjustable, if that makes any sense.

goodluck with it all

krem

I am NOT a panel beater but have 2 uncles that are in their late 60's that are old school file finish and lead experts, throwing a panel away does not exist in their vocab.

How ever they have showed me some tricks but my explanation may not be that good as i have seen them do it in the flesh, like i said not being a panel beater there maybe someone that can explain my dribble.

# always line panels up in bogging stage from the rear forward (as stated by Gypsy)( only saying that as not many file finish) not at paint stage as stated by others

#when panels are lined up, use a very sharp scriber and score around the hinges, edge of guards that leaves a clean indent in the steel, this will show up later, even if the jambs are painted( but dont go over the marks with course sand paper) the marks will help you get the panel nearly 100%

#One of the big factors and dont be shocked if required is to physically grab the door and lift it or push on it to make it aligne, also dont be scared to use a bar to push panels out by using them as a wedgeand closing the panel on to it. You can do this to the bonnet, remember that Mazda's where vertually hand built.

I hope this helps and if there is a perfectionest can you please explain

ooops double post

another way of lining up the doors is to drill a small hole thru each hinge into the jam, then when you do your final fitting you just line it up with the holes using a centre punch or something, bit easier than trying to see if your razor mark is lined up
krem

yeap lining up panels from the rear to front is spot on!! Allthough i love file finishing as much as you can but think lead is junk some epoxys have a hard time sticking to it and is softer than most fillers. Most of it gets dug out these days as you cannot weld to it. You get all the stories off old guys who file finishing and only lead wipe but at the end of the day lead is still filling, We have a 60 year old trades man who metal and lead finishes everything at work and we have nothing but dramas with it. Im sure there are old guys that are good at it though.