I have a 68' Westy and the front doors don't lign up evenly around the frame.....looks crappy. They do close and latch, but kind of bump into the latches instead of tansitioning smoothly into the latches. The hinges and latches appear tight and the doors do not move if you lift up on them when opened. Any ideas what is causing this and how to correct it?
Fish,
The factory would hydraulically press the door frame to get an even gap for the door and bend the hinges to suit. A little hard for the average DIY. I have found by adding "shims" behind the hinges and/or grinding the surface of hinges (in moderation), is enough to get an even gap. Of course this will not work if the frame or door has suffered enough accident damage not to allow an "even" gap to start with!
Thanks. I wasn't aware the factory did that. Very interesting. I will give the shim solution a try.
How are things in AUS? Always wanted to visit, but don't like to fly.....makes it kind of hard to get there:)
Things are great "Downunder" VW scene is active - we have a new VW magazine
Most welcome to vist anytime - if you own a VW then you can drive it here :-)
Grahame from Aus
Good to hear things are well. I would love to drive my 68' Westy there, but I doubt I could find a snorkle long enough:)
The VW scene here is active but only with a select few. Mostly those on the coast. I live in the midwest near Milwaukee, WI (heard of the Green Bay Packers?). We are near the shores of the largest in-land lakes in the world. The winters are very cold and snowy, so the only time you can really use the vintage VW's is during the warmer months. Most people don't want the expense of storing them during the winter. But there are those of us who love'em and won't part with them, regardless of how much our wives complain.
Where about's are you in Aus?
You can email me here or at snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com Look forward to hearing from you again
Sorry Grahame, My email address is snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com Please drop me a line.
..................That sums it up for me here in upstate NY as well Fish. The number of aircooled VWs that are still on the road here is very low. My wife says that mine are going to the crusher if I stroke out before she does.
Funny, my wife says I have to sleep with one eye open.
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