www.jec.org.uk

Hello, I was hoping for some advice concerning how to adjust my Door Alignment ...

I am rebuilding a 1975 XJ12 Coupe where the previous owner (restorer) fitted the doors, bonnet and wings where I now want to adjust the door gaps as they could be so much better.

I have removed the front wings to access and loosened off the 8x Bolts that secure the Door Hinges to the Door Pillar – this seems to allow me to move the door backwards, forwards and to an appropriate height; however, alignment with the rear wing is my problem … I need to ‘twist’ the N/S Door clockwise (when viewed from the back) to align the top and bottom of the door against the rear wings. But how?

I had thought that I could loosen the 7x Bolts that secure the door hinges to the door itself and then be able to ‘twist’ the door to match the rear wing profile, but loosening those bolts does not seem to allow any adjustment … so, without removing the door completely, are those 7x Bolts threaded into fixed captive (non-movable) nuts rather than threading into a sliding plate as are the door frame fittings?

How do you adjust the door to effectively move the bottom of the door ‘out’ and the top of the door ‘in’?

Or, do I need to start making and fitting spacers under the door hinges – where they secure to the door pillar – just to ‘twist’ the door position to align with the rear wing?

I have a Jaguar workshop manual, but there is nothing within about fitting doors … equally, there is also very little about refitting the wings. Not seen any YouTube tutorials either.

Can anybody advise me whether the doors ‘should’ twist when loosening specific bolts? Perhaps, my door hinges are stuck to the door with paint that I need to remove? I just don’t want to take the door off to free something if there is nothing to free off – ie, not remove the door unless I have to. Equally, if the only way to ‘twist’ the door is by fitting spacers under the hinges, then that is what I will have to do?

Pleased if anybody out there can answer the ‘how’ so that I can complete what I presumed to be a straightforward task. Many thanks.

Wolfie Souter
Westbury, Wiltshire

Many coupe door issues relate to wear in the hinges, tested by lifting the rear of the doors to check for movement. The heavy doors make this problem almost inevitable as the cars age. Consequently, if you haven't already done so, it would be worth checking first for this wear. If you have fitted the door seals, non OE versions can make door alignment difficult too. Adjusting the doors isn't something most of us do on a regular basis but I can confirm that David Marks has made an excellent job of aligning the panels on Nigel Webb's car (featured recently in the magazine). Dropping him an email query (contact details in the magazine) would be likely to provide the most up to date information on the subject you seek. Mike.

Just for your information my XJ S1 left the factory with shims in the door hinges to achieve the perfect alignment, maybe this method was still used by the factory on the Coupe?

Thanks Dave,
Just to clarify, shims under the hinges that attach into the door frame?
Regards, Wolfie

Hi, I have checked on my car to be certain and they are fitted between the hinge and the door frame.
In my case the top hinge only. The official Jaguar parts catalogue doesn't appear to list them but SC Parts Group Ltd have them in there XJ catalogue. It appears there are shims available for fitting to both the top and bottom hinges on the front doors, between the hinge and door frame in both cases. They list the front shim as part no 446502 and the lower as 216742 (SC Parts nos not Jaguar). They have top shims in stock but not lower. (£10.96). These are listed for Series 1 to 3 cars, I wouldn't know if the coupe door hinge is the same or not but the SC catalogue implies they are. David Marks will hopefully provide a definitive answer. As no shims are listed for the rear doors it looks like all the alignment was adjusted on the front doors only. So the Coupe may be the same as the four door models in this respect?
Dave

Thank you Dave,
My copy of the SC Parts Catalogue does not have these shims in it ... the main thing is that the doors are shimmed rather than adjusted via a movable plate inside the door. Also seems as if I need the lower shim in order to move the bottom of the door outwards (laterally) - will have to adapt some driveshaft shims as these already have ready-made holes in them for the hinge bolts.
Many thanks for the information supplied - very appreciative of your time - thank you again.
Very kind regards
Wolfie Souter
Westbury, Wilts