Door panel straihtness | FerrariChat

Door panel straihtness

Discussion in '308/328' started by 3px19, Feb 17, 2024.

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  1. 3px19

    3px19 Karting

    Aug 29, 2006
    218
    Full Name:
    Calvin crouch
    I'm working on my gt4 doors trying to get the skins nice and straight. Looks like this is essentially impossible without lots of bondo which I won't do.the upper skin is fairly straight across but the lower half has lots of variation,up to a quarter inch in places. I think the reason for this variation is the factory door reinforcing bar for the US. Question is is they pretty much normal,I laid a 4 foot steel rule across the skin to determine the variation. What have the rest of you experiences and to what extent of variation you deem acceptable without turning into a body queen. My doors are not damaged and are presently stripped to bare with a coating of primer thanks. Will I find this on the rest of the body?
     
  2. 3px19

    3px19 Karting

    Aug 29, 2006
    218
    Full Name:
    Calvin crouch
    I see I missed spelled straight in the title,due to smart phone inexperience,give me a key board
     
  3. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,539
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    I put a NOS pair of doors on my GT4 that were
    still in factory primer and I don’t recall the body shop using a lot of bondo to get them straight although they did need a lot of fettling at the shut lines with the fenders.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
     
  4. 3px19

    3px19 Karting

    Aug 29, 2006
    218
    Full Name:
    Calvin crouch
    There is this hump in the middle of the door right above the door safety reinforcement and drops down to each edge.above crease line its fine ,lower door panel above panel edge its fine. Its just where the reinforcement is. Will state other door not as bad. Luigi on one side, Marco the other door. Joys of hand made "craftsmanship ship". I'm just trying to make things better and wondering if other s encountered such.
     
  5. Niklasbraun

    Niklasbraun Karting

    Nov 30, 2023
    54
    Nuremberg
    Full Name:
    Niklas Braun
    In my experience, a quarter inch does seem a bit beyond the typical variance. Here's a thought: before going all-in on big adjustments, make sure the reinforcing bar is lined up right and hasn't taken any sneaky damage. Also, give the door hinge points a once-over for any weird stuff.

    To tackle the difference without going overboard on bondo, think about applying a bit of controlled heat to subtly reshape the metal. It might take some time, but it often gives more natural results than slapping on filler.

    As for the rest of the body, hard to give a definite answer without taking a look.
     
    dinogt4guy likes this.
  6. dinogt4guy

    dinogt4guy F1 Rookie

    Oct 31, 2004
    3,411
    Hewitt, Tx.
    Full Name:
    Kurtis Fordice
  7. absostone

    absostone F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2008
    10,034
    Where are pics of this issue? You do know that metal body panels are not flat. They have a bow for strength and to keep shape.
     
    Sergio Tavares likes this.
  8. 3px19

    3px19 Karting

    Aug 29, 2006
    218
    Full Name:
    Calvin crouch
    This primarily occurs a few inches below the crease line. There is a high spot in the middle due to the door reinforcement. Which then trails downward to the edges appx 1/8 inch on each side. Door has no damage!!! Heat would really screw it up. I did notice many layers of factory primer when stripping it. Sorry can't do pics on this. I know there doors have a bow to it but I'm talking about horizontal straightness across the door. I'll get it as reasonable as possible with high build primers and lots of sanding. Perfection can't be achieved as it is hand built. Saw a 250gto under restoration at Paul Russell's years ago and the restorer told me to look down each side and I'd see they weren't the same!!! Told me he could make them the same but they weren't that way when built. Said that was the hardest part for him not fixing the original faults.
     
  9. Sergio Tavares

    Sergio Tavares Formula 3

    Nov 15, 2018
    1,308
    Full Name:
    Sergio Tavares
    Go to your first post, select REPORT in lower left , then ask mods to kindly change thes title
     

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