I didn’t get a great picture of it, but the reproduction passenger side door wasn’t aligning well with the rocker panel at the front of the door. Namely, the door was protruding out too far, even when adjusted in as far as possible. I initially thought that it could be an issue with the hinge, but three additional hinges in slightly different styles from differing vendors all showed the same issue.
Since the interior of the door alongside the bottom hinge is the effective limit for inward adjustment, I decided to recess that area to allow for the movement I needed. The first step was marking out the section that would be cut away.
The dremel with a cutoff wheel worked well in the tight space, with a bit of die grinding in the corners.
Test fitting the hinge showed a sufficient amount of movement, resulting in a much better line with the rocker panel.
With the fit verified I started on closing up the gaping wound I had created.
Beginning with a cardboard template, as always.
Pulled out the professional paint booth and made the curious decision to spray both sides. After it dried I had to grind almost all of the paint on the outward face back off to prep the piece for welding.
A wee bit of welding and grinding later saw the door complete again. This time with enough room to be adjusted properly.
I left aligning the leading edge line as an exercise for future me.
