Having some trouble with aligning doors and fenders. Anyone know what the clearance between the top of the door and the a-pillar should be on a 68?

My doors are aligned pretty nicely with the rockers and rear quarters but I have a big difference in gap passenger vs. driver side.

I'm stumped!

Was your Vent window Assembly removed or was this door from another Car ?
you can adjust the vent window in and out and Front an back The GAP should be unaform...

The vent window is removed. This is the gap between the top of the door itself and the A-pillar. I was wanting this dimension so I would know whether or not I was in the ballpark for door alignment.

I have been fighting getting my doors and fenders aligned. Found that once I got my passenger door where I wanted it, I coudn't get the fender in far enough (the door had very litle clearance with A-pillar)...So I cheated the door and compromised everywhere so I could get the door out a little further so the fender would line up.

What a pain. I really hate body work!

Soooo,, The door Shell ( Hard top/conv doors )
tape two paint stirring sticks together.. make two of these.. tape them to top of the rockers so the door rest on them..( not the door edge the inside shell) this will give you the right the lower door gap. , insert cowl to door hinge bolts loose. when the rear 1/4 to door gap is uniform snug up cowl hinge bolts... NOW place fender on.. with the door to hing screws loose move the door shell in / out to maintain fender gap.. snug and remove fender... re check other gaps rocker which should not change because of stirring sticks and rear 1/4 to door Shell gap.
Yes it's time consuming especially if ALL the hinge fasteners have been removed for rebuilding or referbing...

Thanks for the paint stick tip. That will make that part much easier next time!

I did it a little differently...I set the door the way I wanted it in reference to the rocker panel and the rear quarter, then I locked the hinges down. THEN I started working the fender around that.

I have a nice even gap along the rocker panel. Yes, the hinges were removed and rebuilt. I'm having a hard time getting all of the lines to match up. So I decided that I could never get EVERYTHING lined up perfectly...seems like an exercise in compromise (which I hate).

I think I finally may have fixed my initial problem which was the fender bowing out at its apex (for lack of a better term). I cheated the door a little to get the door out enough so the fender could line up with it bolted to the cowl. All the shimming in world would not pull the bow out of the fender, so I started "tweaking" the fender up near the wheel opening. That seemed to pull the bow in.

I'll go another round tonight to see if I can get it a little better. May try lossing the door hinges and working the door with the fender on.

This whole thing is certainly trying my patience. I am trying to resist the temptation of lowering my standards just to get done. I like the mechanical work...much less "art" involved! But I can say that I am learning A LOT.

GM's gaps were not good from the factory.
The hinge fasteners,,6 cowl to hinge and 6 hinge to door shell. Giver you allot of movement. with the hinge to cowl moving the door Front- Back and setting it angle to the door opening.
The three top and three bottom Hinge to door shell mover the Doré in and out and line up vertical axis ..I like to keep the 1/4 to door gap even and on the body contour . Then install the fender.. through shimming and adjusting IF I still can n not get the door to front fender contour correct, I forget the rear AXIS and concentrate on the front. I then revert To more drastic measure... A 2X4 placed in the door opening at certain parts and closing the door then TWEAK the rear door shell ( kind of like bending a playing cars as you hold it on the edges with your thumb and four finger.. to fit.
Yes it a PITA a delicate dance. ..But when done right makes a BIG difference...