1966 Mk1 cortina GT Exhaust collectors

I suspect there were plenty of runs in the less obvious areas when it was new anyway, when I started flatting the interior of our minor I was amazed how many runs there were in the original paintwork.

Very fair point - I'll shut up

[/quote]Jim - Bang on track with this - learn on the engine bay / interior / boot areas with the spraying and you will have a good idea of where you need to be on the external panels when you get round to spraying them
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Thanks Chris, I have a lot of respect for yourself and others who do bodywork full time! It's never ending but I like seeing the car progressing except pin holes - they suck

All caught up, great work as ever! Cant wait to see it in paint

As it's too cold for spraying so I've gone back to the doors to get them filled and sanded along with a skim on the wings etc

The drivers side front door





The drivers rear door






I've long blocked the filler but I think I can still feel low spots? It's odd because when I've put fresh guidecoat but it doesn't show any low spots?

The doirs have been thrown on but they need a lot of fettle - the front door kicks out at the bottom and the rear kicks out st the top!

Any tips for door fitting?

Could be worse.
I discovered my bodyman hammered the shi*e out of any high spot on my car and plied on the filler....
Will you pull the wing or push the door to get it nice?

Jim - Just a lot patience pills for door fitting - Has Jonsey states there is a lot of adjustment both horizontally & vertically on the Cortina - sometimes you may have to revert to shims in order to pack the hinge off the door or the pillar - work on getting the horizontal swage lines in profile with the front & back wings first then sort the gapping out after - a wide bolster chisel is good for applying pressure against high / low areas when used has lever between the panel apertures - the upper frame for the window is easy to manipulate into alignment - wear in the hinges will not help at all and you are better to spend some time correcting this before hanging the doors - If you are still struggling to achieve equal aperture gaps the last resort is to either add to or reduce the panel edges on the doors - apertures & gapping were never perfect on these cars when they left the factory and the build quality was far reduced from where the vehicle production market has been for the last 20 years - however nothing looks worse than a restored car with over tight or over wide aperture gaps (it's one of the first things that I look at on a car) - if you need any reference pics for altering the doors let me know - Chris

Its a good idea to fit the seals when setting the doors, the pressure can change the way they sit, the weight of the glass and fittings can also cause them to drop a little.

Also when they were built it was quite common to use brute force and stratrgically placed blocks of wood to twist or bend the doors to improve the fit, I saw this still being used at Dagenham 30 years ago.

Jim

Go to Screwfix and get these and take the guess work out of setting the door gaps.

www.screwfix.com/p/broadfix-assorted-plastic-shims-medium-100-pcs/99189?tc=BT2&ds_kid=92700036659728413&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249413&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249481&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1uXq-_bX3wIVzLftCh2w4gLzEAQYBCABEgLLpPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It will save you hours and not cost a lot.