The 4 doors on my Sprint (none of them original to the car) came from at least 2 different cars, 2 were originally blue and 2 yellow, then all were painted Pimento and used on yet another car, before coming into my hands as a job lot to be fitted to my Dolomega Sprint project. only 1 of them, the N/S/R, needed more than normal hinge bolt adjustment to make them fit my particular car to an acceptable standard. The last one needed the top hinge "adjusting" slightly with a block of wood and a lump hammer to get the bodyline spot on, no big deal!
As others will tell you, Dolomite door fit was hit and miss at best, particularly where the rear doors meet the wheelarch, where variable gaps are far more likely than an even one and a good fit is often hard to achieve, let alone perfection! Most folk let it go at matching swage lines, no interference and a door that opens and closes without force. There is a production line picture around that shows this perfectly, the o/s/r gap at the arch would make me ashamed if i'd left it on a customer car!
As with anything to do with old cars, these parts ARE getting scarcer as time goes by, i'm salvaging and repairing doors i'd have binned without a second thought 10 years ago. But for folk without the skills to repair them, there is still a pool of used doors around, the hardest one to get seems to be the o/s/r which unaccountably seems to rot more quickly and comprensively than any of the others.
For me, the break point is the state of the inner door shell, the skin can be replaced (NOS skins are still around, though not cheap and the club can supply a lower skin repair section) A bit of repair to the lower corners is OK with me, but if the rot has spread into the complex curved sections of the lower shell corners, i'll look for a better starting point.
But my viewpoint is coloured by the fact that I do this professionally, time is money to me, I can't AFFORD to spend a dozen hours, even at my relatively low hourly rate, salvaging a dubious door when I can buy a much better used one for around £50.
If you DO go down the second hand route, it may be worth offering your old doors free to collector, someone might see some good in them, even if your own circumstances make replacement more practical.
Steve
_________________ '73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!
Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
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