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I've been contemplating solutions to the appalling fit of my doors. I've noticed that some of my hinge gaskets are more compressed than others while some seem missing entirely. I have a few questions related to this.

1) How do the new hinge gaskets (such as the ones available from Minispares) compare to the originals? They seem quite a bit thicker. Do they compress to the right thickness when fitted properly?

2) Do the correct fitting of new hinge gaskets improve the fit of the door in any meaningful way? (I'd assume since gaskets of equal thickness are fitted on both the A panel and the door part of the hinge it won't do much in terms of putting the door deeper into its aperture )

My door catches are moved in as far as they can go and I almost break the plastic lever that opens the door (Aussie doors) every time I open them from the inside because they are so tight. Yet the seals don't seal all the way around the door and the back side of the doors stand out by about 5mm if not more

Sounds like a case of " sailors leg" usually related to incorrect fitting of the A panel if the A panel is set to far in.

nick@dunsdale wrote:Sounds like a case of " sailors leg" usually related to incorrect fitting of the A panel if the A panel is set to far in.

The A panels are the originals - factory fitted.

abri wrote:

nick@dunsdale wrote:Sounds like a case of " sailors leg" usually related to incorrect fitting of the A panel if the A panel is set to far in.

The A panels are the originals - factory fitted.

That's that theory out the window then lol, do you think the doors have been off at any point in the past as the hinges are sided and different top and bottom

The doors have definitely been off the car during a respray - hence some of the gaskets being missing. Whether they were put back in their original place I am not sure. I've read on the Cooper Register forum that each part of every hinge has a number cast into the back. Hinge 1/2 is driver's (RH) top, 3/4 passenger top, 5/6 driver bottom, 7/8 passenger bottom. Can anyone confirm this installation order?

I will remove the doors this weekend to see if the hinges are fitted this way. Presumably it is hard to mess up the top hinges as they are angled so I'm not too sure if this is indeed contributing to the problem.

I found the scrap of paper with the hinge numbers on Abri, and yes, those numbers quoted for the hinges are the same as mine.
I was having a discussion about gasket hinges with an associate the other evening and the general consensus was that the gaskets do make a difference to the door "sitting right" in it's hole.

Take the rubber off and shut the door, now from the inside of the car feel the gap between the door and the edge that the rubber sits on, this will tell you where the rubber is too close to the door. Bend the lip with a pair of flat pliers to achieve an even gap.
It's a start anyway.

The hinge gaskets will make a little difference to the way your door fits, but not much.

The problem you are having does sound more related to the rubber seal, as suggested above.