do 72 drivers side dores fit on 73's?

Discussion in 'Technical' started by vanawesome, Nov 13, 2008.

  1. vanawesome

    vanawesome New Member

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    The subject really says it all. Right now I have the wrong year door on my 73. Doesn't fit right. I found one off a 72 but i'm not sure if that's essentially the same part that should be on the 73. Anybody know if 72 and 73 doors are interchangeable?

    Thanks!
     
  2. newtoford

    newtoford Member

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    all 2 door maverick doors interchange

    the only diffrence is that mid year 73 the design of the inner door panel was changed and the arm rest and handle was re arranged. there was also a crash brace added inside the door

    but aside from that, they all will interchange
     
  3. vanawesome

    vanawesome New Member

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    Interesting, i wonder why my door fits so horribly then. The drivers side fender is also extreamly ill-fitting. They were damaged and replaced at somepoint. I think it must have come off a car with the older handle and latch set up, because when we took off the door panel to investigate we found some modifications to accommodate the newer panel and armrest. At least that's what my dad told me, i haven't actually seen it for myself.
     
  4. newtoford

    newtoford Member

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    ive got a 72 door on the drivers side of my 76 and a 73 door on the passender side

    they bolted up just like the old ones came off...
     
  5. maverick1970

    maverick1970 MCG State Rep

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    The door and fender fit could be the result of poor repairs. There could be damage to the A Pillar and cowl that was never fixed correctly. Hopefully it is just a simple alignment issue.
     
  6. Mavman72

    Mavman72 Gone backwards but lookin' forward

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    Parts were manufactured in lots... "A" lot... "B" lot "C" lot and so on.The different lots represent parts that were within tolerance to one extreme or the other.lets say an "A" lot part was perfect on a tolerance level of + or - 3/16ths and a "C" lot part was at -3/16ths(this would be the minimum allowable tolerance) for a part destined for production.If it were 5/16ths it would be scrapped, and the plant that made the doors would have to check their dies/presses to see what went wrong.Now... on the assembly line when the body parts are all put on the shell,those shells will have an anotation stating tolerance limits for doors/deck lids/hoods/fenders.The shell may have a tag on it stating "B" lot... this would tell the assembler to use B-panels for this shell to keep tolerances within spec(later on in time the assembly plants got more efficient and began assembling cars in lots) Monday would be "A" lot day and so on.So if you just cant get the panels to line up no matter how hard you try... you may have an "A" shell and someone put on a "C" door when the car was repaired.Unfortunately there is no real way to tell if your car was an A/B or C.Same goes for the panels you round up to repair/restore a car."Best you can do with it" is what your stuck with unless you can round up another door.I would check the shell of the car to make sure its not bent somwhere(befire you condemn the door).Twisted chassiss will cause otherwise good panels to not line up at all.Good luck,hope it comes together for you.This concludes our lesson for the day.Study there will be a quizz on monday...:D
     
  7. Mavaholic

    Mavaholic Growing older but not up!

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    Actually it was 72 that had that change. My 72 LDO has the later arm rest design.
     

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