I thought I'd give everyone the chance to have a good laugh at my expense and then maybe get a little advice along the way.
When I bought my 60 last October it was the largest vehicle I had owned since I sold my very first car ever (a '69 vw transporter van) and the new dimensions caught me off gaurd a couple of times. Once I wedged my canoe to the top to the garage door carrying it on the yakima bars as I used to on my volvo station wagon(yeh, its a little taller than a volvo....) another time I snagged my mountain bikes on the on the same opening. The worst, and subject of this post was when I backed the truck up the driveway into the garage and didn't have the driver door closed entirely. The resulting snag bent the drivers side door back on its hinges so that it no longer closes tightly and the door itself creaks against the front fender whenever I open it. The odd thing is, it looks as if the P.O. did the same thing on the left passenger door. It has the same exact crease near the hinges, in the same pattern and proportions. He gave me a story about a tree branch hitting it. He was probably too embarrased to admit he nearly ripped his door off on something as I did.
The question is: what is the best way to get the door to be flush again so that they open and close properly and the rubber seals are tight against water and air draft?
Enjoy a good laugh before you respond. The day this happened was shortly after I had gotten it back from having a mechanic "repair" the heater core with the result of antifreeze dripping from under the dash board in copious amounts onto the floor mats as well as unattached wires hanging from beneath, bits of broken plastic connector on the floor, cracked steering housing etc. At the moment I nearly tore the door off antifreeze was dripping everywhere, something like green steam was rising from the motor compartment and I could only stand aghast. My son reports he found me banging my head against the carport door with the vehicle next to me door a'dangling, green steam and all.
In retrospect, having seriously bonded with my cruiser in the meantime, I consider all of this and other subsequent challenges to be part of the test of commitment needed to see something like this through.
bh
When I bought my 60 last October it was the largest vehicle I had owned since I sold my very first car ever (a '69 vw transporter van) and the new dimensions caught me off gaurd a couple of times. Once I wedged my canoe to the top to the garage door carrying it on the yakima bars as I used to on my volvo station wagon(yeh, its a little taller than a volvo....) another time I snagged my mountain bikes on the on the same opening. The worst, and subject of this post was when I backed the truck up the driveway into the garage and didn't have the driver door closed entirely. The resulting snag bent the drivers side door back on its hinges so that it no longer closes tightly and the door itself creaks against the front fender whenever I open it. The odd thing is, it looks as if the P.O. did the same thing on the left passenger door. It has the same exact crease near the hinges, in the same pattern and proportions. He gave me a story about a tree branch hitting it. He was probably too embarrased to admit he nearly ripped his door off on something as I did.
The question is: what is the best way to get the door to be flush again so that they open and close properly and the rubber seals are tight against water and air draft?
Enjoy a good laugh before you respond. The day this happened was shortly after I had gotten it back from having a mechanic "repair" the heater core with the result of antifreeze dripping from under the dash board in copious amounts onto the floor mats as well as unattached wires hanging from beneath, bits of broken plastic connector on the floor, cracked steering housing etc. At the moment I nearly tore the door off antifreeze was dripping everywhere, something like green steam was rising from the motor compartment and I could only stand aghast. My son reports he found me banging my head against the carport door with the vehicle next to me door a'dangling, green steam and all.
In retrospect, having seriously bonded with my cruiser in the meantime, I consider all of this and other subsequent challenges to be part of the test of commitment needed to see something like this through.
bh
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