Well I did it. I won't know if I'm done until I get the upper hinge mount repaired but I think it is good enough to work from here. I'm still learning the web stuff so all the pictures I posted are reversed from what you should view. Pictures of the jig I made and the results are here
door straightening pics There was good and bad, I learned a lot. The
good is that the crease in the outer door skin below the window is gone.
...and of course the gap in the upper corner is gone.
The
bad is that after getting the crease out of the skin I should have moved the brace up 4 inches before I finished pulling. The fulcrum point needed to move. Because the fulcrum was too low I ended up pulling the skin alongside the window down against the inner framework so it is a bit recessed when put up against the body. I think (hope) I can work it back up when I repair the upper hinge structure. By the way I had the door in and out of the jig three times while trying to figure out how hard to pull to make the gap disappear. Between the jig moving a bit and the door springing back after each pull there was a lot of drama involved.
Since I was at it, I posted a few pics of the passenger side door hinge repair that is on hold for now - waiting on a new compressor so I can make the welds look better
hinge mount repair I don't think I would have tried this without the suggestions, thanks again.
Mark
