A guy at the Hershey swap meet told me my 65 Mustang's door gaps were factory sloppy, and I checked 3 cars to prove him wrong

Elliot Martinez · 2026-10-01T12:20:04.04686+00:00

I was at the big Hershey swap meet in April hunting for a driver side mirror when this older guy next to me pointed at my car and said the door gaps on 65 and 66 Mustangs left the factory wide on purpose for body flex. I figured he was just talking, but he said he worked at the Dearborn plant for 11 years back in the day. So I walked the rows and measured gaps on three other 65s with a feeler gauge I keep in my trunk, and all four cars were between 4 and 6 millimeters, way looser than my buddy's 70 Chevelle. What got me is he said trying to tighten those gaps flush is what causes paint cracks later, because the doors still move when the shell twists. I had been planning to shim mine tight this summer and now I don't know if that is a good idea or a dumb one. Has anyone here actually run tighter gaps on an early Mustang and lived with it, or did the paint start cracking on you too?

Discusd

Loading…

A guy at the Hershey swap meet told me my 65 Mustang's door gaps were factory sloppy, and I checked 3 cars to prove him wrong | Classic Car Care - Discusd