Hi All,
Please refer to attached pictures. I am having an issue with gap between the b-pillar striker and the door.
These are new strikers. I have adjusted the door as far forward as it will go, yet there still is not enough gap to be able to close the door.
Any suggestions? Can someone please measure the depth of their striker. I wonder if the “new” one is too thick?
Thanks,
Bob
Hi Bob, I have measured the depth of the door striker …its 16.8mm ( 1970 S2 OTS ) . I had lots of "trouble " with this striker because the captive “nuts” were too limited by the cage … so I had to modify the cage to get a good fit.Took ages to do this, especially as it might seem a relatively easy alignment to get it right. Hope this helps, and good luck getting it Fettled
Hi John,
Thank you. Mine also measure at exactly 16.8mm.
What do you mean by “modify the cage”?
I can’t believe something, that should be so simple, is turning out to be so difficult…
Regards, Bob
Bob;
I think the screws holding the striker plate to the B pillar should be flat head screws and not what appears to be oval headed screws.
Regards, Joel.
Hi Joel,
Agree and will replace. Where the door is hitting is on the initial edge of the striker plate.
Can you or someone else measure an older (OE) striker plate to see if the original is less thick?
Thanks,
Bob
On my 69 S2 that plate is original and is 5/8" thick, which is 15.875 mm in new money.
I thick Joel meant to say “countersunk screws”. These will have a flat face and will have an angled surface meeting the housing.
You can also get more adjustment ability for the striker plate if you turn the new screws on a lathe at a depth of 16.8mm to ~19mm and take a small amount off of the diameter. So long as the screws still have enough thickness to not be compromised mechanically, then it enables you to orient (or angle) the striker plate inboard/outboard or up/down by an extra few mm each way.
Done right and with due care to the thickness of the rubbers around the door, it is possible to have a door which simply shuts under its own weight if you let go of it from just one handspan away.
kind regards
Marek
Wish I could say mine do that, but no. I have newer, repro seals and have found on vintage cars, new seals often result in more force needed to close the doors and trunks.
In my case, with the door held in the full open position by the mechanism, I simply let it close from full open position on its own. It closes with a very nice thunk, but it is a pretty good swing. If the door has been closed for a period of time and I open and reclose it quickly, it will close without much force. Clearly, when seals have time to expand, they resist door closing. Such is life if I want the fit to be tight and perfect which I do. And, they are probably well sealed!
“and with due care to the thickness of the rubbers…”
is different from
“I fitted repro stuff as it came out of the box”
which is probably the difference between our cars.
Check out my other posts on this topic for details.
kind regards
Marek
I’ve driven an OTS with doors that shut like that. Coupes, on the other hand, have additional drag, or friction points, at the window frame that cause a little more force to be required. At least that’s my experience.
The key thing is to do one seal at a time starting at the A-post and working backwards, work out where the pinch point is, eliminate it and then move on. Eventually, you see that simply a misplaced bit of trim or a too wide door card has enough “push” to make a door bounce back.
You can also see by how a rubber part is deformed when held shut to judge where it is under most pressure and then act accordingly.
It is also wrong to say the rubbers “expand” - they may harden over time though.
kind regards
Marek
Like this…
But that is an OTS - way easier to get that closure than on a FHC.
Their should be metal shims under the striker that are punched so they provide traction to keep the striker from moving. Mine move without these shims.
Mark, that closes very nice. But is that closing firm enough to compress the seals enough to keep the rain out?
True enough. I think I’ve got my doors about as good as they will get. No slamming or undue force required. The car is also air tight enough that it’s easier to close the doors when the quarterlights are flipped open.
No room at all for shims…
Maybe I need to rent a metal milling machine and remove some material off of the back of these strikers?
Bob
I didn’t do it, got the car that way. It is what it is and doesn’t bother me. It’s a very solid sound.
Trust me, mine “expand” when the doors are left open for a period. They are newer and compressed when the doors are closed. When the doors are open and closed, as if just getting in the car, they close quite normally. But, if they are left open for a period of time, like I’m working on something in the car, it will require more force to close the door. The only thing that could have changed is the expansion of the compressed rubber.
I would further submit that over time, the seals will expand less due to hardening and the doors would close more normally. I should live so long.
My '69 FHC also measures 5/8" (0.625") and includes three shims; 2 closest to the latch are 0.038" and the one closest to the door jam is 0.010"
Mine are always open, makes for much better HVAC flow summer venting or cooler weather heat.
