Hi, On my newly restored 120 OTS my doors keep springing open to the second latch when driving. I’ve tried packing them out etc but it still happens. Someone mentioned than one can adjust the reach of the retracting door latch in the door: make it protrude out further so that it doesn’t slip off the catch on the B post. Is it true? I can’t find any diagrams. Before I destroy my newly trimmed doors and door boxes I thought I would ask the question.
Tim
If you’ve tried adjusting the door by using different shims between the hinges and the door, it could be that the door striker (BD2930) needs adjusting or the spring inside it has weakened.
I made some shims to go under the catch portion on the b pillar to bring it closer to the latch. You may have to also do that.
Canary. Thanks for the suggestion but the door gaps are spot on so I don’t want to add shins. I think the issue is the latch extension which I’m led to believe can be adjusted. I dare not rip all the new (expensive) trim out before I first confirm that that is the answer!
Regards
Tim
Yes I tried that and it certainly helped but I got to a point where the secondary latch on the B post then caught on the door trim as I opened the door thus abraiding the door trim.
Regards
Tim
Can be the result of body flexing. Have you check the body is fully tightened down to chassis and the packing pieces are installed.
Phil. I’m pretty sure it is the body flexing a bit but I installed the body myself so I know it’s tightened down and the correct shims are in place. I am missing the dovetail strikers which when fitted should help reduce any flexing but I’m still wondering whether there is adjustment on the latch from inside the door. Any ideas?
Regards
Tim
You absolutely need the dovetails to be in good shape. the fact that mine were in horrible condition shows that they do a LOT of work.
Here’s a few shots. You can see that the moving parts really just pop out and sit there, no adjustments.
'53 120 OTS
Can you check the door aperture openings in the body then measure the actual door dimensions? The external door gaps might be ok but you might be on the limit of the distance from the door face to B post. (I’m not describing this particularly well) but hopefully you get the thought.
With best regards
Philip Dobson
Mitch, Thanks for the photos. That helps enormously. I can see that there is no adjustment so I’m glad I didn’t rip apart my new trim. I do have some new (report dovetails but wouldn’t you know it, the holes don’t match up to the door holes so a bit of fettling required. Getting the tapped plates inside the door should be interesting! Hopefully the dovetails will stop the movement and therefore stop the latch jumping off its catch.
Thanks again.
Tim
Phil, I do get what you mean and I have adjusted the door mounted catches in and out on shims. the internal door gaps are covered by the fur flex so I’d have to strip it off to get to look from the inside. It may well come to that. I’m going to fit the dovetails first and see if that solves my problem before I start taking off the trim. I really appreciate all the suggestions and help that I’m getting from the forum. It’s great to have somewhere to go for help! Thanks guys.
Tim
I really do hope that is a brace of gin and tonics!
Beautiful car!
It certainly is I co-opted Mrs dlF as my co-mechanic but I have to accept her habits !
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Beautiful restoration! The body work and paint are tremendous. I like the rock guards covering the head lamps. They appear to be the same as those on NUB 120. Where did you find them?
I would remove the inside door panels to protect them from damage until you have corrected the latch situation. Ultimately, it’s likely the trailing edge of the plywood inside the door panels will need to be trimmed back a slight amount. This is a common follow-up adjustment when trimming an XK that has undergone a lot of bodywork. Your trimmer will detach the welting, peel back the vinyl or leather, trim the plywood trailing edge, and then reassemble.
A couple of months ago, I helped install a new trim kit in an XK140 OTS. There were numerous places where we had to adjust the panels in this way to get a perfect fit.
Thanks for the tip Mike. I paid a small fortune to the trimmer so I think I’ll ask him to do that for me ! But good to know it can be adjusted.
Tim
Is that james Sidwell’s workshop?
Certainly is. Pennys stripped it, James rebuilt it, Steve Holmes painted it, Mick Turley trimmed it, and I put it all together and did the mechanics. Back to original colour from red.
Tim
I agree with Mitch. The dovetails are intended to stabilize the doors. It is not surprising that the doors pop open without them installed, probably on turns as the car flexes. Like Tim, I purchases new dovetails which maddeningly do not line up with the holes in the car or the original backing plate in the doors. It seems like it would not have been difficult to get the dimensions right during the manufacturing process.