Hello all, can not get the door on my 65 coupe to close nicely. Took latch out, cleaned it thoroughly and greased it, it seems to work very nice on the bench. Door itself lines up very nicely with latch removed. Still seems like I have to pull harder then I should to close the door all the way. I think I read somewhere that there is a procedure for striker/latch alignment in a service manual, using clay or something? Would anyone have a link to the procedure?

 

First of all, if you don’t have a copy of the service manual I would get one. Second, be sure the door hinges are adjusted so the door closes into position and aligns with the fenders and roof without relying on the latch to bump it up or down. You can do this by just holding the latch button in and slowly closing the door and see if it closes without any sign or sound hitting the receiver on the jamb. Or you can just pull the receiver off the car and see if the door closes into the body in alignment. If not then the interior door panel needs to come off and the hinges adjusted which is another whole issue. Also make sure your hinge bushings are good and there isn’t any looseness up and down in the door. If there is that’s another whole issue. Also check the big flat head rivet heads on the front jamb end of the door as you swing it in and out a little. If you see movement/looseness in those rivet heads then the inner hinge reinforcement is loose and that complicates the door fitting and closing properly, and that’s another whole issue.

if the door is aligned good and everything is tight, it should swing into the receiver with the button held down as though it isn’t even there. If you hear it hit the receiver, lift up slightly on the door as you close it and see if it clears. In that case the receiver needs to be loosened and slid down slightly. If it still hits when you lifted up on the door, then try putting a little pressure down on the door and if it clears OK then you know the receiver needs to be adjusted a little higher.

The receiver is also a little sensitive to being properly rotated to where the door latch lug will swing freely into it. if a little pressure up or down on the door while closing doesn’t seem to solve the problem then you may need to experiment a little with rotating the latch CW or CCW to see if that clears it up.

Finally, don’t over adjust the receiver in to try and compress the weatherstripping to make the door fit flush to the point you have to slam it and risk flexing the body around the handle and cracking the paint. If you have new weatherstripping and the door is not quite closing to a flush position, just adjust the receiver to where the door close with a moderate pressure that doesn’t require slamming. Let it go for about 60 days and the move the receiver in a small amount to where you have to again use moderate pressure to close it and wait 60 days. You may have to do this 3 or 4 times but after 3-6 months the weatherstripping should compress and settle in to where the door will close flush with normal force.

Good luck.