My 96 doors are kind of hard to close. I have to make sure to shut it kind of hard to shut it closed. Is that just the way C4's are or is it just mine? It bothers me a bit because when someone else hops in the passengers side, I always have to tell them that the door on their side is open because they didnt close it hard enough. I like the C5's doors because they are sooo smooth and feels so light. I might try some WD-40 on the hinges.

 

As my wife likes to say, you gotta slam it, it's a chevy!

 

on both of our C4s a coupe and vert the doors are real easy to close. is the weather striping were it belongs and nothing is in the way of the doors from closing. and I always use white gresse on the door hinges and latches

 

My 95 is like that. The WD40 did help some.

 

I put some new door weatherstripping on my 88 Corvette. The doors were harder to close at first until the weatherstripping started settling in. How new is the weatherstripping on your 96 Vette? Perhaps, it has become loose. You might check that out..

 

My guess is that your door hinge pins are a bit worn. Open your door and grab it at the bottom and lift up. If it wiggles a bit then your hinge pins are worn and that's your problem. Slamming your door will only cause your latch mechanism to wear out faster. You might need to replace your hinges or their hinge pins.

 

I think it might be the original. Some of the weather stripping is starting to crack escpecially the window parts. I'll check to see if it is loose today. I want to get new weather stripping along with other things but wife thinks I spend too much on my car already. She thinks if shocks go out then I spent money on it but that doesnt count because thats just wear and tear. Try to explain but wife is a brick wall.

 

I ll try that, and see if my door hings pins are worn, by lifting up on the door like you say. If it does not wiggle and is secure and tight then I m good with the hingles? I hope its not cause then the wife will think my car is just an old piece, but I know I just need to restore a few things. Other than that I see people just staring because they like it as they pass me when I m driving slow.

 

The striker on the "B" pillar is adjustable. I think it takes a large torx, don't know what size tho. Try greasing the area. If you do try to adjust it, loosen it just a little & use a block of wood & hammer to move it out just slightly. You may want to scribe it so if there is a problem you can it back to it's original position.

 

On my '86.......the doors close really easy.
Sounds like something needs to be lubed, adjusted or replaced.

 

Don't use WD40, use lube grease. WD40 will seem to help for a while, but will dry things up more and wind up making matters worse.

 

It sounds like your wife needs some "education." It takes awhile but here are talking points I kept repeating to my wife until she was properly indoctrinated:

1) Don't think of the vettes (a '73 and a '96 in my case) as old pieces of $#!+. Rather, think of them as "classics." i.e. think of them in the same way as you think of me and the music I listen to.
2) Women tend to think of their husbands in the same way as they think of the children. i.e we require constant supervision and our time needs to be filled with something constructive. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop," so a hobby: keeps us at home in the garage and away from our deadbeat friends, gives us something constructive to do, etc.
3) A hobby that keeps us in the garage provides the best of both worlds since it keeps us at home but not hogging the television so that they can't watch the shows/movies they want to see.
4) While our hobby isn't cheap, has she priced a round of golf or an hour of flight time in a Cessna 175 lately?
5) The Corvette is a hobby but it has a practical side too. Can a set of golf clubs or a tennis racket get you to work and back when needed?

I'm sure other forum brethren can provide more virtues of the Corvette hobby if you need them...

 

Thanks for all the good stuff. I 've tried and tried but my wife is a brick wall. I try to tell her I dont say anything when she buys super expensive purses or spends almost 2 hundred dollars on her hair, but when i spend money on my car then its war... Then she wants me to trade it in for a newer corvette like an 06 or something new. The payments will be way too high. She just does not get it.

 

I think your right, the door does seem to wiggle a bit and the door seems to be slightly out of alightment when it is closed. I will have to take it to the shop. I might try to grease it first.

 

My drivers door was out of alignment by about 1/4" so closing it felt a bit like an uphill battle. It wasn't loose however, the previous owner was a big guy with back problems, I suspect he pulled on the door getting in or out.

I adjusted the door following this procedure and it opens and shuts perfectly. The whole process took maybe 40 minutes going slow.

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