So I've read that aligning the doors is a long process of trial and error of moving the striker bolts around. I have an issue that I'm pretty sure can not be fixed by adjustment. I have my rear striker bolt all the way in, and all the way down. Yet, the door still does not sit flush. I thought perhaps the latch was only closing partially, and that I might need to move the striker bolt out slightly, so that it would catch fully, but no, that didn't work. It looks like it's catching fully on the striker, and the door still sticks out. What do people do in this case? Drill out the hole the striker bolt goes in to? 20170110_213913.jpg20170110_213927.jpg
Next, my fascia has some very wide gaps where it meets the fenders. I am told this is years of shrinkage, correct? However, looking closely at the fender holes, they're oblong, indicating that they could be moved forward, but then the hood would need to be moved forward to match, and then it would hit the fascia in the center. Any advice on how to close this gap? 20170106_175410.jpg20170106_175415.jpg
Lastly, my rear fascia sits almost an inch below the rear SS panel. I have found that if I prop up the inside of the fasica with spacers, I can get it to get close to where it needs to be, but it's bending the fascia in to weird contours, and I was wondering if there was a more professional way to do this?
Without spacers:20170106_174857.jpg
With spacers:20170106_174814.jpg
Regarding your door closing, you may actually need to move the pin UP a little bit.
It will sound counter-intuitive, but what may be happening is that your striker pin is not getting up and into the "second click" position of the latch. The physical lower edge of the door will prevent it from moving down further but with the pin as it is, it is too low to go into the latch all the way.
Try moving the pin up, say a quarter inch or so, and then close the door. You should feel it go into that second latching position. It will pull the door in the rest of the way and sit flush if you do.
You may have to enlarge the fiberglass hole so you have more room to move the anchor pin a little more. It gets covered up by the rubber grommet. You could have some adjustment for the facias but they do shrink.
I see you're close by me here in DC. All of these issues can be fixed, but sometimes require a little more disassembly than originally thought. Occasionally, it's necessary to make some brackets or spacers (as you've seen) to move things into alignment. Having the right tools is also key.
When it comes to aligning body panels, doors, & fenders, the first tool to pick up is a contour gauge. You can get one at Lowes or Home Depot in the tile section.
Without this tool, you're more or less trying to cut without a measuring tape. I've PM'd my contact info to you.
So I've read that aligning the doors is a long process of trial and error of moving the striker bolts around. I have an issue that I'm pretty sure can not be fixed by adjustment. I have my rear striker bolt all the way in, and all the way down. Yet, the door still does not sit flush. I thought perhaps the latch was only closing partially, and that I might need to move the striker bolt out slightly, so that it would catch fully, but no, that didn't work. It looks like it's catching fully on the striker, and the door still sticks out. What do people do in this case? Drill out the hole the striker bolt goes in to? 20170110_213913.jpg20170110_213927.jpg
Welcome to my world... What you may be dealing with hear is a deformed door or miss-aligned hinges. In my case, best guess is a previous owner drove the car with the door open into a garage and struck the leading edge on the door frame. The result? When they closed the door the screw on the door latch mechanism damaged the fiberglass near the striker pin. If you're lucky you just need the hinges re-set. If you're like me, the door has been tweaked and closes fine on one edge but not the other and no amount of adjustment will find a middle ground.
I do believe the car sat, showroom style, with the doors up for about 4 years. Could that do it?
That shouldn't cause an issue with deformed doors... In fact the door shape is actually under more stress when the doors are closed because of the torsion bar.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by rickjames8
