doors binding in plastic trim

[Farrar]

#2613's doors have never been perfect, but in the last year or so they've started doing something that worries me: binding and scraping the plastic at both ends.

door hitting plastic 1 annotated.jpg

door hitting plastic 2 annotated.jpg

It's the same on both sides, except that on the passenger side the door is actually sticking shut.

On both doors, there are a bunch of washers on the front striker pins and only one on the rear. On the passenger side, the striker pin was binding badly so it's been ground down partly, but the door still sticks shut.

Do these cars change shape as they age? What should I inspect? Could the roof cage be the problem? Or is it something else?

Thanks in advance.

[Morpheus]

Was your windshield recently replaced?

Is your roof box showing signs of rust?

[Farrar]

Was your windshield recently replaced?

Is your roof box showing signs of rust?

As far as I know, the windshield is original.

To check the roof box, I pull the T-panel, right? I will do that next.

Thanks!

[MikeWard]

To check the roof box, I pull the T-panel, right? I will do that next.

Remove the upper finisher (part number 105721), with that removed you can eyeball the rear of the roof box to see if it is showing signs of lifting.

Some detailed pictures can be found here: http://www.deloreaneurotec.uk/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5282

[Farrar]

Removed the rear finisher piece. It has seen better days...

It may be hard to see behind my Mickey Mouse third brake lights, but I got some photos.

Left side:

left side.jpg

Middle:

middle.jpg

Right side:

right side.jpg

It definitely looks like the roof box is bowing, although I don't see any evidence that it has rusted, so that's some good news to go with the bad, I suppose.

Somewhere around here, I have a set of written instructions, parts list, and photos from Toby Peterson on how to secure the roof box. I'll look those up. I think it's probably something I can do myself, or maybe with the wife helping.

Thanks, gang!

[dn010]

Agreed, you may have some roof box issues causing the front of the roof to sag allowing the doors to make contact where they shouldn't - here is a look at what mine looked like: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?12...ed-should-I-be

If the windshield was separating you'd probably get a good puddle of water if you ever see rain or take a hose to the top of it.

[dn010]

Posted the above after you did. I believe these may be helpful to you:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?64...orcement-Panel

http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/tbar.htm

[Morpheus]

To check the roof box, I pull the T-panel, right? I will do that next.

Thanks!

Yes, to check the inside of the roof box, you will need to pull the T-Panel and remove the cover plate for the door wiring. Then, you can get one of those small inspection cameras (or your phone camera if it will fit) down in there and take some pics.

You may see something that looks like this:
IMG_0951.jpg

On this particular box, there was really no external evidence of any issues whatsoever. If your car spent any good amount of time outside during it's existence, this can easily happen.

[Farrar]

Pulled the T-Panel today. It came off very easily with a trim stick. It looks like some work was done underneath this panel before, and it was not sealed very well afterward:

T Panel Removed 2.jpg

T Panel Removed 3.jpg

Looks like some welding was done above the driver-side torsion bar bracket. You can also see two large pop-rivets in this photo:

Driver Side Evidence of Previous Repair.jpg

These two rivets are absent on the passenger side. Only one was installed, and it has fallen out:

Passenger Side Missing Fastener.jpg

The cover plate for the wiring harness connectors is rusty, as I imagined it would be:

roof steel plate rust.jpg

All in all, it doesn't look terrible. But it doesn't look fantastic, either. That repair on the driver's side makes me nervous.

[Farrar]

On a related note, what size are the six sheet metal screws (three per side) that fasten the T-Panel to the edge just behind the doors? Two of mine seem questionable, so I'd like to replace them.