ehansen007
06-06-2014, 02:16 PM
Well, like always door number 1 takes 8 hours and door number 2 takes 2 hours!
Here are some tips I learned along the way:
Mount the striker first! (thanks Tony Z). This is mostly a stationary object with only side to side adjustment so it's mostly fixed in it's position in the car do to the bracket. here's what I did.
1. Mount the large striker support bracket to the car and push up against the backside of the body and tighten so it's flush. Then, take a high power flashlight and shine it through the backside to get your hole placement. Then trace it. Make sure the flashlight is flush up against the bracket!
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/0CD6ADA6-ADD0-4482-ADC6-A8E9AAAFEE10_zpsuarpg7kx.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/0CD6ADA6-ADD0-4482-ADC6-A8E9AAAFEE10_zpsuarpg7kx.jpg.html)
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/279F3844-E99B-4286-BE65-6FC6D1649EFD_zpstir2pdbl.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/279F3844-E99B-4286-BE65-6FC6D1649EFD_zpstir2pdbl.jpg.html)
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/E3A9A9A4-9964-4827-8FC8-E6E2C47B7D1C_zpstqcerner.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/E3A9A9A4-9964-4827-8FC8-E6E2C47B7D1C_zpstqcerner.jpg.html)
2. Next put the frame in loose. Remember to use non locking bolts when doing the doors, you're going to take them on and off like 10 times! When it's all done, then put the nylock nuts on. Make sure the frame is in totally straight from front to back.
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/661DAC53-9DA1-4FA8-B073-966684D8E5FB_zpsolsaj5vw.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/661DAC53-9DA1-4FA8-B073-966684D8E5FB_zpsolsaj5vw.jpg.html)
3. Put the striker in the door latch slot on the door frame and find the best orientation with the striker using the back of the door frame slot as a depth guide.
4. Drill your holes and mount the striker. Now you may get lucky but chances are you may need to slot these holes a bit to get the doors flush later when adjusting. Things do move here and there.
5. Now mount up the door latch to the frame and close the door frame to get your frame aligned. Tighten down the bolts on the hinges and frame. You may want to zip tie the rods from the door handle so the don't keep falling down! Just keep it loose do you can still actuate the handle
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/29A17F1E-1301-4ECA-B514-BBF434C3C4E3_zpsstcn1ftz.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/29A17F1E-1301-4ECA-B514-BBF434C3C4E3_zpsstcn1ftz.jpg.html)
I used my belt sander to remove the extra metal frame on the Subaru latch and it worked great!
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/C5630CEF-E444-4082-A197-76A0143E52ED_zps2yftst3i.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/C5630CEF-E444-4082-A197-76A0143E52ED_zps2yftst3i.jpg.html)
I drew a line on the center point of the striker so I could remove it and get the center line on the door skin. I put the skin on with all of my paint stick chips to get my spacing and traced my lines for the stricker slot to match the shims they give you. Worked really well.
6. From here I basically followed the instructions as per the manual to get the skin on and adjusted front and back and side to side as needed. I also made the holes one size larger on all the 1/4-20's so there was some adjustment i.e. If the door skin was not matching the body lines, I simply loosened and twisted the door frame a little and then re-tightened.
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/0C3BF8F4-FBEA-418B-B876-5250C0684DC3_zpsr0goacm4.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/0C3BF8F4-FBEA-418B-B876-5250C0684DC3_zpsr0goacm4.jpg.html)
The driver side was a PIA and is a mess on the latch because I didn't mount the striker first! What a difference that made!
Here are some tips I learned along the way:
Mount the striker first! (thanks Tony Z). This is mostly a stationary object with only side to side adjustment so it's mostly fixed in it's position in the car do to the bracket. here's what I did.
1. Mount the large striker support bracket to the car and push up against the backside of the body and tighten so it's flush. Then, take a high power flashlight and shine it through the backside to get your hole placement. Then trace it. Make sure the flashlight is flush up against the bracket!
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/0CD6ADA6-ADD0-4482-ADC6-A8E9AAAFEE10_zpsuarpg7kx.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/0CD6ADA6-ADD0-4482-ADC6-A8E9AAAFEE10_zpsuarpg7kx.jpg.html)
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/279F3844-E99B-4286-BE65-6FC6D1649EFD_zpstir2pdbl.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/279F3844-E99B-4286-BE65-6FC6D1649EFD_zpstir2pdbl.jpg.html)
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/E3A9A9A4-9964-4827-8FC8-E6E2C47B7D1C_zpstqcerner.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/E3A9A9A4-9964-4827-8FC8-E6E2C47B7D1C_zpstqcerner.jpg.html)
2. Next put the frame in loose. Remember to use non locking bolts when doing the doors, you're going to take them on and off like 10 times! When it's all done, then put the nylock nuts on. Make sure the frame is in totally straight from front to back.
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/661DAC53-9DA1-4FA8-B073-966684D8E5FB_zpsolsaj5vw.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/661DAC53-9DA1-4FA8-B073-966684D8E5FB_zpsolsaj5vw.jpg.html)
3. Put the striker in the door latch slot on the door frame and find the best orientation with the striker using the back of the door frame slot as a depth guide.
4. Drill your holes and mount the striker. Now you may get lucky but chances are you may need to slot these holes a bit to get the doors flush later when adjusting. Things do move here and there.
5. Now mount up the door latch to the frame and close the door frame to get your frame aligned. Tighten down the bolts on the hinges and frame. You may want to zip tie the rods from the door handle so the don't keep falling down! Just keep it loose do you can still actuate the handle
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/29A17F1E-1301-4ECA-B514-BBF434C3C4E3_zpsstcn1ftz.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/29A17F1E-1301-4ECA-B514-BBF434C3C4E3_zpsstcn1ftz.jpg.html)
I used my belt sander to remove the extra metal frame on the Subaru latch and it worked great!
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/C5630CEF-E444-4082-A197-76A0143E52ED_zps2yftst3i.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/C5630CEF-E444-4082-A197-76A0143E52ED_zps2yftst3i.jpg.html)
I drew a line on the center point of the striker so I could remove it and get the center line on the door skin. I put the skin on with all of my paint stick chips to get my spacing and traced my lines for the stricker slot to match the shims they give you. Worked really well.
6. From here I basically followed the instructions as per the manual to get the skin on and adjusted front and back and side to side as needed. I also made the holes one size larger on all the 1/4-20's so there was some adjustment i.e. If the door skin was not matching the body lines, I simply loosened and twisted the door frame a little and then re-tightened.
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/818/818%20BUILD/0C3BF8F4-FBEA-418B-B876-5250C0684DC3_zpsr0goacm4.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/818/818%20BUILD/0C3BF8F4-FBEA-418B-B876-5250C0684DC3_zpsr0goacm4.jpg.html)
The driver side was a PIA and is a mess on the latch because I didn't mount the striker first! What a difference that made!