Door gaps

[QBlades]

Hey guys, I feel like I am a little stuck here. I am trying to increase the gap between the rear of the door near the latch and the striker. I was able to line up the door so the there is about a paint stick's gap between the bottom of the side sail and the door but side of the door next to the latch is about touching so I am afraid it is going to rub against the body whenever the door opens and closes. Currently it is rubbing lightly against the bottom of the sidesail when it starts to close and then rubs all the way to the striker. Attached at the pictures of the door gap and the latching mechanism

I can't seem to pull the door away from latch area because if I do, the door will not close because the latch hits the striker and will not close. This is before I even install the door cards so once I install that, it will definitely rub.

Did anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions?

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[Hindsight]

I'm understanding everything but this "I can't seem to pull the door away from latch area because if I do, the door will not close because the latch hits the striker and will not close."

Use cardboard (from a regular corrugated cardboard box) and line the side sail ledge all the way from the front of the side sail where the door hinge is, all the way back and up the side sail to just below the striker. Then add more from the striker up to the top of the side sail. Set the door on top of that. Tighten the hinge bolts. At that point, the latch should work properly, but you may get some dragging of the door on the side sail at the bottom corner (as shown in your pic). It might get better or worse when you screw the door panels in. How I fixed it was, after using the cardboard trick to get things rough aligned, I opened the door just enough so the latch was no longer in the striker, and I pulled up hard on the back of the door, then jammed a wooden shim at the bottom rear of the door where it was dragging. I then tightened the hinges and removed the shim and cardboard. I double checked that the latch was still aligned with the striker (it was), and at this point, the dragging was gone.

If having the door at the proper height for fiberglass clearance is causing striker plate alignment issues, then you put the striker plate in the wrong position and you need to move it. I would suggest using Wayne's "VCP Door Mounting Tricks" thread instead of the FFR manual. Wayne's method is MUCH better. Tamra and Andrew have their own thread on it too, which uses Wayne's instructions but expands on them a little.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?15697-VCP-Door-mounting-Tricks

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18352-Tamra-amp-Andrew-s-818-Door-Instructions

[Frank818]

I'm understanding everything but this "I can't seem to pull the door away from latch area because if I do, the door will not close because the latch hits the striker and will not close."


I must admit same here.

[lance corsi]

If that doesn't work, try making new strikers for the latch. I made new ones just a bit longer than the original ones and this allowed a wider gap at the rear of the door, eliminating any rubbing. Also, check the function of the latch if you manage to get it set without making new strikers. It is quite possible that the latch is not fully engaged and the door may pop open inadvertantly.

[DMC7492]

I had to space out the striker with some washers. This allowed the door to be moved forward, your too far back!
A taller striker is a great idea!

[STiPWRD]

One thing I did was move the latch closer to the striker by lightly sending the inside of the door fiberglass where the latch attaches. Making the fiberglass thinner reduces the gap from latch to striker and increases the gap from door fiberglass to side sail.

[QBlades]

Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. Sorry for the confusion, what I meant by "I can't seem to pull the door away from latch area" is that when looking at the car from picture IMG_20161018_215826.jpg, I could not slide the door any farther right (or towards the front of the car). I widened the holes where the hinges attach to the frame so I could confirm that the door CAN be adjusted more but when I try to do that, the latch will not close.

I realized last night while I was working on the car that Lance Corsi, DMC7492, and STiPWRD are correct. That the reason my door could not be adjust more was not because the hinges could not slide farther forward towards the car, but because my strikers seem to be short. The easiest solution I was thinking of doing was sanding that inside of the fiberglass door where the latch attaches (making the fiberglass at that spot thinner) and adding washer may be the simplest way I could think of. The other thing i was thinking was removing part of the latch, to kind of make the latch "thinner" or closer to the door frame but I was too afraid I would destroy the latch trying to disassemble it

@Lance Corsi, how did you make longer strikers? Did you cut and reweld them?

[lance corsi]

I started from scratch and made new plates, flat ones, then bent a new "U" shape, trimmed it to the length desired, then welded everything together from the back side. Don't make them too long tho, or else it will cause the latch to drag. Ask me how I know.

[QBlades]

haha. Sadly I do not have a welder so at this time I do not have that option. I did what DMC7492 suggested and spaced our the striker with some washer and that gave me the gap I think I am looking for. No more rubbing. Thanks. 60017

My gap is now about the thickness of a paint stick. What do you guys think? Good enough?

[redfogo]

haha. Sadly I do not have a welder so at this time I do not have that option. I did what DMC7492 suggested and spaced our the striker with some washer and that gave me the gap I think I am looking for. No more rubbing. Thanks. 60017

My gap is now about the thickness of a paint stick. What do you guys think? Good enough?

Looks awesome! Great job!

[Harley818]

Qblades,
is your side sail too far forward? I needs to be at least 5/8 from the front of the frame. Measured to the bottom as in the manual not to the front of the fiberglass.
I have mine set at 7/8 so that I can have the front wheels centered in the wheelwell. See the sticky above for fitting the body.
After I had the body set, then I installed the doors following the methods above with the cardboard.
As a result, I had to modify the striker support so it would mount a bit further back.
Now it all fits great and doors easily open and close without interference with the stock strikers. I did grind a bit of the metal on the striker so they were lower profile when the door swings in.
I am installing my door panels so they will mount flush inside without adding door thickness (which would also interfere during doorswing).
Hope this helps.

[QBlades]

yeah I think my side sails are too far forward by about 1/2". Unfortunately I have already bolted everything down and I dont think I will be moving everything back by 1/2. I will probably just decide to live with it since it doesn't seem to be that bad :(. I had to modify door bracket support so I could slide the door farther that extra 1/2" but everything seems to fit now

[Frank818]

And your rear bumper + front engine cover + front fenders all fit ok even with the side sails pushed 1/2 fwd?

[QBlades]

my rear bumper seems to be ok. my front engine cover I had to trim because it was hitting the loops (unfortunately, I have already done that so moving the sidesails back would just leave a big gap), and the front fenders are ok because I made brackets to move the attachment point for the front bumper forward as well. my front bumper did not touch the radiator support (when the fenders were attached) so that is what I did. I didn't really hit me that my sidesails were too far forward till I worked on my doors

I have not yet attached my dash, windshield, or hood so I guess I will see where all that lines up soon. I am not sure how big of a factor that 1/2" will play in installing these last 3 parts of the body. Hopefully i can install these parts without too much difficultly or maybe the patch work will be easier the moving everything back 1/2". For the people who have already finished these parts, what do you think?

[Frank818]

It gives an idea of the impacts of a small movement of one body part. You got lucky it seemed to work out ok so far. Your 1/2 may not have much of an impact for the remaining parts, except if that 1/2 adds up with a 1/4 somewhere and another one or something. Then you may end up with 3/4-1" on a part and that could impact.

[STiPWRD]

As long as your engine cover and rear bumper seem ok, the only other thing I can think of is how centered the wheels will look in the wheel wells. Placement of the side sails will impact that as well. One advantage of having the side sails more forward is possibly more clearance for a wiper under the back edge of the hood.

[QBlades]

haha yeah. OR! I may get SUPER lucky and my 1/2" forward on one part may be offset by 1/2" backwards on another part and then it will be perfect... I don't think I am that lucky though. :P I will set the last 3 pieces in place and confirm that everything can open and close without too much additional fabrication. Thanks Frank818

[QBlades]

You guys are absolutely right. I spoke with Riley Carson on FB because he posted the same door issues I did at the same time and he said the same thing about centering the wheels in the wheel wells. I checked it and I have a 3" gap in the front of the wheel wells and a 2" gap on the back (while car was on jack stands, I didn't think I needed to load my wheels to check this though). nothing rubs but that I how I kind of figured out that my sidesails were too far forwards. hopefully I will have more wiper clearance and I will not have to trim the hood much for a wiper