Door Latches

[SCFFR]

Looking ahead to fitting the MkIV body to the chassis, I opened up the box with the door latches and strikers plates to get an idea of how they fit. The striker is pretty straight forward and detailed in the manual but attaching the latch to the door is vague. It just shows a picture of the latch fastened to the door but doesn't state how. Hard to tell from the pic if the latch has been riveted to the door or screwed. Since there is a metal plate already attached to the inner door panel, I was thinking if I could get a locknut in there, I would use sheet metal screws to attach the latch.

Would appreciate any information on how you did it.

Many thanks!

[michael everson]

FFR supplies #8 pan head sheet metal screws for this purpose. They will not be seen once the cover is installed. I like to fit the striker to the frame first, then attach the latch to it. I then close the door and make sure everything lines up. You need to make sure the latch is perfectly parralell to the door or it will not latch properly when finally mounted. Bend the frame mount slightly to bring it in.
mike

[Jeff Kleiner]

I like to fit the striker to the frame first, then attach the latch to it. I then close the door and make sure everything lines up.

X2! Much easier than trying to adjust the striker to a latch already mounted to the door.

Jeff

[SCFFR]

Thanks guys! I didn't see any screws with the latch assemblies which is why I asked about fasteners. They are probably in on of the other packages. Thanks for the tip on fitting the latch to the striker..........makes sense.

[FFinisher]

Mike and Jeff are spot on . its the only way to do it really. Don't get to crazy about the dimples in the door not lineing up with the holes in the latch. Also it would not be abnormal to need to open up the hole in the door where the striker meets the latch.


And FWIW, the screws FFR provides are usually too short.

[edwardb]

I'm not a huge fan of sheet metal screws for the door latches, even though I know most do it without any issues. I installed 10-32 nutserts into the doors. They pull nicely into the fiberglass outer skin, and anchor behind the sheet metal liner. 10-32 flat head screws match perfectly with the counter sunk bosses on the latch assembly.

X3 (or whatever the count is) on installing the latch assembly first, and then install the striker in the door opening. But mock up the latch assembly location with the striker locked into the latch assembly, and the post suspended through the tab in the door opening. Try to get as close to the center as you can before drilling the holes and mounting. Also agree that everything has to be parallel or the latch will be hard to open/close. The frame tab is pretty easy to bend, if needed.

There's a mod recommended on FFCars that I also did. Apparently these latches will come apart unexpectantly.

http://www.linger.com/cobra/DoorLatchRepair.htm

[skullandbones]

SCFFR,

Thanks for the thread and thanks for the posters with the two great ideas!! I am just approaching this task so it will help me too. I had heard about the latch issue from two or three different people but no details and definitely no pics and link to the mod. Excellent! This forum rocks! WEK.:cool:

[SCFFR]

Edward,

Thanks for the link to the door latch repair. Great information to have!!

[Jeff Kleiner]

X3 (or whatever the count is) on installing the latch assembly first, and then install the striker in the door opening....

Edward, I think you may be misunderstanding what Mike, Ron and I are recommending which is; install the striker to the chassis and engage the latch onto it THEN bring the door to the latch. Doing it this way the striker is installed first and the latch last rather than the other way around and results in little to no further adjustment. Of course there is that old adage about there being multiple ways to skin a cat ;)

While we're on the subject, in addition to the mod Edward notes I've found that adding about a 1/16" chamfer to the hole that the latch pin engages with on the striker really helps them latch easily with light closing effort.

Cheers,
Jeff

[FFinisher]

Edward, I think you may be misunderstanding what Mike, Ron and I are recommending which is; install the striker to the chassis and engage the latch onto it THEN bring the door to the latch. Doing it this way the striker is installed first and the latch last rather than the other way around and results in little to no further adjustment. Of course there is that old adage about there being multiple ways to skin a cat ;)

While we're on the subject, in addition to the mod Edward notes I've found that adding about a 1/16" chamfer to the hole that the latch pin engages with on the striker really helps them latch easily with light closing effort.

Cheers,
Jeff
Also if youtake 1/16 of the high side of the pin that engages in the center pin hole door releases much easier

[edwardb]

Edward, I think you may be misunderstanding what Mike, Ron and I are recommending which is; install the striker to the chassis and engage the latch onto it THEN bring the door to the latch. Doing it this way the striker is installed first and the latch last rather than the other way around and results in little to no further adjustment. Of course there is that old adage about there being multiple ways to skin a cat ;) Jeff

You're right. What I described is somewhat different. I think we had this discussion in another thread on the same subject. I like the idea of bolting the striker in place first, then using that to locate the latch assembly. If I have a chance to build another, I will definitely try that. The main takeaway for new builders is to not mount the latch assembly without first taking into account the striker location.