door latch adjustment on BN2

[bighealeysource]

Hey all,
Well, after my misadventure with getting my hood stuck into place while trying to adjust the hood gaps - see earlier post - I hesitate even thinking about trying to adjust the door by the latch side. I have 56 BN2 with nice gaps on the doors but at the latch side of the drivers door, it does stand proud of being flush with the rear fender. Front edge gap is perfect and if I simply push in on the door when latched, it lines up perfect. But when I release that slight pressure it comes out about a 1/8 of an inch. So I get movement with the door lock assembly on the striker. I have attempted to move the entire striker assembly over that 1/8 inch but that will involve enlarging the holes on the door/shut pillar assembly. I have also tried adjusting with the door hinges but all that does is through the front edge out. Any ideas before I look to enlarge those holes in the pillar to allow the striker assembly to be moved over the minor amount ?
Merry Christmas to all,
Mike

 

[richch]

Ahh, been there a number of times.....

Remove the door latch assembly from inside the door and shim the latch mounting plate assembly with washers to move the latch further into the door, resulting in the door moving closer toward the centre line of the car.

 

[roscoe]

I agree with shimming the latch. Sometimes (like when I'm adjusting my doors) I think that the folks who designed the latch and striker for the BN1 &2 must have been guys just sort of gave up about 3/4ths of the way through the design process and said "well, that'll work". The latch is pretty nice and works OK, but the striker plate and stud are pretty weird. I wouold have thought they would have just made a really large range of movement possible and had a hole in the plate that actually matched the stud diameter instead of that oversized strangeness that makes it look like the parts don't really go together. Am I missing something? Happy holidays.

 

[bighealeysource]

Hey Rich and Roscoe,
Boy, I never would have thought about doing it that way but makes perfect sense ! Sure glad I posted here as otherwise I would have been trying my weird idea and not achieving the results needed ! THANKS so much for the replies.
Regards,
Mike

 

[bighealeysource]

Hey y'all,
Put the washers in and my door now fits perfect !!!! So easy and one of those tips we all need to know and pass on.
Thanks again,
Mike

 

[richch]

Another tip that make aa huge difference is the adjustment of the striker depth into the latch. Look at both pieces and you'll see they are a dovetail shape. Shim behind the striker alloy plates to make sure the striker protrudes out far enough to enter the dovetail of the latch just right. Try shimming 'till the latch pin just closes perfectly past the notch and into the actual hole with a smooth double click with no play. Make sure it releases cleanly too.