door mechanism

[pimms]

Hi all,

Has anyone tips on how to determin the exact spot were to place the door lock mechanism ( right on picture ) and the door catch ( left on picture ) :confused: .

[strat6v]

My method was firstly, hang the doors then carefully measure the recesses where the latch mechanism pokes thro the door and also where the striker plate fits on the tub. Next i made sure the latch was ok kind of up and down so that the outer door handle would operate the mechanism, drilled the hole for the latch mechanism, carefully filed it to the right diameter and slotted the latch through. Are you using modified latches? This saves having to grind the grp really thin. Next, measure and drill the three screw holes and countersink them once they are in the right position. You should now have a solidly mounted latch.

The next step involved me taking the latch out again. Now stick your head inside the door once it is closed and mark through the big hole where the latch goes through onto the tub(latch in closed posititon). You need to mark the centre of the hook, not the central pivot. Check the hook centre to pivot centre dimension and transfer that onto the tub.

Open the door and offer up the striker plate so that the bottom hole which is also the bit which the hook rotates around is at the point where you marked the hook centre. Now drill the hole through. Square up the sriker plate and then drill the top hole. Hope that helps.

Oh, i also drilled a small hole through the lip at the edge of the door to peep at the hook and striker as they made contact. This made shimming the latch and/or striker real easy so they wouldn't bind.

Hope that helps. Its real easy to show someone but difficult to explain!!

John.

[guy mayers]

Oh, i also drilled a small hole through the lip at the edge of the door to peep at the hook and striker as they made contact. This made shimming the latch and/or striker real easy so they wouldn't bind.



That's a neat tip!

My method 18 years ago was to fit the outer door handle first with the lock in place including the alloy block that pushes the release arm of the mechanism in place. I then offered the mechanism into the door panel and marked, as accurately as I could, the centre point of the latch onto the door and drilled through from the inside. The hole was then enlarged until the plastic part fitted through. I could then mark one of the mounting holes and drill a pilot hole from the inside and then a full size hole from the outside so as to do as little damage to the gelcoat as possible. A trial assembly showed that the door handle and mechanism were in the correct positions and worked as intended before the final two holes were drilled. I seem to recall doing a "brass rubbing" from a Fiat X19 door to make drilling the holes in the correct position.
As mentioned it helps to modify the mechanism by drilling/grinding off the shaft, inserting a spacer and rewelding as the fiberglass doors are a lot thicker than the X19 steel! From experience I'd try a spacer at least as thick as the door but most people end up with damage sooner or later.
I can't remember now how I found the correct position for the striker plate but, from the size of the holes behind them, it was probably a good estimate with enlarged holes for fine adjustment. If you look at the donor Fiat ou'll see a similar thing from the factory for fine tuning door fit. Finally, for the Hawk, don't forget that there is a gap between the fiberglass on the inside of the body and the steel mounting plate the striker plate bolts to and this MUST be packed tight with spacer plates otherwise things will move at some point and it will all end in tears.
Oh, and don't forget to fit shakeproof washers to the doors mechanism. If they come loose they can jam it all solid........ (experience again - removing door inners with a closed door and trimmed interior is not fun.)

[pimms]

Thanks John and Guy,
And also Chris Jarvis for sending an artcle about the door catch.
Another question is about extending the door latch because of the thicker fiberglass. Do i grind the latch of at the inside of the mechanism. It seems to be bonded with some kind of square flatted pin ( excuse my poor Englisch ) . How many mm. should i add?

Thanks for your help,

Cheers and hope to see you at Abingdon.

[Sptwoman]

I had mine mod'd by Gerry. See attached pics with the 3mm insert and the blob of weld on the inside of the mech. As well as the brazed nut.

[strat6v]

I bought modded ones too.

[pimms]

Thanks for the pictures, its all clear to me now :) .

Best regards, Pim