Front Door Adjustments Advice Needed - '53 hornet sedan

Hudson_in_Seattle

hey guys - thanks for all of your help - i am just getting a bunch of "small stuff" done on this new to me hornet, which turns out to be a bit more work than originally anticipated!

- my front doors sit proud a noticeable amount - i adjusted the strikers "in" and nothing happened, as they were as far "in" as possible

- i figured that the 65 year old strikers were worn, so i just received a pair of new repro strikers, but they are no improvement

- so, when i was looking at the door jambs, and at the sliding backing plates for the strikers, I could "dremel" a bit more clearance on the jamb to the inside, then i could move the striker plate in enough to pull the doors in?!

- i hate cutting into metal on a collector car, no matter how small, so i wanted to see if there was any advice, thoughts, etc - thanks in advance!

Glowplug

My signature block show the address of my website where there are tips for repair and maintenance of 1948-54 Hudson automobiles.  I do not allow direct linking to my site so some of the pages and links will not work unless you are on the actual site.  One article discusses door alignment.  You will find that setting doors is more than the strikers.  One of the major factors is hinges. Also if the pillar welds are intact in the hinge area.  

https://hudsonrestoration1948-54.com/HUDSON%20DOOR%20HINGE%20ALIGNMENT%20AND%20BENDING.pdf

Hudson_in_Seattle

thanks for this, as well as for this site - i have read much of it - the front of the doors line up nicely - it looks to me like the adjustment is just on the striker (i could be wrong) - i would like to start by moving this back, hence the dremel thought

Jay_G

Also be aware of the weatherstrip channel on the rear doors.  On my 4 door the front doors don't close well unless you slam them.  I noticed they work fine when the rear door are open.  So time to bend the channel back just a bit on the rear doors. Especially at he top.

Jay

Hudson_in_Seattle

Jay G said:

Also be aware of the weatherstrip channel on the rear doors.  On my 4 door the front doors don't close well unless you slam them.  I noticed they work fine when the rear door are open.  So time to bend the channel back just a bit on the rear doors. Especially at he top.

Jay

please let me know what/where the channel is/do you mean on the door or on the body? - strangely enough, the drivers side rear door started to interfere when opening - the rear striker plate was loose, when tightened its been fine, but i did see that the 2 adjacent doors could effect the other - thanks again - PS how about that dremel plan (which has now turned into a small file plan)?!?!?

Ric West IN

Are you aware that these are 2 position latches?  Usually when you have the latch plate in as far as possible, the latch only activates 1st position . Possible you must move latch plate out a bit so that 2nd position of the latch activates. I have never had to modify the door post holes to get tight doors.   (60+ years of Hudson experience)

Hudson_in_Seattle

Ric West IN said:

Are you aware that these are 2 position latches?  Usually when you have the latch plate in as far as possible, the latch only activates 1st position . Possible you must move latch plate out a bit so that 2nd position of the latch activates. I have never had to modify the door post holes to get tight doors.   (60+ years of Hudson experience)

thanks for this - i did notice something like that! please explain the 2 positions - i've never had a problem like this either on collector cars or daily drivers, that's why i'm getting as much info as possible - this may just need to go to my body guy!

Ric West IN

There must be some Hudson guys near you that could demonstrate.   Much easier to understand a demonstration,   

Jay_G

The weatherstrip channel is on the front side of the rear doors.  Just open the from door. and look at the rear door.  It runs up and down to seal the gap between the front and rear doors

Geoff

Push the door in, and you should hear two clicks, one for the safety position, and one for the  latched position.  If you have the striker too far in the  pin will only lock into the first position. When you undo the door it should come out to the safety position first.  If it opens straight away then you have the striker too far in.   

Hudson_in_Seattle

thanks guys - this worked out pretty well, not perfect, but i didn't do anything stupid - i realized when i started pushing in the striker, that it seemed better, a distance out - i didn't realize that the latch had 2 positions - i also didn't realize you could bend the channels - i set the strikers (all the way up and out) so i could clearly hear the latch go into position 1 when i pushed, but not closed the door - i then could figure out how much play there was by feel - i then pushed the strikers in a bit, but as up as possible, until the doors tightened up a lot - i also notice potential interference with the seals - i will do a bit more, but i need those new striker screws (haven't heard back on another thread where they are for sale) - thanks for all of your help - after 20 years of collector car stuff, i knew enough to get more info before cutting, which makes me nearly not as stupid as i thought!