The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors 49 3100 drivers door issues

I'm slowly working through the various issues on this old truck and next up is the doors.

1st issue is the drivers side striker plate. This is a 4 month old replacement and it's already wore a grove just like the original.
This clip on the latch moves up and down easily but it';s whats wearing the striker out. The tip that contacts the striker looks similar to the passanger side latch and it hasn't wore out the original passenger side striker.

Since both latches are original I'm wondering if the clip (the part that rides over the striker plate) is actually worn on both latches and need replaced?
Opinions?

2nd issue is the drivers side window won't stay all the way up. I can roll it all the way up but within sec's it's drop a 1/4" or so, enough to see an air/light gap between the window top and top of the frame.
Is this due to a weak spring in the regulator or something else?

One additional thing. I notice theres two prevailing methods of rebuilding the door hinges, one w/bushings and one w/just an oversize pin. ANy input on either would be appreciated.
Dave

If you are someone with mechanical skills, you might consider doing what I did. I knew the originals were well worn after 60 years use. I couldn't keep the drivers door from sometime swinging open while driving! Now I was seriously considering ordering some aftermarket latches. After reading some of the past post on aftermarket latches I decided to have a closer look at the originals. What I found was that the Door Latch,ratchet part with the teeth was worn down. I mounted the latch in my vise and removed the rivets that previously held the ratchet portion of the latch. Carefully filled in the worn down teeth with a little wire feed weld. Using the pass/side door latch as a pattern I re-traced the new tooth pattern on the drivers side ratchet. I easily refilled all the teeth back in. Re-assembled everything. Man what a difference!!! the door stayed closed and was fairly easy to adjust.
Hopefully this will help

I think everything that holds the door in place and controls the opening and closing needs to be repaired before making any adjustments.


http://www.classicparts.com/1947-51-Door-Latch-
Left/productinfo/18-521/#.UvkjUmyYbIU

Hopefully this will help

http://www.classicparts.com/1947-51-Door-Latch-Right/productinfo/18-522/#.U0KSKmxOXIV

not sure why the picture above is not working. This one is ok.

vickraft, thanks for the imput. I've had that very latch in my wish list for about a week now
I've read the same info as you on some of the pitfalls w/these repo latches so thats why I'm exploreing other options.
I also found your repair in a thread in a search, I only wish I had read it back when I had that latch out 7 months ago
Chevy put those latches in a hard to get at spot....

The door stays closed and opens/closes pretty good, I know that theres something not right w/the mechanism based on the wear on both the original and repo striker plate I installed. The passenger (right side) striker looks original and isn't worn like the drivers side. The door windlass and other cab sealing rubber is worn and non-existant in some spots as well as all the window rubber is worn away so I figure thats why I get wind noises and alittle rattleing.

I definitely need to order a new stiker plate but I'm hessitant on the other repo parts just yet.

I'm thinking of grinding the sharp tip down on the latch clip that rides over the striker plate to see if helps any. I adjusted the striker plate down as low as it will go but theres a little up/down play in the door so I figure that could be contributing to the wear also.

So I know I'm going to be placing an order for a pr of striker plates (can't buy the left side by itself) soon and I guess I'll be contemplating on whether to order a new latch, window regulator (or just the spring) which hinge pin config to order and some window rubber to better seal and eliminate the window rattleing around in the door..

Thanks
Dave

One thing that I noticed with mine is when the door latch was engaged it didn't hold the door snugly in place, because the teeth were worn on the door latch it allowed things to sag down a bit, everything else down the line could not be adjusted. This fix for me made adjustment and alignment much easier. My door now shuts perfect, when I toss it to close in stays where it should and no sagging. The drivers side of course is always the door that causes the problems. If you have removed and inspected your door latch and its ok, then you will have to keep looking for other clues in the closing system??

Volfandt, the first thing I would suggest is to get your hinge pins right. The reason your striker plate is gouged is due the badly worn latch. This happens to all of them over time as the hinge pins wear out, and the door sags causing excessive contact with the striker plate. After you tighten up your hinge pins, then you will need to address the irregularly worn latch. You may need to weld some metal back on it and grind it to the original shape. Check the welds on the latch, as they often pop loose.

Others have got you covered on the latch issue. Now about that window dropping? Well mine does to. And since it is the driver side and I would expect that cause it is the one that gets used..yep, the spring is tired. I have not tried a new repop spring, so I don't know if they are any good. So let us know what you do to fix it cause lots will want to know. Maybe the fix will be to take a passenger side spring and use it to replace the driver side? If they are not left handed that is.

vickraft, I R&R'ed the latch back when I was motivated last summer to address the droopy handle. Seems it took most of a Sat before I ciphered it out. The square end of the handle rod that fits into the latch was rounded which caused it to droop. To tell you the truth I don't know how it was even working it was so rounded. I built the square end up w/a welder then ground it back square, this fixed that. I really gave the latch a good cleaning and lubed everything while I had it out. It seemed to work fine. One thing I discovered after I re-installed it was that the door lock wouldn't hold. I could work the outside handle enough to get the latch to open. I adjusted the remote inside handle assembly per the manual to no avail, looks like I'm going to pull the latch again and this time I'll know what to look for. That latch has turned into a MAJOR assembly

Carl, funny it seems most of the play is in the lower hinge. I figured I'll have to address those hinges sooner or later. Looks like they need to be addressed in order for the rest of the door to work properly.

Steve, I noticed that the regulator spring is somewhat cheap but from the pics it looks like it could be a beast to R&R. I haven't pulled the panel yet to look closer yet. I also noticed that theres replacement regulator kits available too.
It would be good to hear from folks that have done both to see which is easier, rebuild the original or go w/a repop.

I'm really enjoying driving this old truck on the weekends. It's become my errand runner and even carries me to church when I have to go early on every other Sunday (sans the Mrs ), so I don't want to keep it off line for too long. Hense my poor attempts at pre-planning

So looks like I'm going to place an order for new strikers (can't buy just the left side), the oversize hinge pin(s) w/bushings and pull the door to work on it.
I like the idea of building the latch clip back up w/weld then grinding it back down as it does seem to work properly.

(anyone have a pic on what those latch clips should look like? )

I can also address the lock problem when I have it out again. I believe I'm going to try to rebuild/repair the original instead of ordering a repop to replace it, then go from there. It's not like I'll never have to work on it again

I've already started applying PB Blaster to all the nuts, bolts and screws that I can get at as I'm going to guess many haven't been moved since they were originally installed on the assembly line. Theres one phillips head screw that holds the bottom panel on that my impact screwdriver can't even budge, I may have to drill it out and if so I better order a replacement screw pack....
Dave

I see other members have covered you on the latch issue, but I would like to give you my experience with the door latches on my 1949 3100 series 1/2 ton truck. Purchased new latches from Goodmark Industies. Thought I would beat the odds and get latches that worked. NOT!! Had to return them. Neither of them worked properly. Fopund a set of NOS (new old stock) latches on E-Bay and paid the price. Both of the NOS latches worked beautifully!!

You can see a good picture of the 'latch clip' in the Chevrolet Truck Shop Manual 1948 to 1951 on page 1-15, Fig. 30.
Carl

I purchased a repo drivers side for my 48" door and it works perfect. This one actually had the notches unlike some repos that are smooth. I purchased if from an e-bay vendor CHEVYKENS.