I have a 53 GMC five window that I bought as a basket case a few years ago. Got it mostly done now but doors are hard to close. Don't know if the door latches are even on correctly or if they are the right ones. They came with the truck but that doesn't mean anything. There have been a ton of things that were for the wrong year/model fit onto it and I had to change out. If anyone knows if these are the correct latches or maybe if they are on wrong or something, it would be great. I have included a picture of the latch on the drivers door...
These strikers are different, as they should be, than those on my '50 and '51 Chevys. Having said that, I think you should have flat screws (on mine they are clutch head) rather than hex bolts. Perhaps they are hitting on the door when it closes. In addition to condition of the strikers and latches, be sure your door hinge pins are not worn. This will cause the door to droop and clank against the striker. To diagnose that problem, with the door open try picking up the door from the bottom. If it moves up with your effort the hinges are worn.You can get oversize hinge pins from the vendors such as Jim Carter.
** The door jam striker plate in your picture is the same as what is on my 53 Suburban. Most of the after marker vendors will show a different striker plate for a 53. I tried them but they will not work. So I reinstalled the orig. ones that came on the Suburban. I am nearly positive they are the ones that it left the factory with in 1953. Both doors will close and latch with very little effort. I also have a 52 five window 3100 that have the same strikers and both doors close and latch great. When you try to adjust your doors I found it to work a lot better if you adjust the gap in the door and then start with the striker adjustment. Start with the striker plate nearly all the way out {{away from the cab} and move it in very little at a time until you get what your looking for. At least that is what worked for me.
To add to what Marzach recommends, I will suggest that you adjust the doors to the opening without the strikers on the cab. Adjust the doors so that the beltline on the door matches the beltline on the cab, front and back. Once the beltlines match up, you can then put the strikers on. I also cannot stress enough the importance of sound and tight hinges. If the hinge pins have not been replaced, there is a 110% chance that they need to be. Nobody oiled those ever it seems. Carl
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
Carl is absolutely correct about the door hinges. If they are not pretty tight you may be barking up the wrong tree trying to adjust the doors. I failed to mention that I rebuilt all four before starting the door adjustment process.
I checked the door hinges a while back. I had problems with hinges on another project so, I thought to check that. There is no movement in the doors, the hinges seem real good. I also checked the sides of the doors for marks that might indicate that the bolts were hitting somewhere. didn't see anything but, if they should be flat head screws I will change them regardless.
The body lines seems to be fairly close. The body line above the door handle matches up with the one on the corner of the cab.They were way out of whack when I got the truck back in 2006 but, when I redone it I adjusted them as close as I could get and they don't look bad. I will go over them again to be sure.
Are there shims that should go behind the latch ? Seems as though mine are right tight against the cab. That could be the problem.. it almost seems as if the doors aren't going in far enough but, when they are closed, they line up nice and flush on the outside.
When I close the doors, I have to shut real hard and apply lots of push to the door handle to get to latch. I also thought it might be a problem with the weather strip on the doors. Could be to big, I don't know, don't have anything to compare them to. Dave
** Dave ** There should be a serrated adjustment plate behind each of the screws that hold the strikers to the door jam. They allow you to make very minor adjustments. I doubt if one could ever get the doors adjusted without them. **
I'm surprised nobody commented about the potential of the weatherstriping being a problem too. If my memory serves, I've seen a couple different thicknesses, and also mention of different levels of stiffness being a problem.
My doors are also very difficult to get latched (1949) and from what I've read, I suspect it's because I have the wrong weatherstripping, installed by the previous owner.
** After reading a lot of posted comments about door seals before purchasing door seals I did as a number of the post advised and purchased the seals from Steele Rubber. Had no trouble installing or function after installation. But there was quite a difference in price as compared to most of the vendors. Cost is much more. I would highly suspect the seals could be a big problem getting the doors to close and latch properly if not the correct seals.
I haven't taken the latches right off, but I will...
I am also wondering if the proper door seals are on it.There was no seals on the doors when I got the truck so I ordered them for my supplier but, they could still be the wrong ones. I guess they could be to thick to let the door shut correctly. I didn't realize there was a possibility of getting two different thicknesses. I just assumed when I ordered for the year and model that there was only one to fit. I will look into Steele Rubber and see if they will ship to me. Thanks again everyone !
I haven't taken the latches right off, but I will...I will change the screws too !
I am also wondering if the proper door seals are on it.There was no seals on the doors when I got the truck so I ordered them for my supplier but, they could still be the wrong ones. I guess they could be to thick to let the door shut correctly. I didn't realize there was a possibility of getting two different thicknesses. I just assumed when I ordered for the year and model that there was only one to fit. I will look into Steele Rubber and see if they will ship to me. Thanks again everyone !
