The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1949 Chevy, aftermarket door parts questions.

After a long break from adjusting my doors on my truck, I'm back at it again. This time I'm looking for perfection. My passenger side door is a victim of some damage due to someone in the past closing "something" in the door jamb. I have fixed the cosmetic damage, but of course I'm sure the door is still tweaked some. I purchased aftermarket door hinges (Made in Taiwan) which I am now realizing was a mistake, the lower hinge is good, but the upper had to get modified to achieve the desired adjustment. So far it seems like my door gap project is off to a great start, tomorrow the modified upper hinge will be fitted. Anyone else have any problems with the aftermarket hinges available for our trucks?
I have also purchased aftermarket door latches, which have baffled me right from the start. The latches installed fine but work horribly; the door actually latches too early. When the door is latched I can actually push the door closed tight another ½ inch or so. It appears that the latches are non-adjustable, am I wrong, if so anyone know how to adjust them? Or should I just scrap them and rebuild my old latches?

Jeff, I've never seen a vehicle yet that didn't have at least some adjustment at the striker. Knowing the year & model of your truck would help us help you. As for aftermarket parts it's pretty much a grab bag as to quality. Most are junk IMHO.

What you describe is quite common when the striker is adjusted too tight. Try moving it out a little and see if that helps. As for off shore reproduction parts, I prefer fixing the old ones. I have welded up the worn spot in strikers and put springs in the latching mechanism.

You may have to actually heat and bend the curve of the hinge arm itself. Someone posted the actual GM shop bulletin on here showing how to adjust (bend) the hinge arms to get the door to line properly. I had to do it on my 49' 3600.

After many hours of trial and error, heating and hammering, my passenger side door (The problem door) fit's "ok". My main problem is the door sits too low, and everything is adjusted upward to the max. It opens and closes fine but the body lines are off 3/16 of an inch. Tonight I'm building up my door striker with weld to make the door latch better. I am now going to move to the driver side door which is much better fitting than my passenger side was. I will play with the driver side for a while while I brain storm about how to perfect my passenger side. I made a mistake when purchasing my new door hinges, I didn't need them. I didn't realize I had to bend my hinges so much, I guess you learn as you go along. Thanks for the advice everyone.