How would you fix this striker?

[Tacfire11]

When I bought the 68', the Driver's door had been hit hard. Hard to believe the glass was still in one piece, but the impact ripped out the striker pin. So the body's shop idea of a repair was this





So I was wondering, what would be the best way to approach fixing this?

Thanks

[SleeperScamp]

Cut a square out around it put in a new " patch " grind down the welds .... ????

[Tacfire11]

Sorry, should have mentioned, the door closed and operates fine. also here's what she looked like with the old door one, and the new door.

After the hit:



New Door:

[SleeperScamp]

Did your body shop do that????

[Tacfire11]

Do I hung the new Door

[Tacfire11]

Sorry, my keyboard stuck.... No, I hung the new door . I finally got an angle grinder, so that Jamb is my next major task to tackle.

[SleeperScamp]

Originally Posted by Tacfire11

Do I hung the new Door

? I meant the striker...

[SleeperScamp]

Oh.... The hung door looks fine , but I would never go back to a body man that fixed that striker...

[Tacfire11]

yeah, I'm assuming a Body shop did it. The guy I bought the car off of wasn't sure how the repair was done. The Welds are pretty Crappy though

[pushrod]

remove the striker, grind down the welds and weld in a 1/8 or 1/4 inch steel plate behind the area. will prevent further damage.

[F&J]

That damage was not from an accident. It is a design defect as many have cracked right around the big washer.

You also can't put a plate in behind, as there is a sheetmetal box inside to hold a captured nut. It all has to move around a little to be able to adjust the striker.

Cut it out & start over.

[70Duster440]

I agree on a combination of suggestions already mentioned. I did this repair on mine and when finished right, it's invisible and looks stock.

1) Drill out the spot welds that hold the retainer and flat nut in place on the inside of the jamb - if it's still there. (You'll have to remove the interior panel so you have access).

2) Cut a square hole in the jamb with a cutoff wheel, removing just the mess that's there. From here on out there's no one way to do it. This is just one way.

3) Cut a square of thick sheetmetal larger than your hole. Use a few sheet metal screws from the outside around the hole to hold this piece in place on the inside of the quarter. You're going to plug weld these screw holes shut later. This will be easier than trying to get a welder inside the quarter later.

4) Now, cut another piece of sheetmetal the same size as the hole you cut. Trim it to fit flat and flush - with maybe a 1/32" to 1/16" gap around the perimeter for the weld to penetrate (butt weld). The larger reinforcing piece you put in earlier will keep the patch from falling through into the quarter and hold it flush. You can use a couple of sheetmetal screws to hold it to the backing piece if you want.

5) Weld the perimeter of your patch. Begin removing sheet metal screws and plug weld the holes. This will join the layers together.

6) Take measurements drill a hole through both layers for your striker. A step drill works great.

7) Position the nut retainer so the nut can "float" within the hole you drilled. Tack weld the retainer in place. You could also drill small holes through all 3 layers and plug it.

8) Grind your welds smooth and finish with filler as necessary.

[Tacfire11]

Thanks for the detailed repair info... I have the old Door, would the Door Skin make a good donor patch for this repair.

[70Duster440]

Originally Posted by Tacfire11

Thanks for the detailed repair info... I have the old Door, would the Door Skin make a good donor patch for this repair.

yes