Door adjustment
Discussion
Pete,
Fairly easy job.
Feel through the vertical carpet trim just in front of the door for the 'screen roll hoop.
If you ease back the rubber door seal and the carpet from this area you will expose the allen head bolts that fix the door hinges to the roll hoop brackets.
SLACKEN the allen head bolts 'just' enough to allow some movement of the whole door. I'd ease both top and bottom hinges in this manner. Be careful not to let the weight of the door to cause it to drop completely.
You can then 'ease' the door to get the striker to engage in the middle of the lock. I used a bit of thin (1.5/2mm) rubber on the cill area(folded as necessary)to 'pack' the door up to get the alignment. Once your happy with the alignment - top rear of door in line with body work below rear 1/4 window with door shut, then tighten the allen bolts. You need to do this tightening from the inside....working across the centre console from the drivers side. Doing it this way ensures the door stays exactly as you have set it..
Once the allen bolts are fairly well done up, you can try opening the door to check operation. If happy with alignment and operation of locks etc, then really harden up on the allen bolts to get a final fix.
Nick
Fairly easy job.
Feel through the vertical carpet trim just in front of the door for the 'screen roll hoop.
If you ease back the rubber door seal and the carpet from this area you will expose the allen head bolts that fix the door hinges to the roll hoop brackets.
SLACKEN the allen head bolts 'just' enough to allow some movement of the whole door. I'd ease both top and bottom hinges in this manner. Be careful not to let the weight of the door to cause it to drop completely.
You can then 'ease' the door to get the striker to engage in the middle of the lock. I used a bit of thin (1.5/2mm) rubber on the cill area(folded as necessary)to 'pack' the door up to get the alignment. Once your happy with the alignment - top rear of door in line with body work below rear 1/4 window with door shut, then tighten the allen bolts. You need to do this tightening from the inside....working across the centre console from the drivers side. Doing it this way ensures the door stays exactly as you have set it..
Once the allen bolts are fairly well done up, you can try opening the door to check operation. If happy with alignment and operation of locks etc, then really harden up on the allen bolts to get a final fix.
Nick
Has the door dropped, or has the striker pin moved?
The striker pin in the door can move and is simple to unscrew, adjust, and re-tighten. If the door fits well into the appature, don't start messing with the hinges as it'll take you many hours of adjusting and fiddling to make a real mess.... I tried it on a chimaera once and it was a frustrating nightmare..
Paul
The striker pin in the door can move and is simple to unscrew, adjust, and re-tighten. If the door fits well into the appature, don't start messing with the hinges as it'll take you many hours of adjusting and fiddling to make a real mess.... I tried it on a chimaera once and it was a frustrating nightmare..

Paul
The Surveyor said:
Has the door dropped, or has the striker pin moved?
The striker pin in the door can move and is simple to unscrew, adjust, and re-tighten. If the door fits well into the appature, don't start messing with the hinges as it'll take you many hours of adjusting and fiddling to make a real mess.... I tried it on a chimaera once and it was a frustrating nightmare..
Paul
I agree with Paul, that the striker mushroom can move.The striker pin in the door can move and is simple to unscrew, adjust, and re-tighten. If the door fits well into the appature, don't start messing with the hinges as it'll take you many hours of adjusting and fiddling to make a real mess.... I tried it on a chimaera once and it was a frustrating nightmare..

Paul
However, I think the most likely cause of a door going out of adjustment is that the door droops ever so slightly over the years.
If you think about it, there is a big 'lever' effect on the hinges...particularly if folks put their weight on the door whilst entering/exiting car. The striker just screws into the inner metalwork of the door...and I assume would be less likely to move over time, assuming it was properly done up when the car was built.
Have to say, I tried adjusting the striker on my car at first...and started getting rub marks on the cill/door mating surfaces...Thats when I adjusted the hinges as described above. The secret is to undo the allen bolts just enough to allow a bit of movement - don't really slacken them. It worked for me anyway.
Nick
Paul/Nick,
The door fits very well for a TVR. You have to stand at the front (or back) of the car and look along the side to see if it flush fitting vertically as well as horizontally. So it would be a shame to disturb it! (The door on the other side is like a donkeys back leg but it works ok).
When the door is open there is a small amount of vertical play, a couple of millimeters, if you waggle the trailing edge.
The pin on the 'mushroom' is rubbing against the striker plate on its way in/out and leaving a groove on the plate so it is definitely pin clearance from the door frame that is the issue. Due to the angles involved if I lift the door by the aforementioned couple of millimeters I am effectively increasing pin/plate distance by a fraction.
The mushroom appears to have a same size circular packing plate (approx 3mm) behind it which the one on the other side does not. If I could remove that plate it would be a whole new ball game. Does the mushroom just unscrew???
Pete
The door fits very well for a TVR. You have to stand at the front (or back) of the car and look along the side to see if it flush fitting vertically as well as horizontally. So it would be a shame to disturb it! (The door on the other side is like a donkeys back leg but it works ok).
When the door is open there is a small amount of vertical play, a couple of millimeters, if you waggle the trailing edge.
The pin on the 'mushroom' is rubbing against the striker plate on its way in/out and leaving a groove on the plate so it is definitely pin clearance from the door frame that is the issue. Due to the angles involved if I lift the door by the aforementioned couple of millimeters I am effectively increasing pin/plate distance by a fraction.
The mushroom appears to have a same size circular packing plate (approx 3mm) behind it which the one on the other side does not. If I could remove that plate it would be a whole new ball game. Does the mushroom just unscrew???
Pete
scruggs said:
Paul/Nick,
The door fits very well for a TVR. You have to stand at the front (or back) of the car and look along the side to see if it flush fitting vertically as well as horizontally. So it would be a shame to disturb it! (The door on the other side is like a donkeys back leg but it works ok).
When the door is open there is a small amount of vertical play, a couple of millimeters, if you waggle the trailing edge.
The pin on the 'mushroom' is rubbing against the striker plate on its way in/out and leaving a groove on the plate so it is definitely pin clearance from the door frame that is the issue. Due to the angles involved if I lift the door by the aforementioned couple of millimeters I am effectively increasing pin/plate distance by a fraction.
The mushroom appears to have a same size circular packing plate (approx 3mm) behind it which the one on the other side does not. If I could remove that plate it would be a whole new ball game. Does the mushroom just unscrew???
Pete
Pete,The door fits very well for a TVR. You have to stand at the front (or back) of the car and look along the side to see if it flush fitting vertically as well as horizontally. So it would be a shame to disturb it! (The door on the other side is like a donkeys back leg but it works ok).
When the door is open there is a small amount of vertical play, a couple of millimeters, if you waggle the trailing edge.
The pin on the 'mushroom' is rubbing against the striker plate on its way in/out and leaving a groove on the plate so it is definitely pin clearance from the door frame that is the issue. Due to the angles involved if I lift the door by the aforementioned couple of millimeters I am effectively increasing pin/plate distance by a fraction.
The mushroom appears to have a same size circular packing plate (approx 3mm) behind it which the one on the other side does not. If I could remove that plate it would be a whole new ball game. Does the mushroom just unscrew???
Pete
The witness marks were the indication that my door was not quite right.
The marking was on the lower edge of the GRP in the 'mouth' to the lock under the stainless cover plate. Because, initially I altered the mushroom, this allowed the door to drop a fraction more (with the small vertical play you mention above) and with small vibrations on the move, caused more rubbing on the cill/door interface.
The mushroom screws into a captive nut welded into the door side impact 'frame' within the door moulding. So you can unscrew it completely BUT MARK POSITION FIRST, and remove washer/packing...If that is the critical 'distance'.
Nick
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