47-55.1 Driver's side door adjustment? Or Altman Latch adjustment

[Chris(NJ)]

Ok, I just spent a few hours today on the driver's side door. I wanted a better closing door. I think everything went smooth. They're kinda hard to screw up, right?! Door plate is bolted on. Striker plate is bolted on. Not even close to letting the door close though. Seems like it's off by about 1/2" up/down, at least. I thought my door gaps were pretty good too. Without the striker plate installed, the door shuts fine. What do you guys think? Here's a bunch of pics to help better explain where I'm at......

[Chris(NJ)]

And a few more of the door gaps....

[Chris(NJ)]

And if everything looks good to you guys, do you think my best option is to simply drill a hole in the striker plate to lower the strike bolt (or whatever that part is technically called)?

[ndeep]

is it possible you have the striker plates reversed [ on wrong side] ?

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by ndeep

is it possible you have the striker plates reversed [ on wrong side] ?

I thought so too, but unfortunately not. I swapped them just to double check myself and the other one places the striker bolt WAYYYY too low. Like 1"+. I remeasured and it appears as though I'm 1/4-1/3" off, not 1/2 like I originally guesstimated.

I've never worked on door gaps and not sure I want to start lol. I honestly thought these were pretty good, but I guess it does hang a little low on the back side.

My thoughts for an easy(?) solution is to swap striker plates. If I use the passenger side plate on the driver side, the pre-drilled bolt hole will be at the bottom like I mentioned. That gives me a large area to drill a new hole up top without compromising the original hole as it was designed. This also lets me swap plates again in the future back to the original side if I ever get the doors where they should.

That make sense? Or do you guys think thats a dumb idea and I should bring it to a body shop to see if they can dial in the door gaps.

[Tempest67]

I had the same problem when I did mine.

I don't know if this was the right thing to do, but I drilled a new hole in the striker plate......figured no one will see it............unless they are looking for it.

[oldstrk]

You should have some adjustment on the striker plate side if they are topped out can you make make more room on the slots where they bolt on

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

I had the same problem when I did mine.

I don't know if this was the right thing to do, but I drilled a new hole in the striker plate......figured no one will see it............unless they are looking for it.

I tried adjusting the door, but it's not gonna happen. Well. I got it to latch but I now have a door gap the size of the grand canyon. So it obviously can't stay this way. But it was good enough to be able to go get gas in it this afternoon.

Any problems since drilling a new hole in your plate? Because at this point, my options seem to be to have a body shop do work on the door w/ maybe new hinges or flip the plates around and drill a new hole.

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by oldstrk

You should have some adjustment on the striker plate side if they are topped out can you make make more room on the slots where they bolt on

Nope. And a lot of these bolt holes already seemed to have been oblonged by a previous owner. So things seem to be on borrowed time as it is.

[b-mac]

Nothing seems to fit perfectly on these trucks.

I used one of these:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Drill-Am...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

to "stretch" the holes in the part of the door hinge that slides inside the door. Allowed me to get my gaps right.

[Chris(NJ)]

So here's what I did. I adjusted my door back to where everything lines up. I honestly do not believe this door can get any better alignment.

I took some measurements, made some marks and then removed the strike plate from the driver's side. I took the passenger strike plate, turned it upside down so it fits on the driver side, bolted it in and made my mark to drill a new strike bolt hole. I should've done this from the start. I dropped the hole down 1/3" of an inch from where the original hole would've been. As you can see, the original hole is below the strike bolt in this picture. And if I ever want to use this plate on the passenger side all I need to do is unscrew it, put the strike bolt in the other hole and swap sides.


I think I nailed the alignment. As you can see, the strike bolt is hitting dead center of the latch. (I did the best I could w/ this picture....)


I made a little extra room for the bar that connects the interior door handle to the latch. Cut the outer section of the door skin and folded down the inner door skin. If I was really meticulous, I'd consider sealing that gap, but I'm not that anal.


Now all I have to do is remove the latch mechanism to trim the window track in order to finalize this. Here's a vid of it closing. Don't mind the rattling. Still a lot of loose stuff in the door (window regulator, track, etc.).
https://youtu.be/nFR8Btt4ChA

[Tempest67]

looks good. wish I had done what you did, as the hole that I drilled, is just below the original hole and does not look as good as yours. (looks like a mistake)


also, when I attached the 'release' bar to the latch, and then positioned it to the actuator on the door, it did not follow the horizontal indent in the panel. (went up at an angle)

So I cut an angle in the bar, welded it level, and flipped the actuator up side down. Now the bar sits level, and rests in the indented part of the door.


I looked at your pic, and it appears that your bar was already level with the actuator? Yes?


Hope that makes sense, I will get some pics later.


Nice job on flipping the striker plate, the other hole now looks like it is not a mistake.

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

looks good. wish I had done what you did, as the hole that I drilled, is just below the original hole and does not look as good as yours. (looks like a mistake)


also, when I attached the 'release' bar to the latch, and then positioned it to the actuator on the door, it did not follow the horizontal indent in the panel. (went up at an angle)

So I cut an angle in the bar, welded it level, and flipped the actuator up side down. Now the bar sits level, and rests in the indented part of the door.


I looked at your pic, and it appears that your bar was already level with the actuator? Yes?


Hope that makes sense, I will get some pics later.


Nice job on flipping the striker plate, the other hole now looks like it is not a mistake.

Thanks! I took a lot of measurements in the hopes of getting it right on the first shot.

Yes, my driver side door had the release bar on a level angle. That red paint you see must've been the color before a previous owner sprayed the truck black (with all parts assembled). So that is the silhouette of the original angle.
If I remember right, my passenger side door has the release bar at an angle. So I'm curious to see the pics of how you changed it up. But I haven't started that door yet. I still need to take this latch back out and figure out how to cut the window track so I can release the latch with the inside handle. I think it's hitting the window track and not allowing the bar to travel far enough to release it.

[Chris(NJ)]

Btw, how do you guys get that window run channel out? I'm looking at some pics online and it appears to have a screw at the top, but looking at pics of my door, I don't see where the top screw would be. I have the bottom 2, and I loosened those when I had to take out the original latch mechanism, but I never saw a top one. I remember looking for one. Going by memory, It almost looked like it was riveted in place. I need to look at that again when I get home today.

[joedoh]

if it is old and rotted, just pull. the channel will tear around the rivet or screw and you will be able to remove it after

yours looks recent, so look again for screws in the channel, mine are usually right at the lowest part of the window opening, with another on top sometimes.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Chris(NJ)

Btw, how do you guys get that window run channel out? I'm looking at some pics online and it appears to have a screw at the top, but looking at pics of my door, I don't see where the top screw would be. I have the bottom 2, and I loosened those when I had to take out the original latch mechanism, but I never saw a top one. I remember looking for one. Going by memory, It almost looked like it was riveted in place. I need to look at that again when I get home today.

Most people grind the window channel tab prior to bolting in the latch plate onto the door. You can gain access from the large hole cut in your door. On mine there are only 2 exterior screws that hold the channel in. I did not have anything at the top. Looks good. I installed Altman latches but I have not fully assembled them as my doors are still off.

Marc

[Jemezcrusher]

Good solution to the same problem I am having with my Altman latches. I think they need a bit more adjustability. My “pins” are too high when the door is perfectly aligned. I think it needs to come down 1/8 to 3/16. I considered taking some material off of the bottom of the two little thread bars that go in to the area behind the plate letting the plate go down a little. If that does not give me enough movement down I will look at your solution. I guess I can look at current fitment and figure out how much it needs to go down, swap them side to side and put new holes in. Thanks for the tip

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

Most people grind the window channel tab prior to bolting in the latch plate onto the door. You can gain access from the large hole cut in your door. On mine there are only 2 exterior screws that hold the channel in. I did not have anything at the top. Looks good. I installed Altman latches but I have not fully assembled them as my doors are still off.

Marc

I'm an idiot sometimes lol. I didn't realize the screw is actually on the INSIDE of the door for the upper one I looked on the outside thinking it'd be the same as the lower 2.

Originally Posted by Jemezcrusher

Good solution to the same problem I am having with my Altman latches. I think they need a bit more adjustability. My “pins” are too high when the door is perfectly aligned. I think it needs to come down 1/8 to 3/16. I considered taking some material off of the bottom of the two little thread bars that go in to the area behind the plate letting the plate go down a little. If that does not give me enough movement down I will look at your solution. I guess I can look at current fitment and figure out how much it needs to go down, swap them side to side and put new holes in. Thanks for the tip

That's less than what mine needed. I had to come down ~5/16. Your hinges might be in better shape than mine. But either way, I agree....Altman should have a different design on the strike plate. Even something like a swiss-cheese-plate to give plenty of options for mounting locations of the strike bolt would be nice.
Oh, and the only thing I can think of for your solution that might not work is because the double nut for the screws rests on a ledge in there. Not sure if opening up the holes will do much if you don't cut out that holder. Thats part of the reason I chose to drill a new hole.
Let us know what method you use and how it turns out! Good luck

[Jemezcrusher]

I thought if I took an 1/8” off the double threaded plate I would have to open up the little access holes too just a bit. I will look at it but never thought to swap sides with holes in the right spots.

We should send this thread to Altman

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by Jemezcrusher

I thought if I took an 1/8” off the double threaded plate I would have to open up the little access holes too just a bit. I will look at it but never thought to swap sides with holes in the right spots.

We should send this thread to Altman

I would think cutting 1/8" off the bottom of that plate would be tough. Harder than drilling a hole, at least lol. I tried getting a response from them on IG about some strike plate ideas but it fell on deaf ears

[flyingdet444]

When I put the same latches in my '49, I had a latching problem and tried everything. The only thing i did not try was loosen the bolts to the rear body mounts inside the cab. It seemed as though the back of the cab was pulled down compared to the front, when I loosen them the door latched fine. Just food for thought.

[Tempest67]

Chris, here are 2 pics of how I changed the angle of the latch rod.

In the second pic, the close up, you can see where I did not completely grind away the weld. I put a pie cut into the rod, don't cut it all the way through, and simply bent it til in fits into the indent in the door panel, then I welded it at the correct angle

The first pic shows it attached to the latch mechanism.

Hope this helps

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

Chris, here are 2 pics of how I changed the angle of the latch rod.

In the second pic, the close up, you can see where I did not completely grind away the weld. I put a pie cut into the rod, don't cut it all the way through, and simply bent it til in fits into the indent in the door panel, then I welded it at the correct angle

The first pic shows it attached to the latch mechanism.

Hope this helps

nice work!

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by flyingdet444

When I put the same latches in my '49, I had a latching problem and tried everything. The only thing i did not try was loosen the bolts to the rear body mounts inside the cab. It seemed as though the back of the cab was pulled down compared to the front, when I loosen them the door latched fine. Just food for thought.

interesting. did it actually lower the strike-bolt location? Or you think it was just tension from the cab/door alignment?

[Chris(NJ)]

Got the passenger side all done. It required a little more adjustment of the location of the latch on the door than the driver's side, but wound up coming out even better imo. Same deal w/ the strike plate/bolt. I used the one intended for the driver's side, flipped it, drilled a new hole and it's perfect now.

I just painted the driver's side to blend in a little better. Sanded it down, hit it with 2 coats of primer, wet-sanded, then 2 coats of a flat black trim paint. Perfect. I'll paint the strike plates and the passenger side now.