41 Commercial PU question

[41 Ford PU]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to mount the doors on a 41 PU?
Mine are extremely hard to close without slamming them shut. Not a good
idea if you ask me.
I think it is simply a matter of adjusting them.

Mike

[Karl Wescott]

Lets try this laundry list... others may step in with additional or better ideas.


1. Are hinges working freely? Remove door from cab and check. Might as well remove the hinge pins and inspect, clean, and lubricate them.


2. Are hinges on each door on a common pin axis? If not they could be binding. You will need a length of hardened steel drill rod of the hinge pin diameter. Stock is 9/32", I purchased mine from McMaster-Carr. Carpenters pins are about .005 oversize.


3. Is there interference with the door to seals, or upholstery, or latch, or dovetail? Remove said parts, re-install door and make sure it swings freely and closes without resistance. If not re-check the pin axis (did mounting the hinges cause a misalignment?) and adjust (bend) hinges so there are no pinch points and door fits cab properly.


4. Now reinstall (one at a time) the seals, upholstery, latch, and dovetail checking for interference as you re-install each one.


5. Check for a loose bolt in the pickup bed (in joke... I am thinking of you Gary!)

[41 Ford PU]

Thanks for the thoughts Karl.

Everything about the doors works just fine.
They swing open and close freely.
The issue is the actual latching of them.
There is a double latch. The first catch is ok.
It is the second and final catch that is the problem.
That is when I have to "slam" the door to get it to latch solid.
It seems like the door insulation is causing the issue, but I'm not sure.
Either that, or the door needs to be "tweaked" outward at the hinges
in order for the back of the door to catch fully.

I'm just not sure.

Mike

[Seth Swoboda]

The striker (for lack of the actual part # and name) is adjustable. Loosen the two screws and adjust in or out as needed. See how that goes.

[nelsb01]

If you have recently replaced the weather striping around the door, be advised that the reproduction material is slightly bigger than the original. And for that reason, doors that used to close properly, are harder to close once the new reproduction material is in place.
Suggestion would be to keep the doors closed and 're-mold' the weather striping using the door pressure against it. This may take some time, but it is easier than messing with door hinges and latches.
Of course, if you did not replace the weather striping ---

[41 Ford PU]

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Well, I had typed a reply, but by the time I went and sent it, I had timed out of the web site.

I'm not going to try and retype what I had. I'll simply say that I'll try the "re-mold" scenario that nelsb01 suggested and see how that goes. Do you have any idea on how long it might take to "re-mold" the weather stripping?

Seth: The latches do not appear to have any adjustability in them. I'll look at them, but if I can and do adjust them, I'm afraid that I'll lose my actual sealing ability. If the "re-mold" doesn't work, I'll try your suggestion.

Thanks to all
Mike

[Karl Wescott]

The door striker plates are on the body. They attach to a "nut plate", with oversized holes in the latch post itself. loosening the screws should give you a little wiggle room to adjust the striker. (Thanks Seth... I forgot that step).

[41 Ford PU]

Thanks for the heads up Karl.

I'll try the "re-mold" for a bit while I look at some other issues.
If that doesn't do it, I'll try moving the striker plate a little bit and
see how that helps.

Mike

[Seth Swoboda]

Originally Posted by Karl Wescott

The door striker plates are on the body. They attach to a "nut plate", with oversized holes in the latch post itself. loosening the screws should give you a little wiggle room to adjust the striker. (Thanks Seth... I forgot that step).

The passenger door on my '37 got hard to close recently. When I investigated, the striker plate was loose. I adjusted it accordingly, tightened it up and all was well.

[ActionYobbo]

On my 39 1 ton the doors were stiff to close on the last 3 inches (had to slam them shut). I took the latch out and the door had spring back so it wanted to stay open 3 to 4 inches. I figured out it was binding at the front bottom corner so after some reshaping of that section of the inner door they both shut with ease and the bottom seal makes good contact.

Things I did
Shim the hinges so the body lines line up and door gaps are mostly equal as they can be.
Adjust the dovetails so they line up
Reshape the bottom front edge of the inner door to eliminate binding.

[TJ]

I would also remove the latch from the door and make sure it has plenty of grease and check to see it moves freely. Those larches are tough to find and you don't want one to break.

[fordyford]

Any sponge rubber weatherstrip you try will cause the door to close hard because when new these trucks HAD NO WEATHERSTRIP around the front, top, or rear. They only used the upholstery wind lace. A rubber seal went across the bottom only.

[Mart]

When dealing with door fit problems you need to remove the door striker plate and the alignment wedges if fitted. See how the door shuts. It should just fit into the aperture without touching anywhere and go further inboard than where it would normally fit. if it stops short and you have to force it shut you have something fouling. Carefully inspect everything and locate the interference. Remedy it which normally involves bending, hitting with a hammer or twisting. The hinges themselves might need bending, either by clamping together and pulling the door open or putting something in between the hinges and pushing the door shut.
I had this problem on my 1955 Anglia and it was the area where the check strap attaches. It had been pulled out of shape and needed to be knocked back into place.

I showed it in one of my videos but can't find which one.

Mart.

[41 Ford PU]

Fordyford: If there were no weatherstripping seals except for the bottom, how did one keep the wind from whistling thru the cab?
Also, is there any welting around the hood? I have rubber bumpers on each side and welting on each side as well. You can't keep the bumpers from bunching up the welting. When it is closed and "right" the welting looks nice, but closing it is a pain.

Mike

[41 Ford PU]

I didn't know the term was Wind Lace. That is what I was referring to as welting.
Now I can do a search on Wind Lace and see what comes up.
Thanks fordyford.

[38bill]

A little grease on the striker and latch makes a huge difference on my '38.

[fordyford]

No welting on hood sides, just rubber bumpers.

[Floyd]

When all else fails, try the smallest amount of lube on the dovetail. Ask me how I know.

[Mart]

Originally Posted by Mart

When dealing with door fit problems you need to remove the door striker plate and the alignment wedges if fitted. See how the door shuts. It should just fit into the aperture without touching anywhere and go further inboard than where it would normally fit. if it stops short and you have to force it shut you have something fouling. Carefully inspect everything and locate the interference. Remedy it which normally involves bending, hitting with a hammer or twisting. The hinges themselves might need bending, either by clamping together and pulling the door open or putting something in between the hinges and pushing the door shut.
I had this problem on my 1955 Anglia and it was the area where the check strap attaches. It had been pulled out of shape and needed to be knocked back into place.

I showed it in one of my videos but can't find which one.

Mart.

I found the video. It might help, it might not, but it might give you some ideas.

https://youtu.be/HHtP6C45_Dc?si=bGsnlt5WCWqfC5mJ

I start messing with the door at around the 29 minute mark.

Mart.

[41 Ford PU]

Mart: I think my problem is that I don't have the proper windlace on the doors.
The PO put in some sort of rubber strips inside the door area and everything is binding on that. Either I have to remove it and put in the correct windlace, or change it to something more pliable, like a tubing that will collapse when the door is closed. The windlace is my first chose.

Floyd & 38bill: I'll put a dab of lube on the dovetail and latch are just to help things out.

fordyford: So, I have rubber buttons on the hood and the welting on the fenders. Do I assume that the rubber buttons are correct? If so, where do I cutoff the fender welting. It goes all the way from the floorboard between the body and the fender forward along the hood. Then down between the fender and the radiator grille. One continuous run.

Mike