Loose Striker Plate

[Pilotdave]

The striker plate on our roadster's passenger door is loose, making it hard to latch the door. The problem is the female threads in the plate that's inside the door post - they're worn so that one of the screws won't tighten properly.

It appears that access to that plate is via removing the car's interior (seat, package tray, side panels, etc). How large a project is that?

Has anyone thought up a nifty way to temporarily repair the worn threads without removing the interior? One idea is to drill and tap the interior plate for a slightly larger bolt...

Thanks for your suggestions!
Dave

 

[Y-Blockhead]

The striker plate on our roadster's passenger door is loose, making it hard to latch the door. The problem is the female threads in the plate that's inside the door post - they're worn so that one of the screws won't tighten properly.

It appears that access to that plate is via removing the car's interior (seat, package tray, side panels, etc). How large a project is that?

Has anyone thought up a nifty way to temporarily repair the worn threads without removing the interior? One idea is to drill and tap the interior plate for a slightly larger bolt...

Thanks for your suggestions!
Dave

Would a Heli-coil or Time-Sert work for you?

 

[k24556]

take piece of stranded copper wire, strip about 1/2 inch, pound the bare end on your vise with a hammer until all the strands fan out. put that flattened portion in the hole. Start the screw and trim the wire so the strands do not show.

Add or subtract strands until you get the right screw tension.

 

[MAG]

Safety first here. Don't forget to fasten your seat belt. They are installed...right?
The roadster latch design is not the strongest mechanism employed. There has been a lot of "hammering" applied to the latch plate and assembly over the years. Wear is very common to these parts. If the dove tail as well as the rubber bumpers are not in place their lack of support makes the problem worse possibly causing the door to fly open. This is no place for a band-aid repair.
The Heli-Coil as suggested might work but it would be best, as you mentioned, to remove the upholstery and make a proper repair.

 

[Pilotdave]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Certainly some creative ideas there! I will give this some thought - don't need to have that door coming open on the road. We have a "spare" A here so we can avoid driving the Roadster if need be. That said, we discovered this problem while searching for the cause of a hard-to-latch door. It is indeed a never-ending and intriguing process to keep these old girls on the road.