400A-64
Senior Member
Does any one have a method of reparing the very early built in door post striker assembly??
Bruce Davis a400usa@nccn.net or 160abc@nccn.net
Bruce Davis a400usa@nccn.net or 160abc@nccn.net
Sw Sedan door post striker repair
- Thread starter 400A-64
- Start date
Kevin in NJ
Well-known member
Give A&L a call. They have the parts and a couple of years ago the son(?) did a slant and learned how his parts have to work together.
I believe it is spot welded to the back side and you will have to take the shell off. If you have original springs I suggest you reuse them. Do not buy the kits from the dealers, but direct from A&L as some kits that are old may have the wrong (too stiff to function) springs.
The key is to know that the sliders must move easily with moderate finder pressure. If the rebuilt sliders are hard to move with your finger then they will damage your door male dovetail and the do will not shut properly.
I believe it is spot welded to the back side and you will have to take the shell off. If you have original springs I suggest you reuse them. Do not buy the kits from the dealers, but direct from A&L as some kits that are old may have the wrong (too stiff to function) springs.
The key is to know that the sliders must move easily with moderate finder pressure. If the rebuilt sliders are hard to move with your finger then they will damage your door male dovetail and the do will not shut properly.
Doug in NJ
Well-known member
Do you mean the dovetail assembly?
I believe the "striker" is the part that sticks out of the door to actually hold it shut, that the handle pulls back to allow you to open it.
Doug
400A-64
Senior Member
Doug, you are correct....it is the dovetail assembly.a point of interest...My 160-C as near as I can tell is a May or June production with a flat firewall.... My A-400 is also a May production with a flat firewall..however the A-400 has the external dovetail -4screw style. I wish the 160-C had it too!!
Bruce Davis a400usa@nccn.net or 160abc@nccn.net
Bill Underwood
Senior Member
Those are not fun but are fixable. As Kevin says you have to take them apart from the backside. The front is usually a knarled up so you have to weld and finish that. The springs and metal pieces usually are shot, too.
You can use the repo pieces but you have to cut down the backs and mill a slot on the sides to allow them to ride on the original pins.
Not bad if you've ever done one but first out of the shute os perplexing!
BU
You can use the repo pieces but you have to cut down the backs and mill a slot on the sides to allow them to ride on the original pins.
Not bad if you've ever done one but first out of the shute os perplexing!
BU
Kevin in NJ
Well-known member
Some added details not relating to the 160 bodies.
The 400A and 68C dovetails are the screw in kind. The repros have a few faults.
The are 2 on the market (at least a few years ago when I fixed mine) one is the A&L and I believe Bert's is the other.
Both suffer from being too thick, that is when put on the flat metal face the overturned 3 edges stick out higher then the factory one. Easily fixed on a milling machine. The reason why they are too thick is in how they made the part. It looks like they stamped the part out to the right size then stamped the ends over. So if you can imagine the edges now at funny angles. The factory unit had its edges made flat so the full face of the metal was contacting the face of the door jamb.
The one I got from Bert's had the back metal shell made wrong and was not workable. I reused the originals. The face part of the Bert's part was super good other then being too thick.
A&L just was coming out with theirs when I got done with mine. Both dovetails used too strong a spring at first. I know A&L corrected that more recently. I do not know about the Bert's unit.
I used sliders (the pot metal parts) from a later Ford. You cut off the tail and grind a slot in the side. I believe A&L makes exact copies now. The sliders from Bert's were not so good.
Please keep in mind my comments are all based on what I got sent a like 5 or 6 years ago. These issues may have been corrected since. So please ask questions about the parts you are going to buy. It is important to know that the dovetails must move the full length of travel with moderate single finger pressure for the dovetail to work.
I mentioned to A&L that their springs were wrong at Hershey. They did not believe me- at first. About 3 years ago I was talking to them and they had restored a 160 and found the door would not shut using the springs they supplied. He remembered someone making a comment and changed the springs and found the door worked.
A&L makes the male side of the dovetail and I believe it is about right on as you could get. The screws are the modern stainless oval heads and are too thick a head. This is easily fixed with a file by putting the screw in the drill and reshaping the head. Then work to fine grit sand paper and buff.
Final disclaimer. I am in not way saying Bert's makes bad products. I purchased one set of dovetails from them and this is what I found. I was happy to get something that let me fix my horribly worn dovetails. I write the above information so that all the readers have the information they need to get a product that will solve a serious issue. Either unit can be used to fix your car with equal success.
Bert's is a very high quality shop and I highly recommend doing business with them.
The 400A and 68C dovetails are the screw in kind. The repros have a few faults.
The are 2 on the market (at least a few years ago when I fixed mine) one is the A&L and I believe Bert's is the other.
Both suffer from being too thick, that is when put on the flat metal face the overturned 3 edges stick out higher then the factory one. Easily fixed on a milling machine. The reason why they are too thick is in how they made the part. It looks like they stamped the part out to the right size then stamped the ends over. So if you can imagine the edges now at funny angles. The factory unit had its edges made flat so the full face of the metal was contacting the face of the door jamb.
The one I got from Bert's had the back metal shell made wrong and was not workable. I reused the originals. The face part of the Bert's part was super good other then being too thick.
A&L just was coming out with theirs when I got done with mine. Both dovetails used too strong a spring at first. I know A&L corrected that more recently. I do not know about the Bert's unit.
I used sliders (the pot metal parts) from a later Ford. You cut off the tail and grind a slot in the side. I believe A&L makes exact copies now. The sliders from Bert's were not so good.
Please keep in mind my comments are all based on what I got sent a like 5 or 6 years ago. These issues may have been corrected since. So please ask questions about the parts you are going to buy. It is important to know that the dovetails must move the full length of travel with moderate single finger pressure for the dovetail to work.
I mentioned to A&L that their springs were wrong at Hershey. They did not believe me- at first. About 3 years ago I was talking to them and they had restored a 160 and found the door would not shut using the springs they supplied. He remembered someone making a comment and changed the springs and found the door worked.
A&L makes the male side of the dovetail and I believe it is about right on as you could get. The screws are the modern stainless oval heads and are too thick a head. This is easily fixed with a file by putting the screw in the drill and reshaping the head. Then work to fine grit sand paper and buff.
Final disclaimer. I am in not way saying Bert's makes bad products. I purchased one set of dovetails from them and this is what I found. I was happy to get something that let me fix my horribly worn dovetails. I write the above information so that all the readers have the information they need to get a product that will solve a serious issue. Either unit can be used to fix your car with equal success.
Bert's is a very high quality shop and I highly recommend doing business with them.
Doug in NJ
Well-known member
In the last couple of years I bought two S/W style dovetails and two sets of sliders from different vendors at different times. One slider came with screws whose heads were too big. They don't look obviously wrong, but the heads stuck out a bit too far, and gouged my nice new paint on the door post. The other dovetail (from A&L, I think) had the correct small-head screws. The screw heads should not protrude above the dovetail surface.
One set of sliders was a very good reproduction of the original, but the other was not so well-made, they sort of looked like the mold did not fill completely. Both sets had springs that were too long and stiff, but fortunately my original springs were all OK. The attached photo shows the repro and original springs and sliders.
My car has the built-in dovetail sockets, and fortunately they were all in excellent shape and needed no repairs.
One set of sliders was a very good reproduction of the original, but the other was not so well-made, they sort of looked like the mold did not fill completely. Both sets had springs that were too long and stiff, but fortunately my original springs were all OK. The attached photo shows the repro and original springs and sliders.
My car has the built-in dovetail sockets, and fortunately they were all in excellent shape and needed no repairs.
Attachments
400A-64
Senior Member
Hi Fellas...an up-date....I sprayed the internals with PB Blaster and let it set over night. The parts came out fairly easy. The original springs APPEAR to be OK. I have ordered replacement parts from A&L. The interior of the dove tail opening are in excellent shape. The spring post in the rear and the short ledge in the front are in great shape!! I LUCKED OUT!! Thanks for the great info it saved me alot of time..
Bruce Davis
Bruce Davis