Projects Replacing the door striker plate, what's the secret?

I had ordered a Replacement drivers side door striker plate last week to replace the broken one and really didn't think about it when I drove the '50 around the block over the weekend but I took it out again this afternoon and the drivers side door flew open rounding a corner, believe me that can make the old sphincter muscle take a bite out of the seat trying to hold on!



It's a pretty simple piece but I have adjusted it up, down,sideways and backwards I've used all the shims and none of them and I can get the door to latch but the door is not flush with the body.



These are basically the same strikers used on the wagon and I never had a problem with them.

Any ideas on a solution would be appreciated. HRP

 

You are one lucky SOB my friend!! Jeez, !

 

Scary Danny. Glad nothing more horrifying took place.

 

That seems to be a very common thing on those 49-54 Fords. You get used to it!

 

Good seat belts will fix that.

 

If I wrap them around the door! HRP

 

Remember if you push that latch further in , it don't make the second click as easy. That second click is the safety.

 

seems to be par for ford repop latches ;

 

is the latch working like it should? There is more than one thing that can go wrong....and we can't see what condition the latch is in.

 

My '55 F100 is no stranger to that one...finally scored a new old stock latch ass'y!
Bought a chrome bumper from a young gent, (reasonable!) and gave him asking price. He said, "By the way, could you use this? Bought it, never used it. Yours for the taking."

My '56 Ford convert had a 'slam it hard' drivers door...I was 18, could 'fix it tomorrow or the next day.'
One night, coming down the side street from the garage I worked in, I turned right after a stop, 110-degree turn, low gear, stepped on the pedal with clutch out, door swung open, my butt slid out, so did my upper torso, I was stretched out on my back...Right hand hung on to the steering wheel, right foot jammed the loud pedal, and "Screeeeech!" Tires burning, my nice white '56 jumped the curb and ran into a telephone pole!
All quiet...engine died, I squirmed out, crawled to a kneel, checked car for damage. None!
Went to Ford the next day, bought a latch and striker. Got my boss to help me install it. Just in case... I hate that setup! My faaast '54 Ford Coupe has those jobs in it, too...

 

Is there any adjustment on the door latch? Some cars have a bit of movement there as well.

How are the gaps and lines on the door compared d to the fenders? Hinge adjustment?

Is the B pillar tweaked where the striker is bolted ?

Door latches can be finicky little shits when more then 1 adjustment is off.

Has the latch always been “ lacking security” since you bought the car or is this a new issue that’s cropped up?

Could it be a shitty repop striker? On my 50 Chevy the driver front and rear door are the same struker and also for the passenger side, I ended up swapping the tears to the front for a while as mine were loose untill I found some NOS ones for sale.

 

wait....isn't x-mas coming ?

 

Start by placing the new one over the old one and see what doesn't line up. Or vice versa. Something is not locking in and the big flathead screws give it little room for adjustments. How flush do the screws sit with the surface? Look for any metal to metal contact that signifies the door sagging. How are the hinges?

 

I’ve done it in the past when I with have rubbed some crayon or grease on the striker and then shut the door and see what is/is not making contact
Some pics of the latch, door , and striker installed might help

 

On my dad's old 55 Ford, it was the star gear that fit into that part that was bad. Of course he didn't fix it, he just screwed a strap to the door to keep it closed......wasn't much of a car guy.

 

I have found those adjustments to be counter intuitive at times. @56premiere mentioned it. You often have to move that striker plate out to get the door latch to the second click, which ends up helping the door come farther in.

 

The front passengers side door on my 50 Chevy does the same thing. It'll close, but doesn't latch all of the way. It opens about 1/8" until the latch catches. I've tried everything, but it never stayed fully closed. It's not being driven now, so I'll get back to that later.

 

I'll take a couple of photo's when I get home, the strikers look identical to the ones on the '54 Ranch Wagon and I never had a problem adjusting them,they are new strikers and purchased from Dennis Carpenter where I bought these