Fixing door striker stud?

[MyCreation68]

Well my cars doors have been through alot and the studs are really messed up(door hinges are screwed right up so they hung and never hit the strikers right) Who has the best fix for this? I'd like to get them fixed and my door hinges fixed before I go and put the frame connectors in here in a few weeks.

[NYrr496]

Someone on this site had brand new ones machined up out of stainless. They were beautiful. Can't remember who.

[75Dart440]

Might want to check the metal around the door striker as well......they tend to crack out there, from years of bad door hinge bushings allowing the door to beat on the striker.

[MyCreation68]

Might want to check the metal around the door striker as well......they tend to crack out there, from years of bad door hinge bushings allowing the door to beat on the striker.

sorry thats what i ment the strikers are in great shape but they wiggle.

[68_Val_Sedan]

weld ... weld ... weld ... fix the cracks and then realign the doors and hinges ... I usually weld all the cracks then grind smooth ... fit the doors then do the body work ....

[PureGTS]

  Same here...

[1967dart406]

i tigged mine back in place and smoothed, aftrer some etching primer, hard to tell it was ever there, im sure by the time paint hits it and i put the new striker in place itll look like new

[jamesdart]

i cut the strikers out of newer darts, they seem to have done something different to correct the problem, i forget if the panels were actually thicker or they had a support spotwelded on.  on my 69 the piece cracked out and the striker bolt was rusted solid to the plate inside. i cut the section out and welded one from the donor in. did the same to my 67 post on both doors, some one welded the broken piece the washer and the striker bolt all together.  im not really into the weld the crack fix, the metal is fatigued already.   i did fix my brothers that way though as he didnt fee like junkyard hopping to find the part.

[snoop rob]

Wasn't there an article in Mopar Muscle or Mopar Action detailing this repair?
I think it may have been a couple of years ago. I thought they had sandwiched a couple of pieces of flat stock together for the repair.
I don't remember all the details.

Can anyone post which month and which mag it was in?

[qkcuda]

I've been keeping an eye on this post also.  I have to fix the driver's side striker in the cuda.  The sheetmetal is cracked all the way around the striker, so it is loose, but something is still holding it in from the backside.  I bought the new hinge pins at Carlisle last year.   

[jamesdart]

I've been keeping an eye on this post also.  I have to fix the driver's side striker in the cuda.  The sheetmetal is cracked all the way around the striker, so it is loose, but something is still holding it in from the backside.  I bought the new hinge pins at Carlisle last year.   

ther eis a larger plate maybe 5/16" thick that the striker bolts too and this allows for the adjustment, that is whats holding it in, if you do just weld the cracked piece that is another thing you have to be careful of, not to weld the sheetmetal to the plate inside.

[The 1]

weld ... weld ... weld ... fix the cracks and then realign the doors and hinges ... I usually weld all the cracks then grind smooth ... fit the doors then do the body work ....

x2

[qkcuda]

Good tip.  What keeps the whole works from just falling into the quarter?

[68_Val_Sedan]

there isa bracket behind the door jamb skin that the stud threads into.  It fits into a bracket that is welded to the inside of the quarter so it is adjustable.   all that usually cracks on the car is the door jamb skin and is an easy fix with a welder

[qkcuda]

 

[MyCreation68]

Yeah no easy fix here. I'll show you what I mean because pictures say it better:

Driver side:

Passenger side


As you can see a circular portion of the door jam has basically been "torn" out on both sides of the car. I am so pissed right now these doors are completely F***ed on both sides. I seriously doubt this is fixable. I may have to get a whole new door jam.

[jamesdart]

its your call, you can either clean it up real good and weld the piece back in, or get  a new piece, either the whole jamb or jus ta section of it.  you are not alone, i have never seen an a body that didnt have that problem. dont sweat it, its a pretty simple fix.

[4spdfury]

i have good sections of the door jamb already cut out of a car.they go from the rocker to almost the bottom of the windows. ther yours if you want to pay the frieght

[WildCat]

mine was broken out too, got the striker area out of another car about 4" sq. and cut the jamb in my car, welded the other in

when I got the car someone had welded the striker into the jamb instead of fixing it

it can be fixed, just not a quick fix and have it look right

[qkcuda]

That is what mine looks like also.  I had a good look at some jambs at Carlisle, and now that I see the structure behind it, I don't think it will be a big deal to fix it.

[ValiantOne]

mine was broken out too, got the striker area out of another car about 4" sq. and cut the jamb in my car, welded the other in

when I got the car someone had welded the striker into the jamb instead of fixing it

it can be fixed, just not a quick fix and have it look right

  same thing on my 68. Welded the striker right to the jamb. Going to have to fix it one day. Works pretty good even if it is ugly

[67Dart34dr0]

its your call, you can either clean it up real good and weld the piece back in, or get  a new piece, either the whole jamb or jus ta section of it.  you are not alone, i have never seen an a body that didnt have that problem. dont sweat it, its a pretty simple fix.

Mine didn't till it got hit, then it did. But all 4 doors were fine. Maybe that has something to do with it?

[CudaSRT8]

Check out   DynamicRenovation.net     They have some interesting specialty items, including a door striker repair plate kit.   It's pretty nice.   I bought one for each side of my car.   

My car was only used and on the road for about 10 years and the striker area barely shows any stress at all.   However, with the level of investment I'm putting into the car, the paint finish, etc, I don't want for the striker area to start going bad once the car is being used again.   These plates are pretty innovative in that they are not only thicker metal, they will spread the load on the stiker over a much greater area.   Once these are in place, I can't imagine there being any more problem in this area.

Also, these are not just reinforcement plates to go behind the original metal.   There is an area around the striker that is embossed (raised).  You cut out an area of the old, fatigued metal so the raised area will be flush with the jamb metal.  It has a new "cage" area welded to the back side and you just re-use your old threaded nut plate.   

Definately worth checking out...   

[bbscamp]

looky me fix it!        Ive got both sides to do on the 69!     the 73 and laters...seem stonger.  Never seen a later one broken, on the early ones.

[jamesdart]

there is definitely something different about the later ones, both cars i cut them out of were later cars. i want to say it was a heavier guage, but i really dont remember,  ijust remember thinking, hmm looks like they decided to beef it up.

[guzzimike]

weld ... weld ... weld ... fix the cracks and then realign the doors and hinges ... I usually weld all the cracks then grind smooth ... fit the doors then do the body work ....

x2

+1

[Spook50]

weld ... weld ... weld ... fix the cracks and then realign the doors and hinges ... I usually weld all the cracks then grind smooth ... fit the doors then do the body work ....

Exactly why I'm waiting to get my doors fixed and realigned before I weld in any connectors (though I've already got the steel and it's driving me nuts just sitting there). I'm very curious about these stainless steel strikers though...

[jamesdart]

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/misc/18.html

[69dartdrew]

there is definitely something different about the later ones, both cars i cut them out of were later cars. i want to say it was a heavier guage, but i really dont remember,  ijust remember thinking, hmm looks like they decided to beef it up.

Jamesdart is right. Here is what I found from the forabodiesonly website. I performed this repair following these guidelines and it turned out perfect.


1) Drill out the spot welds that hold the retainer and flat nut in place on the inside of the jamb - if it's still there. (You'll have to remove the interior panel so you have access).

2) Cut a square hole in the jamb with a cutoff wheel, removing just the mess that's there. From here on out there's no one way to do it. This is just one way.

3) Cut a square of thick sheetmetal larger than your hole. Use a few sheet metal screws from the outside around the hole to hold this piece in place on the inside of the quarter. You're going to plug weld these screw holes shut later. This will be easier than trying to get a welder inside the quarter later.

4) Now, cut another piece of sheetmetal the same size as the hole you cut. Trim it to fit flat and flush - with maybe a 1/32" to 1/16" gap around the perimeter for the weld to penetrate (butt weld). The larger reinforcing piece you put in earlier will keep the patch from falling through into the quarter and hold it flush. You can use a couple of sheetmetal screws to hold it to the backing piece if you want.

5) Weld the perimeter of your patch. Begin removing sheet metal screws and plug weld the holes. This will join the layers together.

6) Take measurements drill a hole through both layers for your striker. A step drill works great.

7) Position the nut retainer so the nut can "float" within the hole you drilled. Tack weld the retainer in place. You could also drill small holes through all 3 layers and plug it.

Grind your welds smooth and finish with filler as necessary.