66 Valiant driver's door

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66 mopar

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Has anybody had an issue with the sheet metal around the door latch cracking and coming apart where the door latch is no longer secured to the door?
The area of the door where the door latch mounts is broken to where the latch can not be mounted to the door. It's just hanging by the linkage inside the door. Can't close the door. Have to tie one end of a strap to the inside of the door and tie the other end to the passenger outer seat belt to keep the drivers door closed.
Can this be repaired or does the door need to be replaced? If the broken piece is welded back in, it needs to be flat on the inside and the outside of the door for the latch to work properly. Trying to repair it myself if I can. I have a welder, grinder and a minimum amount of experience working with sheet metal. Any ideas? I'm sure this happens to alot of drivers doors.
 
66 mopar said:
Has anybody had an issue with the sheet metal around the door latch cracking and coming apart where the door latch is no longer secured to the door?
The area of the door where the door latch mounts is broken to where the latch can not be mounted to the door. It's just hanging by the linkage inside the door. Can't close the door. Have to tie one end of a strap to the inside of the door and tie the other end to the passenger outer seat belt to keep the drivers door closed.
Can this be repaired or does the door need to be replaced? If the broken piece is welded back in, it needs to be flat on the inside and the outside of the door for the latch to work properly. Trying to repair it myself if I can. I have a welder, grinder and a minimum amount of experience working with sheet metal. Any ideas? I'm sure this happens to alot of drivers doors.
Click to expand...

yup I had to fix both of my doors. I just cut out a piece of metal and mig'd it in there to fix it this door only had 1 screw holding it
View attachment DSCF2736.jpg
new piece of metal , pre drilled and recessed
View attachment DSCF2737.jpg


then started working on the bottom the same way. after I checked for alignment of latch to door striker
View attachment DSCF2738.jpg


and done!
View attachment DSCF3025.jpg

new hinge bushings on all the hinges help too!
 
Usually this is a indication of a misaligned latch and striker. The continued misalignment is flexing the metal and causing it to fatigue. Weld it up, and be sure to check the door hinge area and the door hinges. If you don't fix the misalignment, you will get new cracks right next to the welded cracks.
 
This is a very common problem with early A bodies! Look what the latch is screwed to!! Pretty thin to be xpecting it to last 50 years! The fix is shown above, or if you have a donor door that's rusty but is not cracked there, you can overcut the section and weld it in place of your cracked area!! Geof
 
Great advise. I might try the repair 66 Dvert suggested, my door is in pretty good condition except for the area where the door latch is mounted. And as B-onefan suggested I need to look at the condition of the hinges, I see bushings and pin kits on line so that might be another repair I need to do while I'm at it. I see the door that Cosging was talking about and I think he wants $100.00 now. Thats a pretty good price and it gives me another option, but that area around the latch area may be weaken also. I do know driver's doors take a lot of abuse. So if my repair doesn't come out right I'll look into replacing the door. I still want to do the repair myself.
 
66 mopar said:
Great advise. I might try the repair 66 Dvert suggested, my door is in pretty good condition except for the area where the door latch is mounted. And as B-onefan suggested I need to look at the condition of the hinges, I see bushings and pin kits on line so that might be another repair I need to do while I'm at it. I see the door that Cosging was talking about and I think he wants $100.00 now. Thats a pretty good price and it gives me another option, but that area around the latch area may be weaken also. I do know driver's doors take a lot of abuse. So if my repair doesn't come out right I'll look into replacing the door. I still want to do the repair myself.
Click to expand...

I used slightly thicker metal when replacing the top hole and tucked behind it on the top part of the repair piece was a lap joint to help stiffen the area. all screw holes were punched into a recessed shape before welding.

if I have to do it again on the other dart I'll just make a piece for the repair, add the latch and make a stiffener piece all the way around the latch so I have about 1 inch plus around the screws and latch to help. Then mig it all in place. the hinges were the worst culprit. I got the pin and hinge kit from the help section in autozone. I did have to drill my hinges out to accept the bushings AND slightly grind the insert/recessed areas where the bushings were going so the bushings fit on the other part of the hinge tightly. doors are now solid! make sure your star type rollers on the hinge are moveable and not worn down from being stuck, mig some of the worn tips if needed to get them back into shape. you'll appreciate the door staying where you put it when you get out of the car after it's finished instead of swinging back closed. if the bent piece of metal has a worn groove in it I'd flip it if you can or mig it up so it's smooth and hits the star roller like it's supposed to. whew!!! easier to do that type it.
 
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