Door Latch Mounting

[edwardb]

My better judgment says walk away. But can’t help but make a couple comments.

I agree it’s very important to not attach the door latches until the doors are fitted and said that in my response to the OP. Regardless of the method used. Holes drilled in the wrong places will make getting the latches into the proper locations much more difficult. For those not doing their own body work, maybe best to leave them off. There are some definite tricks to getting the latches aligned and working properly after the doors are aligned, and experience counts.

I’ve said repeatedly, when the subject of mods and personal changes come up, that a pure stock build done well (an important point) results in a solid build and will give the owner plenty of service and enjoyment. But as is said often, these are personal builds. I make a lot of changes from stock in my builds, and as a hobbyist, part of the enjoyment. Clearly, many others have the same feeling. Not sure why those ideas or suggestions should ever be met with criticism or snide remarks. Unless there’s a safety or perhaps reliability concern.

Having said that, put me too in the camp of not liking self-tapping screws in metal. Do I have any engineering data or testing that says they’re not strong enough or long-lasting? No. For attachments that are typically one and done (e.g. not a maintenance item) if installed properly (e.g. not stripped over over-tightened) they’re usually OK. But my builds don’t use them. And I mean no disrespect to those before me who use them and haven’t had any issues.

I could cite lots of things in my builds (and others) that aren’t “necessary” or reflect personal opinion or practice. So can others. I totally understand why professional builders wouldn’t be doing many of those things because they add time for perhaps questionable value to their customers. But that might not be the complete picture for those of us that do this as a hobby and have the time and desire to add personal touches.