Not sure where you are in the fitting of the doors, but I encourage you to have patience and perseverance!
I just did mine and still not 100% happy with the passenger door, definitely need some patience and I found a voodoo doll dressed as a FFR engineer did also help.
In the main assembly manual I have, it shows that piece on the outside of door skin to drill the holes. Makes it sound like it may be on the outside just as a drilling template, but isn't clear. The next pictures says to attach the door skin to the latch with "hex head screws". The picture isn't clear enough, or the correct angle, to see where that piece is, but to me it looks like it may be between the door frame and the door skin. But if you use hex head screws then they must stick out from the door skin and compromise the door gap, no?
My update to the manual has a color picture of the door frame (no outer skin) and says "Attach the door latch to the door frame using supplied hex head screws. Sandwich the aluminum spacer between the outside of the door bracket and the screws". This does not help to clear things up at all. "outside of the door bracket"....what is the door bracket? Also, since it says to attach it at this stage, without the door skin in place, the screws would be under the door skin and nothing would be holding the door skin on in this area. So this step is obviously not correct.
But I don't get why a very thin aluminum spacer would be needed here. It makes it seem like it goes between the door skin and the door frame. Spacing that out an extra .060" makes no sense. My driver side door skin is .090" thick in that area and the passenger one is .2" thick.
Not really trying to make such a big deal about this, I just found it interesting and a bit frustrating that with all the instructions and pictures they manage to skip over exactly what to do with this piece. What I did was got rid of it.
With a decent door gap, then the thickness of the fibreglass door skin, the latch seems to line up pretty well with the "U" shaped piece on the car it interfaces with. Since the U does not protrude very much, it seems to me that moving the latch further away from that piece (like with an aluminum spacer) might put the latch too far away from the U piece. But I suppose if you need a spacer there, then you use it.
I bought my car partially assembled and the picture in my first post shows where that plate was when I got it. While doing a final fitting of the doors I took another look at that piece and thought it really looked out of place and not necessary at all. I took it off and countersunk the screw holes and it looks much more "production".
The driver side door has a nice gap and works well. The passenger side took a lot more work since the door had to be raised about 1/4" and I ran out of travel on the hinge mounting holes. A pain to enlarge the holes in both the hinges and the door frame, but it got the job done. Now that side has a nice gap too. The only issue is a slight rub right where the latch is. But as I mentioned, the fibreglass in that area of the door skin is .2" thick, so I'll take it down a bit and eliminate the rub. I said to myself "Ay, there's the rub".....a little Shakespeare humour.
Rick, Logic prevails. Apparently the FRP production process is not in control in this specific area. What is the intended material thickness? 0.09 or 0.2?
I agree this and other areas of the assembly manual could use editing.
One consideration is the stress on the FRP at the screw heads, both road load (vertical) and door closing (lateral).
In my past life I have seen critical areas of FRP stress reinforced with aluminum. "IF" there is space in the door to fender gap, or between the skin and the door frame, one could bond the aluminum to the FRP to reinforce the plastic.
With countersink heads one can not tighten to an extreme that will crack the FRP around the fastener. The bonded aluminum would help that too.
jim
Yes, as I was tightening the screws I did go a little easy on them which is kind of a compromise. You usually have the door latch screws very tight, but can't do that with them countersunk in fibreglass. I could get fancy with some machined inserts in that area, but I'll leave it for now.
And the more important issue! Since this is my thread I can side-track it. Your avatar picture looks just like a car I had/built some years ago. I even have a picture of it at the same angle:
Yes, as I was tightening the screws I did go a little easy on them which is kind of a compromise. You usually have the door latch screws very tight, but can't do that with them countersunk in fibreglass. I could get fancy with some machined inserts in that area, but I'll leave it for now.
And the more important issue! Since this is my thread I can side-track it. Your avatar picture looks just like a car I had/built some years ago. I even have a picture of it at the same angle:
Rick,
I have seen a similar photograph on the internet, maybe ebay or BaT.
I am guessing from proportions and name, it is built on a Fiero chassis?
jim staggered shims2.jpg
Rick,
I have seen a similar photograph on the internet, maybe ebay or BaT.
I am guessing from proportions and name, it is built on a Fiero chassis?
jim staggered shims2.jpg
Yes, that was probably pictures of my car on ebay a while ago. I ended up selling it locally. Since it is a Dino replica on a Fiero chassis I called it the Dinero.
But now both doors are done with nice gaps. On the above subject of the latch position, I did have to space the U latch on the passenger side out with a washer under each bolt; should have done a spacer plate and maybe will at some point. That was necessary to not have the U piece interfere with the latch on the door. If you are getting rubbing or not as smooth a door opening as you think you should have, check from inside the door as the latches mate. There isn't much length to the U piece to engage with the door part and with mine it was rubbing on the moving parts of the latch. Hard to explain but if you look from inside the door you'll see it. The problem is that is it a compromise between getting no rubbing and having the U piece out too far and it rubbing on the door skin. It is like the latch inside the door needs to move closer to the rear of the door; which really makes me wonder why you would ever need a spacer there. I read somewhere that someone modified the U piece with a longer U so it sticks further into the door. I could use that with mine but not ready for a mod like that yet.
I tried the way the manual says to install them but it was causing interference between the plate and the striker. After looking through the forums, I found someone who did it this way (Wayne?) and it works very nicely. The aluminum piece covers up the door frame and make it look nice and notching the door allows more clearance for the striker and less door gap. I countersunk the holes and used Grade 8 flat head screws.
That's a very nice way to do it. You get the integrity of the screws holding the latch not clamping on the fibreglass. I have one of my doors apart again to work on the window and I mounted the door panel like that. Only I left out the aluminum piece. The black frame shows instead of the aluminum which I think is a nice look. I haven't enlarged the opening in the outer door panel as you show; not sure I have to, but may need to on the passenger door since the fibreglass is very thick. I wonder if FFR intended it to be this way since they do have the extra mounting holes above and below the latch area.
I'm modifying the way the outer door panel is attached. I don't like that you have to removed the door to get that panel off, since the screws at the front are not accessible with the door mounted. I'm mounting the frame first, getting it all aligned with the latch, then will attach the outer door panel. Makes it easier to work on the window as well with the outer door panel off but the door mounted to the car.
I think the two holes above and below the latch holes were added by FFR at some point. I remember reading earlier forum posts saying to drill these holes in the frame.
I know what you mean about not being able to get the skin off when the door is mounted. Annoying but I'm not doing anything to fix it.
I tried the way the manual says to install them but it was causing interference between the plate and the striker. After looking through the forums, I found someone who did it this way (Wayne?) and it works very nicely. The aluminum piece covers up the door frame and make it look nice and notching the door allows more clearance for the striker and less door gap. I countersunk the holes and used Grade 8 flat head screws.
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Originally Posted by DSR-3
