1949 chevy truck door shims

[booger1949]

lookin for door shims for my 1949 chevy truck that im building, an any help on gettin my doors to shut without slammin them would help as well

[mr48chev]

There are no door shims that I know of. you have to pull the door panels and loosen the bolts and adjust it that way.

[OrrieG]

over at stovebolts.com they have a great tech article on aligning AD doors.

[booger1949]

thanks ill have to look, an i have done everything, from what ive been readin im not the only one havin this problum, so ive been lookin into bear claw door latches, theyre makin a bolt in kit now for the ad trucks,has any body else used these an how well do they work

[pgf545]

There are some shims that go on the latch side, or at least on the 52 that I am working on there is. The hinge side is all slotted and what I did was to snug all the bolts down and then start gently prying the door using a 2x4 or some other piece of wood until they lined up the way I wanted them to and then went back and tightened the bolts. That was all done in the mock up stage and I haven't gotten to the final painted assembly yet.

Bernie

[booger1949]

the only thing u can shim is the striker plate on a 1949 truck, most trucks around here have them but non of my books show them

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by booger1949

thanks ill have to look, an i have done everything, from what ive been readin im not the only one havin this problum, so ive been lookin into bear claw door latches, theyre makin a bolt in kit now for the ad trucks,has any body else used these an how well do they work

Search around here and you'll see several of us using the bolt in bear claws, they're made by Altman Easy Latch. They fit great, and work great.

[booger1949]

hey bluejeep can u use the outside door handle an all, an can anybody give me the part number, ive talked to summit an they gave me a part number on one that doesnt use the outside door handle but they seem affordable, 52 bucks a pair an the install kit is 46, i have that much in 2 new pairs of them japan made latches that DOES NOT WORK,

[booger1949]

an i would like to still use my outside door handle so if anybody could help

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by booger1949

hey bluejeep can u use the outside door handle an all, an can anybody give me the part number, ive talked to summit an they gave me a part number on one that doesnt use the outside door handle but they seem affordable, 52 bucks a pair an the install kit is 46, i have that much in 2 new pairs of them japan made latches that DOES NOT WORK,

Those are the universal ones, and they won't work with your outside door handles without a lot of fabrication. I tried it and gave up on it because I was spending too many hours on it (and I'm a fabricator), so I ordered the Altman Easy latch kit ($350) which does work with your factory outside and inside handles. I'm very impressed with this kit, everything fit very well and worked as advertised.

Here's the link to their website:

http://www.triquemfg.com/


For the 52-55 push button handles it's easier than the 47-51 turn down style, and some people have done a good job of using the universal latches with the push button style outer door handle.

[mr48chev]

ok I missed the boat on my first answer to the question. I was thinking that you were trying to shim the hinges to move the door back in the opening.

A couple of things to check:
Are the hinge pins in good shape with no slack if you open the door and try to lift it on the back corner? I've got one door out in my collection that is smashed on the inside from the driver banging his shoulder against it to get it open because the hinge pins were worn and the latch stuck on that one. You can imagine what it took to close it.

Secondly is/are the door (s) adjusted so the gap around the doors is as close to even as you can get so that you have a better chance of adjusting the striker plate ?

Lastly, Unless it is going to be an absolutely restored to original truck get rid of those stock latches before the door flies open and someone falls out. And either way put seat belts in it. My wife fell out of the 48 33 years ago when she leaned against the door on a corner and it opened on it's own. She still carries some scars on her face and knee from that. Luckily we were only going about five mph at the time. The first week I had the truck in Texas in 1973 I turned a corner two blocks from the house and found myself hanging by the window sill with my left arm and my right foot trying to grip the floorboard while I tried to control the truck and get stopped. I went straight to the local dealer where at that time I could still buy new latches and strikers.

[booger1949]

i usually can fix anything r figure it out, but this has beat me down, ive all ready broke a door glass, i forgot to roll it up before i started workin on it. dumb dumb dumb. so thanks for your input

[booger1949]

mr48chevy yeah ive done all that an yes the doors have come open on me a time r two, but i have replaced the latches an stricker plates twice all ready so im figurin that the new latches they r buildin r junk, im goin to reorder them 1 more time an then ill just get off the money an buy the bear claws, there is no reason why the doors arent shuttin rite other than the latches, ive had this truck 20 years an it came from texas i am the second owner, i drove the truck all original for near about 18 years, but its not all original now