Hi all,

My drivers side door has never closed properly. It sits out about 2mm. It's not a lot. But it is noticeable.

I've never been able to get it to sit any neater.

Any advice?

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Hi Ryan

I would start by removing the striker plate and the nylon guide from the body and see if it closes closer in.

If not why? Is the door rubber stopping it. is it hitting door to body anywhere?

The other thing that can wear is the tonge in the door latch so u lose some adjustment there. All you can do is try to position the striker plate in the body in as far in as possible. Then adjust the Nylon guide.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Thanks phill

The door will close further. I think you're right, the tongue is worn and the catch has no more adjustment.

Is if worth changing the mech? I know it's a tough job. But I'm looking at re-painting the door so I guess that would be a good time.

_________________
Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

You would want to be sure that is the problem before going thru the hassle. But they do wear. I think one of mine has worn to the point that it now putting pressure on the actual inner panel of the door and cracks have formed in the sheet metal.

Are you sure the body catch won't go further in. Sometimes moving it up or down helps it move in.

Also it really needs to be straight in relation to the door striker.

The only thing I think I tried to do once was to remove the catch on the body and tried to grind the body to let the catch go further in but that's probably a bit bodgy and I can't remember if it worked anyway.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Have a look at the door catch, Check to see if you can move the catch tongue
back and forward, If you can the catch is probably worn, This means the door will not close as well as it should.

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" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"

My car has wind up window doors where sliding doors should be.


Therefore I have the mk1 striker plate and the nylon buffers.


The nylon looks worn, so I will replace that, and the striker is also worn. So i will replace that as well.


However the retaining plate that works with the nylon buffer looks as though it is pushed open to wide. Should i try and squeeze it closed a bit?

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Yes I can move it back and forward a bit. About 1-2mm. I guess this, along with the worn striker plate would account for my door not closing properly.

_________________
Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

I tried fitting a new striker plate today. But there is too much meat on it to allow the door to open properly.

Also, my inner handle opens the door better than the external handle. Ie. the tongue goes back into the door further than with the external handle.

Is it normal for the tongue not to go all the way back into the door? I imagine not.

_________________
Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Wear, wear every where (over 40 years worth) is what you are seeing.

I found the same, again I think wear also means the tongue sticks out further than it should, or does not retract as far as it should. You could file down the "meat" from the new catch plate to compensate for this.

I had the opposite problem, the inner handle not activating the latch enough, probably due to wear in the connecting rod.

_________________

68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

I wish drivers door mechanisms were more common in good condition, or made new,

I would love it all just to work.

_________________
Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

I would wait and see if the new one is a good fit. It is possible the guide has become bent from being misaligned in a past life.

Is the buffer for a slider the same as a windup??

The Nylon buffer is there to basically guide and support the weight of the door when closed rather than the door resting on the body or latch.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

The one I ordered/arrived today is for a sliding window door. Unfortunately, it is the wrong size.

The other type is longer/deeper and has the holes spaced further apart. Unfortunately minisport only had the one type advertised and I took a punt thinking they would be the same.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

...sounds like another visit with "the King" is on the cards.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

A "proper"sliding door wedge is exactly the same as the windup type. Maybe the aftermarket version is just a ratty product. All pre-Clubbies use the same wedge so it shouldn't be hard to find a decent genuine item second hand... Anyway, the wedge only controls up and down movement and the door looks pretty well adjusted in that dimension.

I would suggest you try securing your current hardware (as shown in the photos above) properly. You can see from the marks in the paint how it is moving around ..... not surprising with the missing screw..

Cheers, Ian

Thanks Ian.
Yes the missing screw was fixed and the hardware secured appropriately.

You are correct, my height adjustment is fine thanks to a set of reco'd hinges.
However, I still wish to replace the nylon buffer/wedge as it is the component that supports the door when closed, taking the weight of the hinges.

According to all the mini parts shops I have called, the wedge differs between sliding windows and wind ups. Whilst it is the same shape, one of them is longer/deeper and has the holes spaced further apart.

Ryan

_________________
Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au