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Question about Door Latches
I have the cable mechanism for opening the doors on my 87 E-M and would like to switch to a latch setup like the one in the photo:
http://i1.ebayimg.com/08/i/000/c4/3f/f315_1.JPG Has anybody else done this and is it a fairly simple job? thanks for the input |
Door Latch Response from E-M
Hi,
This is Julie and Brett from Everett-Morrison. I'd love to be able to say "Hey, no sweat on this", but unfortunately we think that it is not an easy retrofit. As Brett has explained to me, the '87 cars have a 1-1/2" square tubular bar glass laminated at the rear of the door opening. The door striker attaches to this bar. The difficulty is that if the original type latch is mounted to the door, then the new striker will need to be located inside of the laminated steel tube. So really, the tube would need to be removed, and a new striker mount (probably of 3/16" flat stock) would have to be glassed in. Also, the recessed latch in the '87 door, when removed, leaves a large hole in the door. So some sort of adapter plate would need to be fabricated to hold the original type latch. It can be done, but it's a lot of work. Let us know if you would like us to help you with this. Otherwise....have fun, be careful and good luck! Julie |
Julie
thanks for the info, I will keep opening the doors by pulling the cable, no sweat. cheers |
To add to Julie's comments, when I was building my car, I asked Brett what was involved in making this change and he described it as above. He also stated that the TF latches as typically installed on E-M cars (actuated via pull chord) are significantly more secure than the commonly used TD latches as pictured above. I have never regretted using the TF latches as they are quite sturdy and secure as Brett advised.
Mike |
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