Re: BigKev's 1954 Packard Clipper Deluxe Sedan

Posted by BigKev On 2011/10/12 23:09:43

A little bit of work tonight in the garage. Since the jamb painting is on hold till at least after Laughlin, I decided to get a few small things done.

I media blasted the door latches and lock assemblies as they were pretty crudy. After blasting and working the assemblies to remove any left over media grit, I lubed them with some graphite grease and then reinstalled on the car so I can kept the doors shut.

Also I took care of an issue that has been there since I bought the car. The passenger side door was not centered in the jamb opening. It was to far forward and nearly up against the front fender edge. The gap between the end of the door and the B-pillar was excessive and there was a stack of shims under the door latch to kept it engaged with the lock.

So broke loose the hinge bolts in the door one at time, and then left them just nearly snug. This allowed me to pull and push door to get it to move a little at a time without getting it horrible out of alignment vertically. The trick the gap where you want it and make sure that the door cleanly engages the door latch without the door having to ride up or down to so. Once I had the jambs gaps evened out I snugged the bolts tighter one at a time, and then torqued when down and rechecked everything.

Once this was done, I no longer needed the thick stack of latch shims, and the jamb gap at the A and B pillars is now even.