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MG MGB Technical - pull handle mgb door won't stay shut

I am the proud owner of a 1963 pull handle mgb roadster that has been driving me and others nuts. I completed a five-year ground up restoration and have been driving the car for three years. One area I did not rebuild until last year was the "beloved" pull handl door latches. I purchased all of the equipment to refresh both doors from moss motors and in the course of four hours last october, I refreshed both door locks.

The passenger door no longer flies open as we round a corner, however, the dirve door will not stay closed unless I put a bungy cord on it and then it still unhooks and is loose. I had my local MGB guru look at it last year also and they could not figure it out.
I am real close to converting to the 65-67 style door locks but do not really want to ruin the "heritage" of this vehicle.

Any ideas out there on what I might try. Note - I ave not installed the weatherstripping around the door and am wondering if this might be a factor in not keeping the door shut, however, the passenger door works great with no weatherstripping and I would think the lock should be sound enough to keep it closed.

your ideas are greatly appreciated
edward

Your problem is not unique. Went through the same stuff with my 64 pull handle.


Door alignment is "personal" to each car.
How I got mine aligned and closing and opening properly: I really don't know.

It was a matter of wiggling this, adding/subtracting packing pieces on the striker, and just plain fiddling until they worked.

Keep at it. There is great joy in having a door that opens and closes.
glg gimbut

I have the same style doors as you. Mine were always great except that they had to be pushed in slightly before pulling the handle to open from the outside. I recently had my mechanic replace the door latch mechanism because it's been broken (but still working) for 10 years. Now the door will not close on it's own. I have to hold the lever open while pushing the door closed with my hip, or pulling hard from inside, then letting the handle go. If I try to close the door normally, it just bounces off.

THe next thing I noticed ith the new latch was the same problem you're having. Every now and then the driver's door would fly open in a right-hand turn. Closing the door with more force seems to cure that problem.

One thing you can try which I also plan to do is to bend the inner door skin inwards towards the cockpit. Over time, slamming the doors may have bent the area of the door around the latch, making it difficult for the latch peg to fully engage. I'm trying to figure out a way to bend the panel without damaging anything else. Perhaps a claw on a slide hammer inside the latch hole? Good luck!
Steve Simmons

Edward,

I confess that I was using a bungee cord on my pull-handle model for a while until I found the MOSS latch-rebuild kits. In my case the tip of the engagement dog (in the door portion of the latching assembly) had broken-off and so the door had lost the ability to stay shut around corners......I finally rebuilt the latch assembly the MOSS kit and it has worked perfectly ever since. This kit (you mentioned a MOSS kit too) included a new repro door-latch-dog-engagement-thingy as well as a new latch spring and rivets for reassembly. Is this the same kit you installed? Otherwise you might check the condition of this part in your door. If all is well you might look at your door alignment as they should shut and latch with or without door seals being fitted.

Cliff
Cliff Maddox

Thanks for the advice guys... I have rebuilt the assemblies already, however, it sounds like I should look at the body work of the door itself and the basic alignment of the door to see if we can make it work
thanks again
edward

What is the condition of the conical striker pieces (Moss part #470-540)? How is their alignment? In my experience, these are often worn from many years of being hit by the latchbolt so that they have a smaller area for the bolt to stop against, thus less positive latching. If the strike is too far inboard the latch may be relying soley on the worn pointed part of the strike. Moss sells the strikes for $8. These pieces are in common with the MGA and I believe the side curtain Spridgets as well.
By the way: Changing from pull handle to push button types is not a simple switch. The door shells and latch operating hardware are different (easy enough to obtain complete used doors)but the "B" posts are different having a depressed area to accommodate the strikes which means cutting, welding, painting, etc. A bit of a PITA.
Marvin Deupree

I have owned my 1963 MGB for 35 years and it has always been on the road, enjoyed and well maintained. However last year I finished a 3 year total rebuild, because I plan to have the car for another 35 years! I do all my own work and as is the case with all restorations there are frustrations.

No frustration has ever been greater than I had with those bloody door latches.

There are lots of factors here and the pull type door system is very marginal. Not once did I have a door come open before I did this rebuild. I heard there was a kit to recondition the door latches so I installed it. I really wish I hadn't!

After many failures I had the local 'experts'look at the problem and tried all their ideas. Nothing really worked.

In the end I concluded so many thngs I have forgotten some of them, but the main issue was the tongue in the latch and how deep it would penetrate the striker. I assume the kits I bought were from Moss and had probably been through some other dealers in the meantime.

This tongue was aluminium and the original was steel I believe. The profile on the new tongue was wrong and in the end I searched high and low to find a couple of secondhand tongues which were in good condition. I think you could possible weld on some new metal and reprofile the old ones if you wish.

The female part of the latch which goes around the striker is the best component in the kit, but it is still not exactly right. I ended up using a brass one which had been sold locally years ago, before these complete kits were available.

Check the archives, I am sure I am sure there are a few threads on this topic.

Don't give up - don't convert to push in door handles!!

You say you have not fitted the weather seals yet. In my experience that will make the situation worse because they are 'fuller' than the originals and until they settle down over many months, make the doors very hard to close.

Don't hesitate to send me a private email if you wish.

cheers
Ian Buckley

This thread was discussed between 26/04/2003 and 29/04/2003

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