Morris Minor Owners Club

Odd problem.

My front door closes nicely and locks, but even when locked there is about 1 mm play in the movement of the latch when you pull the handle.

Because the latch overlaps the little metal thingy on the doorframe by only about 1mm (how's that for bad luck?), the door pops open even if locked.

Any thoughts on how to fix this?

Malcolm

Have you checked for wear in the latch as these do wear, and also are all the screws nice and tight.

There should be more than 1mm overlap. Could also be the brass coloured sliding barrel is worn. If the gap between door and B-post is large, you could shim the hinges to move the door back and get a better overlap.

Sounds like the worn peg on the lock. Its easier to space out the top striker plate on the b post, rather than the hinges. Check when the door is open that there is full travel on the locking peg, you can do this by by moving the inside door handle, using full travel in both directions, if the peg/plunger is stiff in operation spray on a release agent and pull handle repeatedly till free. If the peg/plunger has full travel and is free in movement then it may well be excessivly worn and will need replacement. If the peg catches on its way out loosen the three retaining screws on the lock and adjust until you have free movement.

Malcom,
be aware that there are two latch positions on the striker plate that is mounted on the door pillar. It sounds as though yours is catching on the outer one only. The door latch should be adjusted so that the lock striker passes both steps. The outer step is designed to stop the door opening should it slip past the inner one.

Alec

Thanks for the help. It's latching properly so I think I'll start by shimming the latch plate. Any ideas how this should be done? What kind of spacer could I use?

And if I need to replace the worn latch peg, how can this be done? I looked at the whole lock mechanism the other day and couldn't figure out how it could be removed and replaced.

Malcolm

It's quite a job, and you have to remove an awful lot of bits, including the door top. Do tell if you want to know more - I don't want to type it all out now unless you really want the info...