Door latch adjust

[T.Hanson]

I found door latch pads ( old gold colored caps on the latch ) at autopartswarehouse.com. Very necessary for smooth closing.

Because the strikers on the body were all ugly corroded I removed two. The first came off fine. Need big fat mother phillips screwdriver.

Second, be aware the screws go into a plate that may or may not stay put. If it looks like it's loose, use two bolts to keep it from falling into Oklahoma before you remove a last screw.

Question: is there a scientific way to match the two parts for perfect closing ? I.e., latch, striker alignment in/out/up/down, just right.

[Mike W.]

Question: is there a scientific way to match the two parts for perfect closing ? I.e., latch, striker alignment in/out/up/down, just right.

Trial and error is the only way I've found. Sorry.

[Lenny D.]

Question: is there a scientific way to match the two parts for perfect closing ? I.e., latch, striker alignment in/out/up/down, just right.

I learned about this restoring my beetle. Mark with a pencil line where it was originally placed, before the pad wore away, and before you remove the striker. If you're painting, make a little peen mark with something so you can tell where it was.