He had gotten the latch from a less than “reputable” so called “mustang restoration” store here in town that was ordering parts retail from the same places all of us get them and upcharging the customer for ordering them. He finally went out of business.
Forgive the fuzziness of the shots the humidity here reaks havoc on eveything.
Got the latch on this morning. Works great. Now I can close it with my fingertips, lock it, unlock it, and actually open it. Well worth $30. Much easier to install than getting the old striker plate off.
That is pretty snazzy looking!
I’ve posted this in a few other places recently. Figure this might be a good place to add it…
Door striker plate screws giving you trouble? Start by using the correct tool: door striker screws are NOT Phillips! Look closely at the screw heads and you will see little tick marks between the slots: that indicates they are POZI screws (size 4).
POZI screws use a different bevel than Phillips, which is why you can’t always get a good grip to loosen them with a Phillips.
POZI size 3 will work if they aren’t too too rusty or don’t have stripped slots. You can get a Pozi 3 in one of the bit kits they sell at Harbor Freight (blue case, 50 various bits or something like that).
Yeah, they were already pretty well gone before I even got the parts, so I had planned on them being a little bit of a pain, but not THAT bad. The top screw didn’t come out period. I ended up drilling it hollow and stepping up sizes until I could tap what was left. But the bright side is the new one is in, everything works and I no longer get frustrated before I even get in the car.
I am going to get some of those bits. It seemed like the striker screws were abnormally soft too which also would help compound using the wrong bit or driver. Never mind I have some already. Looked in the tool box, and right by the snake bite medicine they sit.
