Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Having embarked on the last major job in a total rebuild, I have fitted the first door.
I have discovered that the leading gap is about 4.5mm while the gap at the rear is
about 9mm.
I cannot move the door further back because the door lock contacts the striker plate,
and short of major surgery I can think of no remedy other than to build or source a thinner door lock assembly!
Mind you, all gaps are consistent and the fit remarkably good, except for the unsightliness of the large gap
at the trailig edge.
Is there an obvious fix?
Regards
Bill

My 1968 Plus 2 has roughly 6 to 7mm gaps front and rear, so about the same in total as yours.
Does the striker plate have spacers behind it? My car has about 3mm of spacers (see photo), and I need them to get the lock to engage nicely. If you have spacers, maybe they could be removed, enabling the door to be moved back?
Ian

I think door shut lines and door gaps on any classic car can be an emotive subject. There is always the expectation of trying to get the shut line gap as small and as perfect as they are on modern cars.
Car shut lines on older cars were never particularly good in their day when the car was new. Personally I don't think people bothered as much about door shut lines in those days as long as the door closed.

I would say get the door closing well and don't be too particular about the shut lines and gap !

Alan.

I think door shut lines and door gaps on any classic car can be an emotive subject. There is always the expectation of trying to get the shut line gap as small and as perfect as they are on modern cars.
Car shut lines on older cars were never particularly good in their day when the car was new. Personally I don't think people bothered as much about door shut lines in those days as long as the door closed.

I would say get the door closing well and don't be too particular about the shut lines and gap !...Getting it perfect will be almost an impossibility.

Alan.

Thanks for your helpful comments.
I agree that shut lines are not the be all and end all.
They may certainly vary from side to side, but since you cannot see both sides at
the same time it would be polite to the car to have conformity, when viewed from whatever
side, between the gap at the front and at the back of the doors.,
My off side not only fits well, but the gap at the front and at the rear are about equall.
In other words it does not cry out as poor assembly!
There are no spacers behind the striker plate on the near side...I only wish there were so I
could move the near side forward and halve the unsightly difference!
Perhaps I need to somehow recess the near side doorlock about 4mm into the door and entirely solve the
problem.
Presently not sure how to do that.
I will attach some photos.
The nearside gap must be reduces by such means so as to halve the discrepancy!!
Any ideas?
Regards
Bill

SORRY!!!
So I could move the near side BACK 4 mm or so!
Bill

My 68 Plus 2 door gaps are about the same - good and even on the passenger (left) side but uneven on the drivers side, with a tighter gap on the front edge of the uneven side. It may be that the transition to the anti burst locks (i.e. using separate key hole in door and Leyland internal flush fitting interior handles) gave rise to the inconsistency. Others may be able to confirm or refute this! If you have got anti burst locks then there is not a lot you can do - I'd check there are not any extraneous washers in the lock mounts, but I wouldn't mess about with the mountings on the body as your anti burst locks may become non anti burst!
At the end of the day its a glass fibre car and its body is a lot less stable than steel, and panel gaps will be less consistent. A viable alternative would be to build up a bead of glass fibre on the trailing edge of the door to custom fit it to the hole. Have you measured the length of each door to see if they are the same? I've just done mine and level with the lock they are both about 202cm.

This is a job I am about to start, so following closely. some thoughts... but as I say, have yet to start.
Your doors look to not have frames yet.. Are these fairly bare shells .. if so.. will the fit change much as you add weight.. will this then require adjustment at the hinges, which may then change all you have done so far ?
do you have the door seal in place and does this affect the adjustment at the front much ?

Adrian

The doors are bare shells but from past experience I do not expect much to change at all when some weight is added to them. The doors are very stiff as well as the hinges themselves and the surrounding areas, both doors and body,
Yet to add whole door seals but used short lengths of seals at places around the perimeter and found little or no effect likely.
Still to decide whether to attempt to sink lock about 4 mm into the door jamb, or whether to plant on to the trailing edge the same amount of fibre glass.
Careful measurement suggests that the lock is the problem. Perhaps because of some minor trauma in the distant past or at some time since 1975 when the car was completely taken apart and put into storage!
Recessing the lock to a fabricated backing will enable the clearances to be shared, front and back, and resolve the glaring visual anomaly!
The size of the door matches the off side one, as do the sizes of the door apertures.
Now, perhaps to start gently with a dremel!
Regards,
Bill

I'm also about to refit my doors and I've also had to fit new bobbins on the driver's side so I;m hoping that things still line up. Spyder advised me to fit the window frame first to ensure that things are aligned all the way round.

Another little challenge with restoration!

If you think it may have been repaired you could measure the thickness of the door where the lock fits and determine if there is sufficient thickness to sand it back a few mm, effectively moving the lock forwards.

My door had collision damage in this area and the door required extensive repair work. Not tried to fit it yet but it's getting close.

Dave

Mine had also been damaged, the repair was to fibreglass over are around the bobbins without even removing the underlying paint! I simply pealed it off. I then had to remove the damaged fibreglass and replace the whole area adding new bobbins at the same time.

I think the door may have even been pulled off at some time....

I was able to recess the near side lock about 4mm and enlarge the holes in the hinge bobbins to allow the door to move towards the rear.
The result was successful. Good shut lines achieved.
Regards
Bill