I have a 69 Camaro that has an issue closing & fully latching the right side door. It has never really latched correctly in the 2 years I have owned the restored car. When I purchased it, it had no weather stripping on the passenger side. I added OER molding to it with terrible results. The door would not close at all! I replaced it with Soff Seal brand weather stripping and now it works great with the exception of the latch. The first latch catches but the second and final latch is a real bugger to get to hold/latch!
I have been to a few Restoration shops here in Vegas with no luck on the issue.
One of the shops even had another 69 in the shop being restored with the very same issue. Several have told me it's an on going issue with the 69 Camaro. Another shop told me to use an original GM latch and not an OER unit. He said it makes a difference. Problem there is the GM latch I found is nearly $250 vs the OER latch at $80. If this is true, it's worth the $$. If not then it's a waste!
Any help or advice would be appreciated!
Thanks

P.S. I did run a search on this site with no luck. If there is a thread covering this, would you post a link in this thread please? Thanks again.

 

Nice car. Is the door to quarter panel a flush fit? Have you tried moving the striker bolt further out? The door latch might not be dropping down all the way, if it's fighting against the seals. This is obvious, but have you given the latch a shot of lube?

 

Yes to all. Thanks for the reply.

 

Vertical adjustment on the striker bolt can be critical as well.

 

I had the same thing happen on my 69. When I installed the weatherstripping I had to slam the doors hard to get them to shut all the way. It will get better, let it set in the sun with the door shut and the window rolled up. Your weatherstripping will eventually give some unless it is an adjustment issue.

 

Yeah, the heat here in Vegas is helping break them in a bit. I ordered a new latch as well. Should get that installed by the end of the week. Both doors actually close very well with the Soff Seal weather stripping. I think it's the latch. I'll find out soon enough!

 

Well I bit the bullet & purchased an OER latch. The door closes fine now so I guess that was the issue all along. The plunger on the exterior door handle to the latch plate does not fit properly but with a little innovation and a lot of patience, I got the whole thing to work like a new car! Thanks for the feed back. Now if I can just get the water temp gauge to work...........