My driver's door needs a good shoulder to get out of the car and super strength (not really) to get in from the outside. I loosened up the strike plate, but it doesn't seem to have too much adjustment to it. Where do I need to go next to get this door to loosen up a little?

the latch mechanism in teh door is gummed up from years of old oil and dirt. remove door panel. remove latch. dip it in solvent to disolve gooo. lubricate and exersize the latch till it moves freely

Take a pic of your door-gap and post it here ...
Andy

andy and I are thinking the same thing... scary

my old white car was doing the same thing

How is the passenger door? If door gap is the problem it should have shown up long ago on the other side of the car.

The other door is a little sticky but nowhere near as tight. The passenger door has equal gaps top to bottom (no sag) but the door could stand to go forward a bit as the gap is tighter at the rear. Already posted pictures but don;t see my post and I'm not getting email notices all of a sudden..
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Pretty sure Sean is right on this one as the gaps are dead equal top to bottom and the car is just about as un-rusty as a 40 year old 914 can be...not a sag thing (hands clasped in prayer).

by the pic the gap looks good, as near I can tell.
but we are still praying for you

Gap is fine, but there are many other reasons to pray for me (not that it'll work).

A tough one to explain...but I will try.
If you loosen the door hinge bolts and raise the door UP...it will open up the gap just a hair.
The door jamb is at an angle, and so is the inner part of the back of the door...
If you raise up the door it moves the door away from the rear jamb...it opens the gap, and sometimes it stops a sticky door.
You may need to adjust the door striker plate afterwards.
You may also need to adjust the window.

I think your car was repainted at some point, so dont assume the doors were ever aligned correctly at that time..or the window.

If after you raise the door the chrome upright at the front of the window now hits the a-pillar...dont fear..its also adjustable and was probably done wrong.
Under the bottom of the door is a jamb nut with a flat head screw used to adjust the window in and out (top away from the centerline)

When I adjust these doors I tip out the window as far as it will go and adjust the door first so the door is perfect...then I adjust the window to work with the door.
You can adjust the window in many directions, but you need to remove the inner door panel if you want to do more than adjust the chrome piece...but you can do more than that.

Again...remember it was all taken apart to paint and who knows if it was ever put together properly.

Rich

Same problem on my 76. It was the door seal on the bottom of the door.

And mine is split at one point. Wondering how the door seal could be the cause?

Mine was split also. When I closed the door it would roll and pinch against the bottom seal.

Amazing...just taped mine up and the door got 75% better!

mikey914 door seal cured my problem.

with the door open, click the latch on teh door closed then pop it open using the handle. did it stick or just pop back up?

Hilarioous...might have found the real problem. Clicked the latch closed as you said, and now can't get it to open at all. Guess I need to get that latch cleaned up.

Soaking it now, but that must be the problem. I couldn't budge the effer once I got it out. Sprayed it with some parts cleaner and it was much better...soaking it in solvent overnight.

My doors also were sticking and because of this thread I think I know what it is. Today I took the time to spray silicone spray on the inside and outside of both latches and it was AMAZING how much easier it was to open the doors. My weatherstripping is all new thanks to mikey914 so that is not my problem. What is the proper lubricant for the latches ? Spray grease,graphite,silicone ?

He shoots...he scores! Sean was 100% right on this one. I pulled the lock...soaked it and sprayed it for three days (I'm kinda anal), and then siliconed it and "worked" it by hand for about 50 times using the door handle mechanism as well as the inner door pull, until it worked perfectly. Just reinstalled it and it works better than it must have in 1970. The door closes almost by gravity and can be opened with a pinky...no kidding. Can't wait to do the passenger side next.

Yup, gummy latch mechanisms are a common problem on all older cars. Same thing happens with lock mechanisms (door handles, trunk lock, etc). If your doors take pressure to unlock, then cleaning the old grease/dirt out will make them turn easily and smoothly.

Looks like Great Pumpkin needs to take a day or two in the soak.

now i know what to do to fix my door. i noticed that it was very difficult to open this weekend. Just another thing to look at.

Ravi