Pillar door catch assembly

[Vet Doc]

I am curious if anyone has any experience with the piece that is on the inside of the pillar that the door catch screws into. It appears to slide left and right for adjustment purposes and, as far as I can tell, is enclosed inside the pillar on some kind of channel or tabs. I need to replace my driver side because the bottom screw is broken in the threads. Figured I would reach out to anyone who might have already been through this and might have any suggestions on the best way to proceed. Otherwise, I’ll cut a hole in the back of the pillar to see what kind of channel the backing plate is sitting in.

[JBNeal]

additional information - door check replacement

[Vet Doc]

Thanks for the info—I should have clarified that I am referring to the catch on the B pillar. Coincidently, I used the referenced post when I rebuilt the check and added my modification.

[JBNeal]

Have ya tried drilling out the broken screw before cutting the sheet metal?   I looked at that area last night, and that metal in question appears to stiffen the door frame.

[ggdad1951]

Yah that B pillar is structural.  Cutting into it and such would require patching it back up happliy.

[Vet Doc]

I came to that same conclusion and after sacrificing a drill bit, was able to drill and tap out the existing plate. I was just hoping that someone had come across a trick that was easier than what I could come up with. For curiosities sake, I opened the back of the pillar on my donor pickup and made the pictured discovery. The screws (1/4 inch diameter with fine threads) are in the picture taken from the back of the pillar. The screw plate resides inside a box welded into the front of the pillar with slots that match the exterior front side of the pillar. I figure designed by an entry level engineer with a grudge against accessible maintenance procedures…

[ggdad1951]

Why would ANYONE ever take things apart 70 years later? 

 

Several things on these trucks, and even modern, are just a PITA to "repair", some things in general are never meant to be "serviced".