Door won't open

[money pit]

I have a 70 Barracuda. The passenger door has been hard to open since I bought the car about a year ago. The passenger door is very difficult to open from the outside. I have to pull the door handle up and lift the door. It looks like it was hit on the passenger side. I found primer under the sill plates. I replaced the door latch and striker (advised by a body and fender guy). It is still hard to open. I spent hours trying to adjust the stricker. I finally was able to get the door to open, some what normally but the door alignment is way off. The door is about a 1/4 inch lower than the rear fender. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

[1 Wild R/T]

put a piece of tape below the striker & a second piece behind the striker.... These are for reference.. Now remove the striker entirely & adjust the door hinges so the body lines match up perfectly without any influence from the striker....

Finally reinstall the striker using the tape to get a starting point then look at the contact between the striker & latch as you close the door....Adjust till your satisfied...

The striker only holds the door closed it shouldn't pull the door up or down....

[money pit]

Not being a body and flender person, is the door adjustment on the body or door side? I know the latch works because the outside door handle will open the latch.  Thanks for the info.

[1 Wild R/T]

Both.... But the up & down plus front to rear gap adjustment is on the body....In & out as well as twist is on the door...

First thing to check is the condition of the hinges, cause if they are loose the door adjustment won't fix it....  Open the door just clear of the jamb... Now try lifting at the latch end of the door... It shouldn't move much, less than 1/4"  If the hinge is toast 1/2-3/4" is pretty common.... If thats the case you should rebuild the hinges but if thats not an option I've cheated & adjusted the hinges & while it isn't perfect it will help for awhile...

[money pit]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.