I solved my own problem.

The inner door mounting point for the front door check is thin metal to begin with- it is also a non-essential point for a mount IMHO- so if the check is working properly it may not be an issue at all- however, I bolted mine right up using this method.

The inner door mount area is in a small recess so that the 10mm bolt will sit flush.

So- I used a 1/2" -5/8" ? thin washer (type used on the Cruise Control Actuator mounts) and used a ball pean hammer to make it concave enough to fit in the recess- in order to have more bite. I bolted it in and it worked perfectly.

It seems that the new front door checks have the inner door mounting point at a different angle than the OE. or else mine was really really bent.

Ben