8 replies to this topic

[Beery]

Hoping someone has a solution for my problem with a stuck door lock on my recently acquired 1972 clubman project car. The car has been sitting in the weather in a paddock in Australia for many years but the body is remarkably straight and the interior quite well sealed from the weather.

The proble is that the driver side door won't open and the handle/actuator rods and actuator bracket are missing (as part of the previous owner either trying to fix it and failed, or part of a partial stripping down of the interior), therefore I thought it would be an easy task to open it from the inside by looking at how the other door (that is working) operates. So I used a screw driver to push up the slide in the door striker unit to the open position and I checked that the lock was in the unlocked position, but I still cant get the door open. I've used plenty of WD40 and some force thinking that maybe the door was sealed against the rubbers and it might be just stuck from grime and time, but I risk breaking the panels if I use any more force.

So I'm hoping someone might have solved this problem before and will please share their knowledge as I'm stumped!

Thanks in advance.
Beery

 

[Spider]

Hi Beery,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Here's a drawing of the whole assembly for your model;-

 

 

Depending on how far this has all been taken apart, it can be quite difficult to access. If you haven't already, you'll want to remove the front seats.

 

Firstly, you'll need the window wound up.Then remove the door card.

 

If the pull - push rods from the internal handle have been disconnected or out of adjustment, first, you want to check the lever that the Rod 7 above is going through is pulled as far forward as it will go. These normally have a 'soft' action and don't 'click' or anything like that. There's only about 3/4" movement from Locked to Un-locked.

 

Once you are certain the Latch is unlocked, you need to find the lever that the Rod 11 is going through. If the Rod has been removed, this one maybe 'fun' to find as it will likely be hanging down and will be out of view. Once you find it, you'll need to pull on that and hold it forward until you get the door open. If the door is difficult. you may wish to make a 'hook' from some fencing wire (or the like) , hook up the lever, pull it forward, then put some vice grips on it to the inner door frame to hold it in the unlock position until you get the door open.

 

I'd suggest, once you get the door open, until you remove the door or sort this in a permanent way, removing the Latch from the body. There's 2 big Phillips head screws holding this on. You can undo and remove it easy as, the threaded plate in the body, while 'floating' is captive and won't fall, so don't worry about that.

[Beery]

Great, thanks for your welcome, advice and diagram TMF Team. I'll try this on the weekend and let you know how I go. I have fonud the rods in the boxes of parts supplied with the car, but no actuator bracket so I'll have to hunt one of them down before I can make it usable too. Cheers, Beery

[richmondclassicsnorthwales]

Couldn't put it any better than what Moke says. They can be tricky little buggers to sort - simple enough - but a pain in the rectum !!

[Beery]

Thanks to Moke Spider for the great advice. The problem isn't solved yet even though I found the levers referred to, but it seems the connector between the levers and the aperture is broken which means the levers don't actually move anything. I think this means the aperture is just a static device and I have no way to engage it (of course to access it you have to get the door off - a catch 22 situation). I'm wondering if I was to try and drill out the latch screws I can get it off that way, and just repace the screws later? Seems extreme but I'm running out of options.

 

Thanks for the helpful advice to date.

Beery

[Spider]

I sounds like the Lock Assembly might be in the Locked (as in Key locked) position. When they are like that, the Opening Lever is somewhat 'limp'

 

If you can see the Locking Lever, pull that one forward, then try the other one again.

 

If the Lock Assembly is in fact damaged, this could be a job and a half here, but doable.

 

This type of door lock is what's referred to as a 'Disc Type Bust Proof Lock'.

 

If you look in the back of B Pillar, at the same height as the lock, there's a plate with 4 self tappers in it.

 

If you remove that cover and look in there (probably need a torch) you'll see the ends of the 2 screws that hold the Body Latch in place,

 

You might need a Dremal (or similar) here, to cut the screws flush and then drill them out from the back, It will be a very awkward job.

 

This is the only way I can think of to move forward with it. Because the Lock is a Burst Proof type, even if you undid the Door Hinges, you still won't unlatch the Door Lock and in fact, just make things worse / harder.

[Beery]

Your advice supports what I was thinking Moke Spider, although I was calling it something different (latch screws without knowing the proper terminology). I fear it is time for some semi-destructive effort to solve it.  Will let you know how I get on. 

 

Thanks again, Beery

[Beery]

Mission accomplished by drilling out the plate on the B pillar from behind. As suspected, the locking mechanism was totally jammed/broken inside so the actuating levers were doing nothing. Now I have to source a new lock mechanism for a 1972 Australian built mini. Thanks again to Moke Spider for the advice. 

[Spider]

Thanks for letting us know how you went with it, and while it was no doubt, not a fun job, it's good you have a result.

 

Try Matt Read in Brissy or Mini Sport in Adelaide for a Door Lock Mech.