True Confessions...or...How I Got the Driver's Door Open

[67HEAVEN]

After years of storage and moisture buildup in the car, I found it impossible to open the driver's door. This was approximately a year-and-a-half ago in preparation for the body-lift.

Oh, I tried everything, and I tried for weeks, but no go. As I disassembled everything else, every second day or so I sprayed WD40 and various penetrating fluids down into the lock area with a tube, but to no avail. Wouldn't budge. Couldn't unlock it with the key; couldn't unlock it from the inside.

Remember, this is a '67 coupe. The lock mechanism and the tumbler were frozen....as in rust from moisture. Couldn't take the interior door panel off because I "couldn't get the door open".

So, how did I eventually get the door open?
:J

 

[vigman]

I wanna know

Might need that trick myself someday soon



Vig~

 

[Milehigh66]

Blasting caps? Crow bar? Well at least that's what I would have done. so what did you do?

Kurt, CCC:J

 

[Mikes64]

OK 67 Heaven, I'll bite, how did you get the door open!!!
Don't leave us hanging out here wondering. At the rate
my luck has been going lately, I'll probably get locked in
the car and not be able to open either one.

Mike

 

[MidShark]

Okay, you cut your way in with a sawzall? That's why you had to order the new fenders, right?

 

[Pittsaj]

I got it!!!!!!

The real question is....


How many blades did it take

Tony

 

[Mac]

I'm thinking he cut through the door panel and attacked from the inside.

By the way, how do you keep a bunch of Vette freaks in suspense? :L

 

[VETDRMS]

Well, i had the same thing happen on my '74. I got inside through the top of the door with the window rolled down. It took a lot of cussing and a long screwdriver.

This was NOTHING compared with the battle to get the hood
open when the latch came down on the lever and locked the hood in sideways....think mirrors and flashlights, some reverse easy-outs (very hard to find, taking hood latches off from the fender wells), some custom hook type tools and 3 weeks of fighting...oh, and some chipped paint...ad

 

[midyear]

So, how did I eventually get the door open?

I know, decided you didnt need to, that you could slide in and out the window with ease.....sorta like the dukes of hazzard!!

So hows this for a guess, you went in behind the door jamb, notched the screws that held in the female latch, and simply unscrewed them from behind, removing the catch and opening the door.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Good replies guys, but here's what I did.

I sure didn't want to cut through the "original" door panel, and I couldn't get the "power" window down to try for any additional wiggle room through the top, so that left only one approach in my mind.

What's cheaper and easier to repair? A cut up door panel or a hole in fiberglass?

You should have seen my neighbour's face when I got out the power drill and a 1.5" bit. Zoom...zoom...we have two key holes on the same door :eek the second one being below and aft of the original.

Even with this fresh access it proved to be impossible to free things up without destroying the latch mechanism in the process.

So there you have it. Another True Confession from the annals of fiberglass-land. Good thing this stuff is easy to repair.

So did I learn anything from this adventure? Yep. All I had to do during all those years of storage was throw some bags of silica gel inside to soak up the moisture and replace them every six months or so, and in the process of opening the door to replace them, I would have "exercised" the mechanism preventing this sad scenario in the first place.

My only "excuse" is that by the time I parked it 17 years ago, I had completely lost interest in it and, after a year or two, almost forgot it was even there. My bad. :gap

 

[SLICKMAN]

Why didn’t you just drill out the tumbler???:confused

 

[Pittsaj]

Oh No,

Is that how I'm supposed to get to the Spark plugs on the passenger side with A/C? :eek

Tony

 

[67HEAVEN]

Oh No,

Is that how I'm supposed to get to the Spark plugs on the passenger side with A/C? :eek

Tony

Bwahahaha

 

[Pittsaj]

You think I'm kidding :cry

Have you ever tried to get them with shielding and all in place.. :bang

There must be a better way...

Tony

 

[midyear]

Oh No,

Is that how I'm supposed to get to the Spark plugs on the passenger side with A/C?

Tony

Tony,

It may sound like a bad Idea, But, after numerous plug struggles on my 67 BB ac car, I cut out a portion of my pass side inner fender, low, behind the splash shield, for easy plug access. Now I can change the plugs by turning the wheels to the right, using an extension, and going in through the wheel well. To date no one has noticed this mod has been done to the car.

 

[bluestripe67]

Ok everbody, when anybody gets to Carlisle or any other place lets get Midyear to show us that hole. :L

Dennis