Help with door latches/hardware

[CentralWAbaja]

As I am putting things together for real I am struggling to figure out exactly how all of the latch (jamb) adjusts. And if I have all the needed hardware? Each car we have are from different eras. Old school car is a 61, Pops is a 69 and mine is a 65-66. Different exteriors different guts, not sure? One side seems to adjust out and operate pretty nicely but the other will not open (from the outside) if latched into the fully closed position (2nd notch) I have to open it from the inside handle in that situation.

I know I know....Pics I will, but I am at my computer this AM just going over a bunch of things on my "List"

[no1clyde]

On my car (71) the pass door was very hard to get to open from the out side and I messed with it a bit with no gain and most of the time opened it with the inside handle. After I was driving the car more and using it like a normal car I though I should get door locks since I had no key for the ones that were on there and I did and the new door handles fixed my problem. I looked at the old one and saw no real reason for this but it worked for me.

Ed

[CentralWAbaja]

I am thinking there is a guide or two missing from my stuff maybe something on the jamb maybe the door also?

[TimS]

Is the door locked?

I use this site for schematics. If you click on the numbers it almost always has a picture of the part to make sure you are matching.

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/wolfsburg ... cfm?type=1

I use an early latch, that is nothing like the later ones, so I don't know how to adjust. It looks to me that the later style are probably less prone to opening up with severe body flex.

[CentralWAbaja]

Thanks Tim, No the door is not locked that I know of. And I say that because maybe it is not releasing inside the mechanism for some reason. I open from the inside handle and that "Should" unlock it right but if something in the mechanism is not functioning properly then that could be whats going on.

Thanks for the link, Obviously I get tunnel vision sometimes and cant think to look at the restoration sites. looking at those diagrams I do have the earlier version. I did just buy exterior handles the other day before putting things back together. I do see a guide block that I do not have. Maybe I will just order up some new guts, plates and guides and start fresh with now stuff. Problem with that theory is the stuff in the doors right now are probably way better quality then the aftermarket stuff?

[dustymojave]

If you remove the outer door handle, the hole in the door for the handle should have a rod or a tab visible. This is what the button of the outer door handle pushes on to release the latch. You should be able to push on the tab or rod with your thumb or finger and release the latch. Sometimes that tab or rod , or the prat of the outer door handle that pushes against them is worn and the tab or rod is not pushing in far enough to release the latch. You may need to replace the outer handle or bend the inside tab.

Real Race Cars Don't Have Doors!!!!