1926/7 Coupe door latch Question

Post by **varmint** » Tue May 27, 2025 10:16 pm

Umm, how do they go back together. Mine is disassembled and I cannot find photos of when I took it apart.
Photos and orientation of parts, especially the small parts would be great. I did search the forum and found write-up but no pics.
Mine was missing good springs and some were in pieces. I have a rebuild kit for both.
Thanks

Post by **jiminbartow** » Wed May 28, 2025 2:13 pm

I have done this before for certain assemblies that I forgot how to reassemble… Go to eBay and search “Model T door latch” in quotations. You might be able to find one cheaply that will help you reassemble yours. Listing a year will yield 0 results since most people do not know the year of their part. When you are done, you can list the part you bought on eBay and get your money back or keep it as a spare. Good luck.

Post by **Steve Jelf** » Wed May 28, 2025 5:07 pm

My first real car project was a 1939 Packard, about 40 years ago. I was a total babe in the woods, with no experience at all. Even then, I realized I wasn't smart enough to remember everything. So as I took things apart, I laid the pieces out on the driveway in the order they would go together, and took a picture. It was a good idea, and helped me get things back together.

Post by **varmint** » Wed May 28, 2025 8:41 pm

Thanks guys,
Yes, I do have a spare beater lock that I could disassemble to see what's inside.
Yes, I did take photos but just could not find them until now. I had to go searching back thru months of photos (86 months to be exact) to March of 2018 in order to find these. So, I might as well post them for others that come after me. I did find the rebuild kit.

Post by **jiminbartow** » Wed May 28, 2025 8:46 pm

Congratulations! You still might be able to replace the broken parts with a latch purchased on eBay.

Post by **TRDxB2** » Fri May 30, 2025 2:59 am

varmint wrote: ↑
Tue May 27, 2025 10:16 pm
Umm, how do they go back together. Mine is disassembled and I cannot find photos of when I took it apart.
Photos and orientation of parts, especially the small parts would be great. I did search the forum and found write-up but no pics.
Mine was missing good springs and some were in pieces. I have a rebuild kit for both.
Thanks

I have several for sale. Some I believe are NOS & have Ford Script, some look unused with various manufactures stamp & some used.
Getting them ready for the Classifieds

Post by **varmint** » Fri May 30, 2025 7:49 am

I lightened up the inside photo. Here are some photos of the driver's side with the kit and I believe the original mounting screws to the door. Slowly figuring it out.

: LOCKLIT.jpg (28.2 KiB) Viewed 1458 times

Post by **varmint** » Wed Jun 18, 2025 9:24 pm

I figured that someone should document this for those who follow.
This is the way the spring goes if yours is missing. I peeked inside another and photographed it.

The internal replacement hardware from the vendors is installed but I have yet to flatten the rivet on the base of the lever. This is the left (drivers) side. The mechanism cover, with four tabs, is not installed.
3 positions (the way I number them):
Position 1 is relaxed & unlocked, whether door is open or closed. There is no key mechanism - red.
Position 2 is opening the door with the knob. From inside the cab, the lever is pushed forward.
Position 3 is locked from the inside. It cannot be opened or unlocked from the outside (window raised).

Post by **varmint** » Wed Jun 18, 2025 11:03 pm

Purchasing a rusty door latch is probably not a good idea if you need this spring. My understanding is that spring steel has a tendency to rust quicker. It does NOT come in the kit from the vendors. If yours is bad, you might as well replace the entire lock and not bother to fix it. No one has yet to offer that wisdom that I know of. Its purpose is to hold the lever in lock (Position 3). There is a small detent in the lever in which the folded spring end resides. The other end is riveted in place (rivet also NOT provided).

The fold in the spring no longer pushes into the detent location. The latch is now in Position 1.
Save the screw indicated, even to match it up at the hardware store. The kit screw does NOT fit all locks.

The latch needs a spring that is 1-3/4" x 1/4" x ?", and 2" long before folding it. I tried to source some spring steel but it is more expensive than new latches. Something that kept being included in my search results were tweezers. So, I sacrificed one, heating and quenching it 4x but it remained annealed. I'm no blacksmith, but guess that the nickle & chrome content and the lack of carbon in that sample make it useless.

: Driver latch 16.jpg (15.09 KiB) Viewed 981 times

Post by **varmint** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:56 am

I never did post the finished left latch which functions but I have a question about the other side.

New latches sometimes have a working lock, depends on who you but it from.
The original passenger (right) latch has a key lock mechanism built in, which I have a new key for.
I noticed that the flat spring is also missing from the cover but there is a hole for the rivet.
The cover is not the same part as the left but is symmetrical meaning, the manufacturer did not have to include the hole.
Should the original passenger latch also lock by pulling back on the lever from inside the vehicle as does the left side?

Post by **varmint** » Fri Jul 04, 2025 1:55 pm

The passenger side door latch cover is formed to take a spring but i don't know if it is supposed to have one.
The other three springs are assembled and I found a great source for spring material, the window regulator which I replaced with new.
Just attempting to remove the spring gave me what was needed.
To those who have an improved closed car: Should the original passenger latch also lock by pulling back on the lever from inside the vehicle as does the left side?

: Right latch 01.jpg (46.23 KiB) Viewed 355 times

: Right latch 03.jpg (33.58 KiB) Viewed 355 times

: Right latch 04.jpg (37.39 KiB) Viewed 355 times

Post by **varmint** » Mon Jul 07, 2025 5:29 pm

After days of playing with it, I answered my own question. The passenger latch does not lock from the inside as they purposefully cut and bent a tab down to prevent the lever from being pulled back (no position 3 for right side).
Also, if you were to lock the door with a key from the outside, it can not be unlocked from the inside.
The knob is 1/4"-20 if anyone was wondering. I just welded on a hex screw and cut it to match the left side.