VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 passenger door

Hi all,
First of all I would like to thank all of those who responded to my query regarding the rear axle seals. Job done and so far so good!! Now I have a completely different question. Is the passenger door supposed to lock up whenever shut closed. Mine does just that. When I shut the door, I can't open it from the outside, I have to raise the interior door handle and then I can open from the outside. Is this supposed to happen, maybe a safety feature or is there something wrong? Thanks again.
Glen

Hi Glen, I don't know what year car you have, but on my 31 coupe the driver door locks by lifting the handle up. The passenger door locks from the out side with a key. It sounds like your passenger door has a driver side lock put in upside down therefore you having to lift the handle to unlock it. Do you have a key lock on the drivers door? If so there is the problem. Hope that this will help solve your problem.

I was told the lock is on the passanger door because many states had a law that you had to use the curbside door to leave and enter the vehicle.

I don't like to open a driver side door next to a traffic lane. It's safer to get in or out on the sidewalk side. And in 1931 there was less pavement and lots of dirt roads. If in those early years you were still driving a horse and buggy, you most likely would sit on the right side as a right handed person whipping the horse instead of the passengers.

Hi all,
Thanks for your replies. First of all, my car is a 1932. The driver side door does not have a lock on the outside, it is locked by lifting the interior handle. The passenger door has a lock on the exterior handle. But every time I close the passenger door it locks itself and to re open it I have to lift the interior handle. Another question that I have, is when I removed the window winder handle I noticed that there is a small spring behind it. What is this spring for? I removed the handle because I had to push it inwards to roll up/down the window!! Thanks in advance.
Glen

I had a similar problem on my 31 sedan. The left front door would lock when I closed it. The solution was (as I remember it) that the locking plate on the door latch slides forward and back to lock the door. That plate is held by rivets. There is a gap between the rivet head and the plate so it can slide, but to tension the plate there is a bellevue washer under the rivet head to keep the plate from moving too freely. A bellevue washer is a flat washer made out of spring steel and is slightly cup-shaped. If the washer(s) is weak it can let the lock plate slide forward under its own momentum when the door is closed.

The window cranks have a small coil spring which goes into the regulator shaft. I assume it is to keep the crank from vibrating.

The small coil springs in the regulator for the door and window handles are to keep tension on the handle so they don't wiggle or make noise. Also keeps them from wearing out with constant giggling.

giggling or jiggling?

Ahhh -- Those happy handles!

Maybe both. Jello Jiggles?