Door locks 101

[JohnLiles]

My passenger door will not lock on the key - the drivers door does - and maybe the door or lock is not original to the car ( 1955 Continental pre A ).

I am happy if can lock the passenger door on the inside handle , but the handle will not move to the lock position . It will move to open the door but will not move in opposite direction to lock it.

I guess I have to remove the door card to see the handle linkage , have done this before on a B and a C , so assume the pre A is no different . Remove top rail , remove pins from window winder and from door handle to remove both handles , remove all the self tapping screws round perimeter of door card. emove door card .

What next ?

[Mike Wilson]

John: It looks like you have the removal procedure down pat. As far as the door not being lockable from the inside, on my '63, there is a wire between the interior door handle latch and the door lock. It needs to be adjusted to be able to lock/unlock the door. I'm not familiar with the '55 but I know earlier Pre-A's have a solid metal strap between the two. I'm not sure if it is adjustable. I'm sure someone knowledgeable about your car will weigh in.

[JohnLiles]

Hi Mike , I evetually found time to get started , so decided to strip the drivers door first as that one works OK , just to see what the configuration is supposed to look like





On this door , it often does not latch when I close it , so assume may need to adjust striker plate on main body of car

When I strip the passenger door will be able to see why not locking on handle ( I hope )

BTW date stamp on window winder is 3 55 , so it's original !

[Martin Benade]

A bit of lubrication might fix the latching issue. Try that first, both the latch and the outside handle button.

[Mike Wilson]

I agree with Martin. Parts may just be sticking.