ALVETTE00

Hi fellow Vetters,

The middle and battery compartment lids are nearly impossible to open. Are there any known fixes I can do to make opening an closing them with the button easier?

Thanks

Dirty Dalton

Start with lubrication. Any number of previously recalcitrant items have been made to work by a drop of oil in the right place.

ALVETTE00

Hi Ed,

I oiled the mechanism and lubed the flange, but no improvement.

Mooser

What exactly are they doing (or not doing)?

If the door is open and you press the button does it work then? Can you see the little dog retract into the cylinder etc?

If it works fine with the door open, the catches on the floor might be adjusted wrong.
They are slotted and if they are set too close to the cylinders on the doors they might be still touching some when the button is press.

If the buttons are hard to press when the door is open, I'd remove the screw from the underside and take the cylinders out, clean them, maybe soak in some valsol overnight and then oil / penetrant and work them free,

Just a couple of ideas
M

DonnieP73

Like Mooser suggested, you might look at the rear storage compartment door latch strikers. That is what the door latch catches when the door
closes. You can adjust them in or out as they have slotted screw holes.
You can see what they look like on this link.

http://www.corvettemods.com/assets/images/602469.jpg

Hope this might help.


Donnie

ALVETTE00

Thanks fellas.

The issue is that they will not open without force.

The cylinder operates as designed.

I didn't know the striker was adjustable, so I'll give that a go!
Thanks

gbvette62

I assume that you're referring to the push button latches, when you say "mechanism". Are you calling the strikers the "flange"?

Have you lubed the hinges? The original ones were unpainted steel, and often rusted, making them hard to open. Repro hinges are stainless steel, lessening the likely hood that they will rust.

What year are you dealing with?

68's had a hinge with a spring built into it, that was supposed to pop the door open, when the buttons were pushed. They didn't work as hoped, so for 69, GM added vinyl loops to each door, to pull the door open with. The vinyl loops were used until 77, when they were replaced with metal tabs.

If you don't have the loops, the doors are almost impossible to open. If you have a 68, it pays to add the loops to the doors, unless you're doing an NCRS correct restoration.

There are after market "springs" available, to help open the compartment doors. They're not a spring in the traditional sense, but instead are spring steel tabs, that assist in popping the doors open. The set of 3 runs about $10.

ALVETTE00

All fixed!

The battery compartment was fixed with just loosening the screws and moving the striker back a bit.

The center compartment required some dremelling to make the range of adjustment a hair more. This one was missing the leather loop so I made one out of my wife's old black leather purse

Thanks for the tech-tips.
You guys

bj1k

It sounds like you just need the finger pulls so you have something to lift with. They sell the vinyl loops or the stainless steel finger tabs for lifting the doors. Check with the parts suppliers.

ENCSDOUG

I had the same issue and it was kind of hard to push a button and pull the leather strap. Unless you want to keep it original, I converted mine to a small chrome **** and fabricated brackets to fit a magnet. Same system you have on kitchen cabinets. It looks nice and easy now.

7T1vette

The 'replacement' finger-loops sold by parts vendors is a chinzy, flimsy substitute for the original pulls. You would do better making your own and using vinyl dye to color them same as interior.