1980 C3 Corvette Door Locks
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 17
Likes: 2
From: North Carolina
1980 C3 Corvette Door Locks
Hello All,
I just bought a 1980 c3 corvette in red! I am very excited and am happy about the purchase. I am trying to get acquainted with the car and every time I close the driver door it somehow locks? and i have to turn the key back to the left and all the way to the right to open it again. Furthermore, the passenger door won't open because it seemed locked. How do I unlock the car and keep all the doors unlocked?
What position do I leave the exterior locks in?
What position do I leave the interior pins in that are in the door? Do I pull them out or push them in?
Thank you!
I just bought a 1980 c3 corvette in red! I am very excited and am happy about the purchase. I am trying to get acquainted with the car and every time I close the driver door it somehow locks? and i have to turn the key back to the left and all the way to the right to open it again. Furthermore, the passenger door won't open because it seemed locked. How do I unlock the car and keep all the doors unlocked?
What position do I leave the exterior locks in?
What position do I leave the interior pins in that are in the door? Do I pull them out or push them in?
Thank you!
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,820
Likes: 1,728
From: Summerville SC
Congrats on your new toy and welcome aboard. If your car is like most of ours when we first got them there is tons of gunk surrounding your door lock linkage. My first choice would be to get some spray lubricant and put the little red tube on the end and go to town. You can reach some of it with the window down from the outside. There is also (or there should be) a plastic cover over the lock assy at the back of the door. You have to remove that to lube up all of that. Do a search here for door locks and there are a few write ups on taking the outside handle off. To do any of this you need to pull the door panel and the window regulator access panel off. Once those are off and the window is up you can see what you are working with. This should be a good FIRST project for you. And when you are done you can do it all over again on the other side. And you pull the pin towards the front of the car to unlock. Don’t hesitate to ask a question but do a search first because I can pretty much guarantee that any question you have has been asked before
Racer
Joined: Apr 2022
Posts: 276
Likes: 290
From: in St. Louis
Using Key: Towards front to lock, towards back to unlock, center position to remove key. Drivers door lock forward activates the alarm, if it works.
Inside door buttons: Like kanvasman said, pull out (forward) to unlock, push in (back) to lock.
Inside door lock button: Down to lock, up to unlock.
Inside door buttons: Like kanvasman said, pull out (forward) to unlock, push in (back) to lock.
Inside door lock button: Down to lock, up to unlock.
Last edited by JiminSTLouis; May 26, 2023 at 11:00 AM.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 319
Likes: 125
From: Midwest
When dealing with your exterior key door locks, it might be easier to remember that, with either door, turning the key toward the nose of the car will lock the door. Turning it toward the rear of the car will unlock the door.
