Drivers Door
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Drivers Door
Help ! 1979 drivers door won't open! door appears to be unlocked. Here is the rundown of the events that lead to this happening. Took vette out for first time this spring, started right up !!! Before retiring for the night and locking it up, I used the key and the lock button on the inside of the door to "work" the mechanism back and forth to make sure I could unlock the door once it was locked. Went to get back in. Unlocked the lock, pushed down on the handle, pulled, nothing. Door won't budge. I cant tell if it unlocked or not and the outside handle won't come all the way back up. The inside handle has no resistance, and the lock moves between locked and unlocked with the help of the key and a pair of pliers on the inside ****. What do I do now???? Any hints or suggestions would be helpfull. 
Pro
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Madison WI
Originally Posted by 1pfieffer1
Help ! 1979 drivers door won't open! door appears to be unlocked. Here is the rundown of the events that lead to this happening. Took vette out for first time this spring, started right up !!! Before retiring for the night and locking it up, I used the key and the lock button on the inside of the door to "work" the mechanism back and forth to make sure I could unlock the door once it was locked. Went to get back in. Unlocked the lock, pushed down on the handle, pulled, nothing. Door won't budge. I cant tell if it unlocked or not and the outside handle won't come all the way back up. The inside handle has no resistance, and the lock moves between locked and unlocked with the help of the key and a pair of pliers on the inside ****. What do I do now???? Any hints or suggestions would be helpfull.
However, since the inside handle has no resistance in your case, it sounds like this actual lock mechanism is broken. You can order them from any of the vendors...I believe they go for $89 or something.
Good luck!
Last edited by 72Tornado; Mar 30, 2006 at 04:06 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,028
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From: North NJ
Same problem on my 74 a few years ago...and the door was shut and locked so i couldn't get the door panel off. I had to go and get one of those slim jim things that you can slide along the ouside of the window and actually "break into" my own car. It took a while but you have to move that slim jim around till you grab the locking mech rod. Don't remember if you have to push down or pull up to unlock but I would suggest looking at a diagram of the locking system. The spring that applies tension to the upper rod broke (happens to a lot of people) so there was no tension applied to the door handels both inside and out to activiate the locking mechanism. Wish I could give you specifics but its been a few years since I had to familiarize myself with all the parts. Only other option is to rip the interior door to get at the mechanism.
Once you get the door open look for the culprit, either the linkage is broken/disconnected or that spring is broken (look for small metal pieces in the inside of your door). Whatever broke buy new and lithium greese that bad boy before you reinstall. This is not something you want to do often so guarantee it works for years to come. Good luck.
Once you get the door open look for the culprit, either the linkage is broken/disconnected or that spring is broken (look for small metal pieces in the inside of your door). Whatever broke buy new and lithium greese that bad boy before you reinstall. This is not something you want to do often so guarantee it works for years to come. Good luck.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Redondo Beach, California
If you have this problem, you should just think about replacing the door latch mechanism. Nice new repro versions will cost $100 from the standard Corvette replacement parts houses.
It's a detailed description, but once you have a new latch mechanism in hand, you can see how a long thin screwdriver will unlatch your defective door latch mechanism. When I had a door lock out problem, I opened the other door (that worked fine), took off the panel and used it to practice opening doors. Buying a new latch, and using the other door as a training device, you should be able to acheive success.
PS: Although being careful, I managed to ruine my rear quarter panels for my Convertible in attempting to be get the door panels off of the stuck door. Add another couple of hundreds of dollars for repro panels that looked great but didn't fit too well.
It's a detailed description, but once you have a new latch mechanism in hand, you can see how a long thin screwdriver will unlatch your defective door latch mechanism. When I had a door lock out problem, I opened the other door (that worked fine), took off the panel and used it to practice opening doors. Buying a new latch, and using the other door as a training device, you should be able to acheive success.
PS: Although being careful, I managed to ruine my rear quarter panels for my Convertible in attempting to be get the door panels off of the stuck door. Add another couple of hundreds of dollars for repro panels that looked great but didn't fit too well.
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Ok, got door open, took off inner panel and was able to open manually. lock mechanism appears to be, well, old. there are springs and clips and grease and dirt all over the place. Will probably just replace the lock. My question is, I checked in the Eclkers catalog and the lock for a ?-77 is around $140 but the lock for a '78 - 82 is $300. What gives? I think it may have something to do with the alarm system which doesn't work anyway. Does anybody know if the locks are interchangeable? Next question, found the reason that the electric locks don't work, 2 of the wires on the back of the door lock switch are broken off of the female connector that pushes on to the door lock switch. Does anyone know where I can get replacement parts for that connector? Thanks in advance.
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rebuild
Got lock and stuff all out. Looks like the lock it ok but the springs and clips on it need replacing. I can locate new ones but was wondering if anybody has a schematic for the door latch hardware? thanks
