Door removal problems

[Big Country]

I have just started a project to restore my 67 mustang and have already run into some problems. (This is my first project, so don't laugh at me if i ask for help on an easy problem). My problem is this: the driver's side door won't open, and is therefore causing some problems as we try to take it off the car. We removed the inside panel fro the door so we can see what is going on on the inside, and it appears that as we turn the handle, the cable running to the opening mechanism is being pulled, its just not moving anything on the inside.

Looking at the door we already took off, it appears as if that cable is connected to an assembly which in turn is connected to a pair of gears, which when rotated unlatch the door. When playing with the driver's side door, these gears do not move and seem to be jammed in the shut position. If anybody has any ideas how to get the door to open, i would appreciate it. Alternatively, if there is a way to take the door apart while still on the car to get to the inner workings, that too could be useful.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Gearhead999]

Have you tried to remove the door panel?? You should be able to get it off with the door closed. You might have to remove the seat or tilt it forward or what ever it takes.

Hope that helps.

[Kisner]

Sounds like your latch may be rusted shut. First thing I would try is a lot of WD-40. If that doesn't work you may have to stick your arm way back there (won't be easy but can be done) and hammer the latch open (just follow the rod to the appropirate mechanism. If a hammer won't fit you'll need to find something that can pry it in the right direction.

I'm also assuming the inside door handle won't open the door either?

[KiltedBanshees93GT]

???Is the handle/latch stock? I thought 65-68's all had the same type of assembly, using solid rods to connect the handles and the latch mechanism.

How does the cable attach to the "assembly"? Is there any way to pull it with something else, (pliers, etc?) Also, I would try spraying the gears with lube, and maybe try actuating them directly.

If you have a digital cam, a pic would be great.
Hope it helps.
J

[Big Country]

everything in the door is stock, as far as I can tell. The inside door handle is connected to the latch assemby via cable that runs about the length of the door....and pulling on that doesn't seem to do anything.

I'll try just spraying it with WD-40 and see I can basically bang the door open. If that doesn't work, I may try to post some pictures. Thanks for the help.

[KiltedBanshees93GT]

The outside handle should be connected via a rod, running vertically from the thumb button to the latch. try giving that a good pull upward.

J

[Big Country]

Problem solved. Apparently a spring inside the latch mechanism has gotten rusty and broken, and this caused everything to fall apart. After we removed it though, we were able to pull on one of the rods in the assembly and the door popped open. Thanks for the help.

[Kisner]

One final thought. If those are your original latches and they can be cleaned up and repaired, keep them! When I restored my 68, mine looked horrible (coated with rust) so I just chunked them and bought new repros. Let me tell you, the repro's suck. After several weeks of adjusting the rod from the outside door handle, I finally got them to where I could at least open and close the doors. However, I can't lock the doors because it screws everything up and you can barely get them unlocked (you have to pull like crazy numerous times to barely get the lock button to come back up). They're total junk as far as I'm concerned but my 30 days had elapsed so I couldn't return them.