75 door handle removal

[Ed Jennings]

I am in the process of preping my 75 convertible for painting. I want to remove the door handles and locks, but don't want to disassemble the door any further than necessary. It is beginning to look like the latch mechanism and possibly the window have to come out to access teh door lock. Can someone enlighten me as to what needs to be removed for access so i don't have to reinvent the wheel? That extra steel beam in the door makes for a tight fit!!

[Jim T.]

Re: 75 door handle removal

Does not seem that long ago, but 14 years ago when I painted my 70 and before that the 68, I remember removing the door panel which gave me enough access to remove the door handle, door lock, and door push button. Did not remove the latch system. Doors would still shut securely and did not remove any door windows.

[John Chesher]

Re: 75 door handle removal

After removing the interior door panel, of course, remove the regulators for the window. They each have one bolt and are at the top of the window track to keep the window from raising too high. This should allow you to raise the window an inch or two higher, which gave me enough room to get a hand in there without removing the latch assembly.

[Ed Jennings]

Re: 75 door handle removal

I remember 30 years or so ago, painting my 71. It was only a few years old at the time and I don't remember any real difficulty in removing the handles. I think starting with 73(???) that a steel beam was added to the door. Not much room in there compared to earlier cars.