66 Coupe Inside Door Release (Won't)

[Tom C.]

My 66 inside door latch release doesn't have enough "throw" to release the latch. Outside release works fine. My 66 guru says that there is no adjustment left in the rod. Anyone know of a fix for this? I know this is a common problem, but I can't find anything in the archives.

[Alex Gilmour]

Re: 66 Coupe Inside Door Release (Won't)

Tom,

I just cleaned/repaired my drivers door. Your source is correct, there is little adjustment that can be done on the inner handle. The problem most likely lies in the latching mechanism. Most likely the lever on the latch that contains the long rod has worn to the point that the inner handle won't release it. You can dissasemble the door to remove the latch and braze up the hole on the latch to remove the slop.

On mine, I had the opposite problem. My door would not unlock from the outside. I cleaned the 30 year old grease off of the latch, relubed it with white lithium and now the door works flawlessly.

HTH, Alex

'66 A/C Coupe

[Chuck G.]

Re: 66 Coupe Inside Door Release (Won't)

I had a similar problem with the drivers door of my 63. The knob is screwed to a shaft. That shaft is pressed and peened into the mechanism. Through years of wear, the shaft became loose. I removed the "X" like assembly and tack welded the shaft, holding it straight up when I did it. Fixed my problem. Hope this helps. Chuck