by RodStRace Fri Apr 16, 2010 12:31 pmYou asked for it, here it is! How to take side/rear door parts out.
This again is a 1966, later ones may be different. Also, my doors had been “fixed” over the years by people with various tools and skill levels. Clips missing, arms bent, a nail instead of a clip, and a weld bead in one case! You just have to deal with what you have.
Just like the front doors, there are various rods attached to the latch with clips.
The side/rear doors have a lower rod and an upper rod, the side front door also has a lock rod.
Mine was missing the lock cylinders, so I don’t have the procedure for them. They should have a clip holding them in place, and be fairly easy to remove. Note how each latch and parts are before removal! For example, here’s how the side rear door latch looks before removal.
The lower rod parts are fairly easy. There is a clip to the latch. At the bottom, a spring, washer and clip that holds the rod to the bottom of the door, and a Bolt or plunger that locks into the body to hold the doors shut.
Pop off the clip and remove the rod from the latch. Next, remove the clip above the washer and spring. I used a pair of hemostats. This will allow the rod to drop and the bolt to be unscrewed from the rod. Lube rusty parts before forcing!
Note that there are 2 different profiles on the bolt, a round side (inside) and a sharper edge (outer). This picture has the inside down and the outside up.
Some of mine also had a kind of a clip wrapped around the bottom and side of the bolt. I assume these are an anti-rattle of some sort. Once the bolt is unscrewed, the rod can be lifted back out of the door and the parts put back together for storage. Note the bend on the lower end of the rod and how it fits in the door.
The lock rod has a bent end that engages through the latch, so it has to stay in until the latch is removed. On mine, this was only on the side front door. Here is a picture of it in place and the latch removed (front and back) and the whole assembly for the side front door.
Now for the top ones! They have an extra flat linkage between the rod and the latch. Note the proper position before removing! They also have a guide built into the latch, so they can’t be removed completely except WITH the latch! Please note that the guide will not allow the rod to be pulled up enough to expose it below the bolt. This is mentioned later.
The window doors have an added level of difficulty, since you cannot access the spring clip. Here’s how I did it, you may find a better way. If so, please post it!
The cargo doors allow access, so I pulled the clip from the latch, then the clip below the washer and spring.
Having the latch loose at this point will allow better access to remove the clip. You must have the latch loose from the door for the next part, so go ahead and remove the screws now to make it easier. The rod can then be pulled up and the bolt removed. The darn guide on the latch makes this tougher than the bottom rods. At this point, the latch, lock rod and the upper rod can be removed from the door. Try to consider how all these parts are going to be installed in a freshly painted door! Learn how stuff moves now!
On the doors with windows (rear for me), you can’t get to the spring and clip. It gets pretty ugly, but here’s how I did it. Remember that in my case, the handles were off and one of the linkages was bent and already off. It would probably be better to turn the handle to the closed position to extend the bolts before going through all this! I also had one lower rod held to the latch with the weld bead!
I got the lower rod out the same as before (except the welded one), then pried and pushed the linkage and loose latch up until I could grab the bolt at the top with vise grips. This is not fun, since you have limited access to the lower part of the rod, it has the latch wrapped around it, and you may also have the flat linkage hanging off the end. It depends on how you were able to pull the clips and detach the rod and linkage from the latch.
For those that have everything working and not messed with, I should also say that if you already have the bolt held above, you cannot pull it enough to expose the rod with the latch in place. The upper part of the latch that guides the upper rod will not allow it. You must remove the latch screws and allow it to move up. While guiding the latch and upper rod inside the door so it doesn’t jam and cause more bodywork, pull the bolt up enough to expose and grab the rod. I used a pair of needle nose pliers since I couldn’t find my needle nose vice grips. I’d suggest finding some so you can lock them in place on the rod, holding against the spring pressure and not worry. Unscrew the bolt on top. Now the linkage is spring loaded, so when you release the rod, it will shoot down into the door. The latch still has it held, so this should not cause any issues, just be aware it will happen. Now you can remove the latch and upper rod. Here is a picture of my rear door latches. Note the lock cylinder pin on the right one, and the glob of weld holding the left lower linkage! You can also see the guides for the upper rods and the flat linkage between the upper arms and the latches. What isn’t really visible in this shot is the bent flat linkage and latch arm for the upper right rod. Just some of the stuff you have to deal with on older vehicles, including earlies!
Good luck and I hope this helps.
This again is a 1966, later ones may be different. Also, my doors had been “fixed” over the years by people with various tools and skill levels. Clips missing, arms bent, a nail instead of a clip, and a weld bead in one case! You just have to deal with what you have.
Just like the front doors, there are various rods attached to the latch with clips.
The side/rear doors have a lower rod and an upper rod, the side front door also has a lock rod.
Mine was missing the lock cylinders, so I don’t have the procedure for them. They should have a clip holding them in place, and be fairly easy to remove. Note how each latch and parts are before removal! For example, here’s how the side rear door latch looks before removal.
The lower rod parts are fairly easy. There is a clip to the latch. At the bottom, a spring, washer and clip that holds the rod to the bottom of the door, and a Bolt or plunger that locks into the body to hold the doors shut.
Pop off the clip and remove the rod from the latch. Next, remove the clip above the washer and spring. I used a pair of hemostats. This will allow the rod to drop and the bolt to be unscrewed from the rod. Lube rusty parts before forcing!
Note that there are 2 different profiles on the bolt, a round side (inside) and a sharper edge (outer). This picture has the inside down and the outside up.
Some of mine also had a kind of a clip wrapped around the bottom and side of the bolt. I assume these are an anti-rattle of some sort. Once the bolt is unscrewed, the rod can be lifted back out of the door and the parts put back together for storage. Note the bend on the lower end of the rod and how it fits in the door.
The lock rod has a bent end that engages through the latch, so it has to stay in until the latch is removed. On mine, this was only on the side front door. Here is a picture of it in place and the latch removed (front and back) and the whole assembly for the side front door.
Now for the top ones! They have an extra flat linkage between the rod and the latch. Note the proper position before removing! They also have a guide built into the latch, so they can’t be removed completely except WITH the latch! Please note that the guide will not allow the rod to be pulled up enough to expose it below the bolt. This is mentioned later.
The window doors have an added level of difficulty, since you cannot access the spring clip. Here’s how I did it, you may find a better way. If so, please post it!
The cargo doors allow access, so I pulled the clip from the latch, then the clip below the washer and spring.
Having the latch loose at this point will allow better access to remove the clip. You must have the latch loose from the door for the next part, so go ahead and remove the screws now to make it easier. The rod can then be pulled up and the bolt removed. The darn guide on the latch makes this tougher than the bottom rods. At this point, the latch, lock rod and the upper rod can be removed from the door. Try to consider how all these parts are going to be installed in a freshly painted door! Learn how stuff moves now!
On the doors with windows (rear for me), you can’t get to the spring and clip. It gets pretty ugly, but here’s how I did it. Remember that in my case, the handles were off and one of the linkages was bent and already off. It would probably be better to turn the handle to the closed position to extend the bolts before going through all this! I also had one lower rod held to the latch with the weld bead!
I got the lower rod out the same as before (except the welded one), then pried and pushed the linkage and loose latch up until I could grab the bolt at the top with vise grips. This is not fun, since you have limited access to the lower part of the rod, it has the latch wrapped around it, and you may also have the flat linkage hanging off the end. It depends on how you were able to pull the clips and detach the rod and linkage from the latch.
For those that have everything working and not messed with, I should also say that if you already have the bolt held above, you cannot pull it enough to expose the rod with the latch in place. The upper part of the latch that guides the upper rod will not allow it. You must remove the latch screws and allow it to move up. While guiding the latch and upper rod inside the door so it doesn’t jam and cause more bodywork, pull the bolt up enough to expose and grab the rod. I used a pair of needle nose pliers since I couldn’t find my needle nose vice grips. I’d suggest finding some so you can lock them in place on the rod, holding against the spring pressure and not worry. Unscrew the bolt on top. Now the linkage is spring loaded, so when you release the rod, it will shoot down into the door. The latch still has it held, so this should not cause any issues, just be aware it will happen. Now you can remove the latch and upper rod. Here is a picture of my rear door latches. Note the lock cylinder pin on the right one, and the glob of weld holding the left lower linkage! You can also see the guides for the upper rods and the flat linkage between the upper arms and the latches. What isn’t really visible in this shot is the bent flat linkage and latch arm for the upper right rod. Just some of the stuff you have to deal with on older vehicles, including earlies!
Good luck and I hope this helps.
