Front Door Lock Finger

I am looking for the "finger" that controls the locking/unlocking in a front door. I epoxied the one I had back together and it looks like it didn't hold. I think the one in the front is the one that has the finger pointing back towards the lock cylinder - not away- if you know for sure It would be appreciated as the one I have is lost in the bottom of the door and I don't really want to take the other side apart. Here is an image with the two possible fingers.

I may have a spare I'll give it a look. I think those can be bought new online as well.

That would be much appreciated. I have looked for them as reproductions. The lock parts were used in the late 50's on cars but the fingers are a different shape. I havent seen them on f-100 parts lists and I haven't seen them on econoline lists. I also thought a piece of aluminum plate, a hacksaw, and a file might be enough to manufacture something that worked. An original would be great too however. Let me know if you find anything Seth.

I looked through my box and found the one I was thinking of but the finger is broken off, probably like yours. I have 2 spare doors though, at least one has the parts I think. Let me look at those and get back with you.

That sounds great. Thanks for taking a look.

Hey are these fingers the same from one side to the other? The one I will have will be from front passengers side door.

Btw, the levers that go away from the lock are available from C&G Ford BAAA-29171. That is the same number in the Econoline parts diagram for the front doors but the part does appear to go back towards the lock in the diagram, not away like the C & G part.

Hey, sorry Joel I just dug the door out I thought had a lock in it and it doesn't. It has everything else, but is missing the lock...

Also, I looked at the one in my van out of curiosity and it is the type that goes back towards the lock cylinder. I'm considering modelling it in case I need one in the future.

I was off work today and bored, so I pulled my lock and modeled it in cad. I then printed one in petg and it is surprisingly very strong. I printed it on it's side with all walls. I installed it and it works.
I'll send you a couple if you like.

Seth, That is going above and beyond, and to be honest I didn't think of that as a possibility. I actually have access to a 3d printer at work. I have worked with ABS and know we have a spool. I looked at the strength difference between petg and abs and my internet search was inconclusive as to which material might be better for this. What has your experience been with petg vs abs if you have had any. Easiest thing to do is send me the file and when I go back to work next week I will print one and see how it turns out. I was also considering ordering some nylon when we are in need of repairing plastic parts that break during regular wear and tear. I think that would work if the abs would not. I think I have your email as you shared your cnc files for your brake setup and you gave me a couple of rime a few years back. I will email you directly.

Joel

I am pretty certain that both front doors have the same turned back on themselves fingers so the c&g part may not be the right one. Good eye finding it though. I looked through many catalogues and could not find any. I used to have a spin caster and could cast brass, bronze and aluminum. I think the 3d printed material could be used in a casting process as well for such a small item. Usually wax is used and melted from the form, but pla might melt out similarily, maybe a little stinkier. I unfortunately don't have access to this stuff anymore but is an idea for making metal ones if need be.

Joel

I also thought it would make a good mold plug initially. Like for sand casting or something. But after printing it, the weak point appears to be very strong in the orientation it is printed.

A spin caster would be ideal for making these and emblems and all sorts of zinc-aluminum type parts. If you used the right filament, the plastic should be able to withstand mold vulcanizing temps for rubber molds used in commercial spin casting. They also have a pva filament that dissolves with alcohol/water that could be used for some type of sand casting I think.

I've avoided abs since I began 3d printing mainly because of the fumes and it's somewhat difficult to print well from what I've read. I upgraded my printer with an e3d V6 type hotend a couple years ago and started using nylon when I need ultimate durability. I only use it when I feel I need to though b/c the filament has to be dried for several hours before use every time it's been out for more than a few days. Same with printing with tpu, I love the things you can do with cheetah-flex but it is a bit of a hassle to have to dry it in the toaster oven for an hour or two before you use it. Once dried they both print awesome though.

I mainly use petg now b/c it prints well, is fairly resistant to heat(much better than pla), its hydrophobic, it's pretty strong and it's cheap. It's not brittle like pla but more brittle than nylon.

I hope that file works well for you. If you can print it well in abs it will probably work. Use a high wall count in the slicer, probably like 10 w/ a .4 nozzle, 100% infill setting and lay it flat on it's side. That layer/strand orientation gives it a lot of shear strength.  

Btw, I also have a file for the window roller. I printed one in nylon 2 summers ago and it's still in there doing it's thing. Those are still available in the market though b/c they used the same one in the Mustangs.