I'm not sure when they changed this, but in 1947 the door handle locks the door when the handle is turned towards the back and unlocks the door when it is pushed forward. I also looked at the battery cover and space is very limited in that area although it could be an option. The latches are original as far as I know. I will check things out and try the window method as EchoBravoSierra suggests.
Sounds like my handles are clocked 90 degrees off from that- unlocked points toward the front of the truck, locked is angled downward from there, and pull up to open them. It's quite possible someone clocked my handles differently at some point in my truck's life- It's the only AD I've had experience with, so I don't have any other point of reference.
