The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors 1946 Door handle, latch and door hardware help please

- We're just now putting my 1946 Chevy 1/2 ton truck back together so we haven't tweaked anything. -

When I shut my driver's side door it gets stuck. It's the original door and the original glass so I don't want to bang around and mess with it until we have an understanding of it. I know it's primitive but we've never done this before, and we began the restoration five years ago.

First run:

- The outside handle stays tight and straight across until we try to use it, or turn the inside handle. Then it falls down (see picture) and won't return to the horizontal position and stay.

- There's a hole next to the interior handle screw and washer, but I don't know what goes there.

- I took both doors apart, removed and cleaned everything, put new rubber and trim in, and put them back together. What do I need to do to get the handles to engage?

- Does the door jamb look correct? It was a farm truck for many years before I purchased it, and several "jimmy rigs" had been done. I can't really tell from my 41-46, Chevy books, and I just discovered the other issues. I figured I'd ask about that while I was at it.

Thank you for any assistance you can offer!

Here are 2 pics, the interior hole is the interior door lock (drivers side), pass door has key on outside.

The handle droops most likely because the screw appears to be missing that secures the door handle in place. It’s possible as well that the spring inside the latch assembly is broken. Note there are two springs. The one shown in the attached photo, on the right side of the assembly is the “anti-droop” spring. The second spring is near the center of the assembly and is part of the latch mechanism.

The door panel hole is used to secure the door handle. See the first photo below. The ‘46 door panel on my ‘46 is shown in the second and third attached photo.

The door striker photo in your post appears to be well worn, possibly worn out?

Thank you both so much! There was definitely never a driver's side lock there when I got it because I've never seen that before. Makes sense for a farm truck. I'll have to get one of those.

I'm trying to get the driver's side inwards out, but a couple of screws are stuck. I don't know what's in there yet. Did you need to order replacement parts? I was wondering which one would be the best. I'm reading over the "Mechanical Maintenance" book now to get a list of everything so I'll know the name of what I need.

Thank you both again for the help! It's the "little big" things like this that I need to nail down so that I can finally get on the road. Much appreciated!

I'm having a really hard time finding a diagram. I don't know what parts to replace if I don't know what's missing. Everything assumes you're replacing a worn out part. Some of mine weren't present when I took the door apart (springs and driver's side "t"-looking interior lock, for instance.) Can anyone please point me in the right direction?

Jim Carters Truck Parts shows some of the parts in their catalog. Shown are the anti-droop springs for left and right door mechanisms, and the door strikers.

I did a quick and dirty search for a drawing of the door mechanism in 1946 Chevrolet Master Parts Catalog and didn’t find one for trucks. There is a drawing showing some limited information for cars, but those are a bit different from mechanisms used on trucks. My guess is posting a photo showing that one would lead to more confusion than would be helpful?

I’ll do some digging through my photos. I don’t recall having taken many photos of the dissection and rebuild of the door latch mechanisms. If I find anything useful, I’ll post it.

To get those fasteners loose, maybe soaking in a 50:50 mix of acetone and ATF will help?

I found a bunch of photos taken during the episodes of door related latches and window regulator restoration. I have added labels and brief descriptions to some of them. Here are a few that capture the highlights. If more are needed let me know. (Note: The photo showing the spring dimensions—piano wire was used to make the replacement. At the time I wasn’t able to find a vendor selling one).

The window regulator replacement assembly was found at Chevs of the 40’s. Their current online catalog shows them in stock.

I wonder if these Legacy Tech Tips will help with what's going on?

'Door Latches and Strikers' -- By Alan Horvath with a few photos.

Basic info: How door latches work -- by Roy "boltare" Marks. Some good drawings.

Maybe another TT is in order ... or one combined TT.

46Sparky and Peggy - Thank you for the help! Hubby's going through the catalogs to order what's missing. I did find that Jim Carter was cheaper on everything except one part, and it wasn't a lot more than Filling Station and Chevs/40's. The photos helped us narrow it down. The diagrams were a little different than my '46, but I appreciate the links! I tried looking for door articles on the search bars but I kept getting some of my posts along with totally irrelevant ones. 😅 I was in a hurry, and I haven't mastered the layout on here yet. I appreciate the help!

OK, I'm ready to drive at 10 miles down the road to get the muffler and pipes welded, and give it a once over on a lift. I need to get my doors on, but...

- The top two screws (under the window) are slightly larger than the rest, and I can't find any that fit properly. Size?

- The door and window crank set screw sizes are...?

- And the fat screw next to the door latch is size????

I just spent $20 on different screws to try and none of them fit. Nothing I have fits, and before I take my entire door to town and jam different sizes of screws in it, I thought I would check here first in hopes that someone remembered what sizes they used. TIA!

Hope I'm not too late to the party and you haven't already headed to town to try and find this hardware. Here's what I found searching through a 1929-46 Chevy Master Parts Book (numbers correspond to my annotated original picture of yours):

1 - Top of door panels screws - GM# 3681736 Screw No.8 - 15 x 1/2" Type A Clutch Head (I could find no sources for original style clutch head screws. You can find a similar No.8 - 15 x 1/2" Sheet metal screw at most any hardware store like the one in the 2nd picture below that should work, but you would have to add some "patina" to it to kinda hide the newer style screw but still let it do it's job.)

2 - Door and window handle - GM# 3654595 Screw No.10-32 x 3/4 inches Fillister head screw, chrome (You can find these at several of our vendors like Chev's of the 40's # 3654595 36-46. Sample shown in 3rd pic.)

3 - I couldn't find a listing for the screw with large flat washer that threads into the lock at the rear edge of the door, but I also noticed in one of your earlier pictures above that your door had the Clutch head screw and washer. If lost, maybe 46Sparky can tell you what he used as his picture above shows a later cross tip head machine screw and washer working in that spot.

Thank you so much, Gdads! I truly appreciate it.

I am needing clarification about which fastener detail is needed. Is it (1) the one that passes through the “T” shaped knob or (2) the one that fits and is surrounded by the door panel at the outside edge of the door? I’ll try to get you the info asap, I’m away from the truck at the moment.

46Sparky, I think we've almost sussed it out. The t-looking lock (driver's side) may still be an issue but I think hubby found something that will work I appreciate it!

Great news. I recall some of the fasteners for Sparky were missing in the parts pile received from the previous owner. Some parts needed chased or cleaned with taps and dies because of apparent cross threads or other damage or grunge.