The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors 1940 door locks

I just had my door handles locks keyed on my 1940 panel, never had keys.It does lock but the door handle spins round and round is this how it worked originaly?

I don't have a '40 but it doesn't sound right to me. My '38 doesn't work that way. Does it just spin around when it's locked? Does it work normally when unlocked?

That is the way mine works tmcculley. It is a repro so not sure if that makes it different.

Mine are old original door handles that had the locks in them .I took them to a locksmith and had keys made.When it is not locked it works properly and opens with just a quarter to half turn.It does lock and happy about that,just thought it was wierd it spins round and round.Thanks for the feedback.

My '40 has original handles. They spin 360 when locked.

Wow, that is interesting to know!

That's what I thought. This'll add another wrinkle to the old gray matter.

My 39 has an inside lock on the drivers side and outside door lock in the handle on the passenger side. I was told that back in the day if you were parked at the curb side it was illegal to exit or enter the vehicle from the road. So, the only way to enter the locked vehicle was from the curb side.

I paid big bucks for a NOS locking door handle for my '40, and it spins when locked also. I agree, a weird design, but it works!

Just a clarification on my original answer. The passenger side ( key lock ) spins 360 when locked. The drivers side ( thumb turn ) remains rigid.

I have another locking handle I'm having keyed for the drivers side.As long as I don't lock the drivers door from the inside with the knob and lock it with the key from the outside I will be able to unlock it with the key and enter but not if I locked it with the inside door lock.

Hi, I have a variation on the theme on my '40....

Had my locks re-keyed. Not sure it I got all back together correctly - NOW my door handle spins 360 when the door is unlocked (rendering the handle useless), and when I lock the door, the handle still spins but I cannot remove the key from the lock barrel.

Does anyone have a picture or drawing of a correctly assembled lock/handle assembly.

thanks,

Doug

Doug et al.,

As noted earlier, this is the way that these door locks were designed to work. When the door is locked, the interior cylinder disengages and allows the handle to turn 360 degrees--so that it does not engage the shaft that sits in the pillar. When it is unlocked, the interior cylinder is stabilized, and when the handle turns, it engages and pulls the shaft out of pillar. In the locked position, the slot for the key should be perpendicular to the tail of the handle; when the door is unlocked, the key slot should be parallel (in line with) the tail of the handle.

If your handle is spinning 360 degrees in both positions, it is likely that you're missing the small pin that secures the lock cylinder in its position. If you look on the shaft of the handle, toward the end of the chromed portion, you will see a small hole/channel drilled though, a bit off center; a small pin, about 1/16" (or less) in diameter and probably less than 1/2" long must be inserted there and peened on the ends to stay in there. This little pin secures the shaft from moving when the door is unlocked (hence allowing the door to be opened).

I had the same problem on one of my doors on my 38 panel (i.e., turning 360 degrees), and when I removed it from the door, I discovered it was missing this pin. Once I replaced the pin, the door worked perfectly.

Of course, you must be able to remove the key once you turn it into locked position (perpendicular to the handle tail). I've worked on several of these handles and they often lock and unlock with difficulty--you have to jiggle the key a bit, sometimes, and move the key slightly in and out to make some of these work; others are as smooth as silk. Not sure why, but that's been my experience.

I hope this helps.

Yours,

Jim

Jim, Problem solved! Thanks for your descriptive entry and help:-)

Doug