My 1939 Ford Standard Coupe - The Tear Down

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Here is the passenger side door. I've used the initial strip treatment to get the black paint off....at least two coats. Like other areas of the body, there was some minor lead body repair work near the bottom. It seems to take nearly three applications of paint stripper to get most of the paint off. Then I use a sander with about 100 grit paper and/or my drill with a 3" diameter scuff pad. The drill and scuff pad work pretty well in the tight areas. I also used small wire brush wheels to get in tighter areas.

The Ford Standard Coupe had a single door lock, in the passenger side door. Their plan was for the driver to lock his door from the inside, slide across the seat to get out the passenger side, and then lock the door from the outside using the key.

I was puzzled as to how to remove the lock cylinder assembly. I could see a sheet metal "cup" inside the door that the cylinder fit into. However, this cup was tack welded to the door skin. You could see a "post" of about 1/4" diameter and maybe an inch long, that extended from the lock to the door side edge.

Before I damaged anything, I decided to ask my friends on the internet forums how this could be removed. The correct answer is that the lock cylinder is held in place with a set screw that goes into that "post" from the door edge. Normally, the rubber door seal would cover this opening up, but I had already removed the old seal.

Choosing the correct allen hex wrench, I easily removed the set screw and the lock cylinder came right out the hole in the door skin. I have heard that these set screws can get rusted into place. Had that happened, I would have tried an "Easy-Out" to try unscrewing it. Had that failed, I would've drilled out the set screw and then re-threaded the post for a new one. Thankfully, in my case I had the easy problem!

 

The door structure is in quite good shape. The paint stripper left small areas of the old black paint and some primer. I generally just hit them with another dab of stripper and took them off with a small scrapper or wire brush.

I've removed the set screw in this picture and am holding it by the allen wrench. It's pointed right toward the small hole in the door edge where it goes. I've pulled the lock cylinder out slightly from the hole in the door skin.
There's the little culprit!. That set screw is close to 3/4" long. There is a machined "pocket" in the side of the lock cylinder where the set screw sits when it's fully tightened. The screw is still on the allen wrench in this picture.

The square shaft that extends from the cylinder is attached with a sort of hinged joint that allows for some lateral movement.

Page 10 of the Tear Down

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