Steve,

I just returned from the truck.

I tried changing the position of the door handle and the triangular plate that is attached to the door to position the link in the recessed portion of the door where it looks like it should go. In that position, only two of the three screw holes in the triangular plate line up with holes in the door, but when the door handle is moved forward (shaft moved clockwise) it clicks as though it is going over a detent...as if locking the door. BUT, if the link to the latch is connected to the latch and you try to move the handle forward as if to lock the door - it won't move at all.

It seems to me that the part in the latch mechanism that needs to be moved rearward to lock the door is frozen in place and I can't get it to move at all.

I tried to remove the lock, but the weather was threatening rain...and I was wondering if I really wanted to get that far into someone else's truck, in front of her store, when I am not sure what I am doing.

Klhansen on the Stovebolt website posted a link to a filmstrip about servicing Chevrolet Truck Cabs 1947-48. That filmstrip says that one needs to remove the door glass and run channel in order to remove the door latch. Does anyone know if that is needed in the 1949? The filmstrip can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/albums/72157641244124604/  

The owner is out of town at the moment. Perhaps if I could bring the truck home, put it in my garage and take my time to get the door apart correctly, pull the latch, see if it can be lubed into submission or if it needs to be replaced, then maybe I would take some more steps. Or maybe she should get a "professional" to take over!

I have attached a photo of the part I think needs to move rearward to lock the door...and it won't move that direction at all.

Thanks,

Nick

@nicholas-gurin You might give a call to the tech advisor   Bob Adler  518-733-5749 He is in Stephentown N.Y.

@nicholas-gurin 

Nick,

I'm sorry but I have not been keeping up with your thread and associated woes. I thought my job was done when I sent the lock and key to you.

Here are some thoughts. The "3 screw plate" where the inside handle attaches is called the "door lock remote control", in the Chevy parts catalog. It also tells us that they are different for the driver and passenger sides. I suggest that you remove the door panel from the other side and see if some previous door invader has reinstalled the remotes on the wrong side. It is also possible that the passenger side needed to be replaced for some reason and had a driver side remote installed by someone who did not know that they were side specific.

Getting this sorted out might, or might not, solve the issue you are having with the lock mechanism but it is something that needs to be reconciled to achieve a satisfactory end result. I have limited personal experience with this specific setup as it is too new to grab my attention. A truck must be older than I am for me to consider it an "old truck". I am a 1948 Model, so this truck does not qualify.

Mike

So, for anyone who might be following this thread...

I went back to the truck yesterday and have decided what the problem is.

The latch in the passenger door is not operable. The part that the link from the "Door Lock Remote Control" is supposed to move rearward in order to lock the door is frozen in place. Upon closer inspection, I see marks that seem to indicate that someone in the past has hit it with something, perhaps trying to free it up. I have sprayed it with PB Blaster and then with a spray lithium grease, but was not able to free it up even a little bit.

The "Door Lock Remote Control" assemblies on both doors are mounted in a manner such that the link to the door latch does not ride in the space that is stamped into the metal door panel which appears to be where they are intended to be. Perhaps the Remote Control assemblies are incorrect units. (I was able to get the driver's door to lock after fiddling with the adjustment of the Remote Control and lubing the lock.)

So, the result of this effort is that the owner of the truck now has a key lock and key which work together, but the latch in the door will not allow movement into the locked position.

I am informing the owner of the truck of what I have found and am suggesting that she find a professional to replace the latch. (In order to properly replace the latch, it seems that the window and its run channel must be removed. Since I have never done this and don't want to risk damaging anything while doing a volunteer job, I am bowing out.)

I appreciate all the input from folks on the forum!

Nick