Stock Chevy Door Latch Question

[CptStickfigure]

Apologies if this has already been covered, but I didn't find it in the old threads.

Anyway, does anyone know how the stock 49-52 Chevy door latches work? I'm having some trouble with mine.

Bear with me. This is easiest to explain sequentially.
The important pieces are circled in red:

http://www.blackeyephotography.com/notpublic/car/IMG_8945.jpg

Usually, when you push the button on the outside door handle, the bar on the right (inside the circle) slides to the left and pushes against the arm on the left (the one it's kind of resting against) to release the latch.

When you lock the door, the bar on the right drops down so it no longer makes contact with that arm. Then, when you try to open the door from the outside, the bar slides, but doesn't hit the arm. It retracts when you release the button, allowing you to raise it back to its original position by unlocking the door.

That's what happens on both rear doors.

On the front doors, it works just fine as long as you don't use the outside door handles while the door is locked. If you do, the bar slides forward, but doesn't retract, so you can't raise it back up to contact the arm without moving things around from inside the car.

Anybody know how to fix these things?

[stoggie]

uh huh - bear claw style latches. That's what we are doing to the delivery we are working on. Just dont care for the looks of the stock ones. Plus we are shaving the handles so that would eliminate your problem too.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[CptStickfigure]

I knew you were going to say that.
I'm going to switch to bearclaws eventually, but I'm keeping the stock handles so I have something to yank on when the doors freeze shut.

When I do switch, it looks like I could do something like this (http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=89859) to keep the handles, but I'm still not sure how I'm going to lock the doors.

[MilesM]

I beleive a little coil type spring is missing. It comes in a rebuild pack available from the resto places.

[CptStickfigure]

A missing spring sounds likely.
Whereabouts would that be located on the latch assembly?
I'm just trying to get an idea what this should look like.

[Cabbie]

Speeking of latches, Where does the rod that moves up and down mount to? WHat is a bear claw latch?

[CptStickfigure]

I just ran out to the car, but I couldn't tell exactly what the bar mounts to.
Bear claw latches, though, are just a more modern style of door latch.
They're less prone to failure, from what I understand.
Look at just about any modern car door or here (http://www.autoloc.com/products/bearclaw.lasso) for an idea of what they look like.
(Not promoting that site at all, it's just the first thing I found in a google image search.)

[CptStickfigure]

Just a bit of clarification on that rod.

If you mean the rod that won't retract in my car, it mounts somewhere at the right side of the image, inside the door frame. The left side of the bar just rests in the lock assembly.

If you mean the rod that you push to lock the door, it mounts to the thing dead smack in the middle of the picture with the two holes in it. That thing pivots to push the bar up and down.

[Cabbie]

It is all so much clearer now. It would help if I had the rods to push and pull to lock the door. Better yet it would would help if I had glass to roll up, so I can lock the doors!