Technical 1949 Ford door latch repair.

Is the idea of making the spring from music wire from hobby lobby my best bet?
I'm at a complete loss....

 

Hang on there, Cowboy.. give me a while to get out there and see if I kept the old latches...

 

the 49 was Fords first modern car and it wasnt up to snuff. They advertised the 1950 model as better in 50 ways. Door latches were one of the things improved. You might consider using 1950 latches. maybe. look at the 1950 parts and see if it will work

 

Ok, I just dug through my leftover parts and the latches aren't there...

I'm thinking it will be much easier to just find a latch assembly rather than trying to make a spring that may or may not even work correctly...

So next thing is to call Roger in Kansas at 620.680.0449 and/or his wife Lynne at 620.680.0375.. he has a number of shoeboxes and sells parts from them. And they will ship..

Have you googled/called the area junkyards? ..

I'm really surprised that Shoebox Central doesn't have latches. He has a number of shoeboxes I thought I read somewhere....

You might call these guys.. not significantly sophisticated website, but he has some shoeboxes..

Good luck

 

Yeah shoebox said to buy bear claws.
I'll shoot them a call. THANKS

 

Yeah these 49' latches suck they stopped working in 2020.....

 

For what it is worth....I had a 49 Ford a few years ago, the latches were less than ideal even after cleaning, lubing etc. My father in law was quick to tell me that in 1950 Ford advertised that the 50 Ford had 50 improvements over the 1949 model, those doors were popping open even when the cars were almost new. It's possible that your latch assembly has some wear that you might be able to weld up to get better "action", my comments aren't really all that helpful I know but I wanted you to know you weren't alone with the latch problem, it's being going on since 1949.

 

Yeah, I appreciate it. I just need these springs I've been asking for... i just wanna get these doors closing and go for a ride. Been a few years tinkierng to get the motor fully assembled and back in the car...

 

The Spring shown in the image. Is this spring on the 50's latch?

 

F.W.I.W. yes the 50-51 latch is a better unit. If your thinking of going that direction know that the Door as well as the B post are stamped totally different and those sections and both will need to be worked over pretty good. Take a long shot and call Diorio Old Car parts in Portland 503-771-9416. They target Chevrolet but I doubt your spring is specific to either brand. Jo junior is second generation in the same spot. I was dealing with his Dad before Jr was born. I know his Dad had this kind of stuff back in the 70's and would have been my fist stop. Phone call won't cost you a dime and Jr will probably tell you to bring the broken one and come look. At least you'll know if there's a chance he'd have one then maybe maybe we can find a way to get things done. Maybe a Skipe conversation or just Text a photo with a ruler next to the Broken one. Who knows but he a treasure trove of extinct pieces.

 

I started on a second route:
Mike at shoebox central said to drill the latch in these green locations and add a spring.

 

I see red dots. Either you are color blind, or I am.

 

Pink dots......
Anyway its not correct here is what the man said:

 

YES

 

I wonder why nobody has done a write up on the latch modification or repair... If only I knew how it was gonna work...

 

Give it a try and document the process. Worst case is that if it does not work then there are two extra holes. It appears that the 49 Ford is a good candidate for seat belts and their faithful use.

 

Alright,
I got some white lithium grease. took the latch out the driver door and drilled the holes like I was told, to keep the latch under tension and the springs that i was able to come across at my local hardware store where not working with space on the back side of the latch having such a tight fir the spring would get pushed out the hole.

I ended up taking some tennis springs and pulling them out till they where just large enough to fit around the spot the OG spring was mounted.
I continued to spin it on ...in the the location until the original spring arm was being held out under tension.

Once I reassembled the latch I could not believe how much better the door worked. IDK if this is going to be a long term fix but for now we are shut and staying shut!

 

Glad you seem to be making progress on your latch issue. What' a "tennis spring"?

Perhaps some pictures of what you did might help someone in the future.

 

I was wondering the same but I think he meant "tension" spring. If not I'll have to get me some tennis springs because my game sucks!

 

Tension spring..