I am working on a 1940 Dodge Truck and am having difficulties in removing the door latch assemblies. I have stripped everything else out of the doors including window raising unit, glass, weather strip, etc. All that is left is the latch assembly and a lock in passenger side door. I removed the handle and the bolts from door panel as well as the 4 bolts in the end of door where the latch block sticks thru the door. The block is behind a metal window track which is welded inside the door and with the arm still attached to the block I can't get it out from behind the window track. Someone said to run the arm up through the window slot and twist it but that isn't getting me anywhere either. Any help is greatly appreciated.
If the window track is really welded in place, that will be a really tough job. You will have to grind off the welds. The window track has a couple of ears that extend from the back side and lock downward into the top and bottom section. You have to remove the glass liner to see the ears. They become pretty attached over the years because they don't get removed very often and tend to rust in place. The track needs to lift up about 3/8" then pull towards the center of the door. Once the track is out of the way, the latch needs to be turned and tilted just right to come out of the hole. I don't believe there is enough room inside the door for the latch to come out with the window track still in place. Did you get the set screw out of the door lock? The lock has to come out of the door before the latch can be removed as well. I saw someone is making new latch side window channel brackets and the door latches are also available, is all pretty pricy, but at least its available. The door latches and window channel brackets fit all Dodge trucks from 39 to 47. Gene
The Jalopy Journal
