Featured Customs i feel stoopid, i need some advice, door stuck shut

I believe there are some bear claw kits out there for older vehicles both universal and application specific. LMC has them for the Chevy's. I also see 38Chevy454 sells kits here in the H.A.M.B. Classifieds.


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Still no?
Ill throw in looking at it with boroscope might help. Swing down to your local harbor fright and snag one. I had to use mine once, it saved me more money than it was worth (looking for a valve cover fragment and found a screwdriver laying in my intake as well!!) Itd help you on here too im sure. And they just come in handy so many times after that

 

I bought the more expensive one with the sd card , and its more than paid itself off over the years , from engine work ( combustion chamber inspection ,port inspections , looking for lost screws ) to bodywork inspections ( hard to hide work in spots from that little camera ) to even hot water heater inspections ( saved my neighbor $450 for a new heater by flushing out the crap in the old one and inspecting the inside walls of the tank ) and checked out a furnace manifold box .

 

@stimpy I almost got the more spendy one, but didn't. Now and then I wish I had. They sure do come in handy for all sorts of things.

 

Ok tred- let us know what's happening. What have you tried now?
Some great ideas thrown here- I stand by mine. It absolutely worked for me in almost the same situation.


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does it have any slack between the door and cab? I've been trying to remember what i did with min. And i'm sorry the mind aint what it used to be. but i think i got a screwdriver in there and flipped the little dove tail like thing...i think. I finally got where i just slammed the shit out of the door and it would work properly.Mine would close half way and then would not open at all. bought new latch,it was worse than old latch. used a lot of white grease put old one back on and like i said.. WHAM.

 

If there is one thing the HAMB loves, it's a pickle of a problem and are just as impatient to get this done as the OP.

 

WELL, Do we guess he got in, shut door and now can't get out??? Bueler,Bueler??

 

He may be in the head, time to call the Coast Guard....

Better yet, he may be working on the garage door....

 

I don't know what the OP has in the way of tools, resources or skills but I would have sawn a big chunk of door skin over that whole latch area so that a reciprocating saw can be brought to bear if necessary on removing the latch.

 

Blink if you need someone to call nine eleven.

 

As Coilover said, these stock '47-'54 AD truck door latches are notoriously bad. They open when they want, don't latch properly when you try to close the door, etc. Shimming the back of the striker is NOT the answer. I have had luck in moving the striker a tiny bit toward the outside of the truck and then tightening the shit out out of it, but the slamming of the door over time moves the striker towards the inside of the truck again. The only real solution is replacing them with the vehicle specific Trique bear claw latches that are made for this truck. They are a bit spendy, but they go in with minimal metal work and work great.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Triqu...ckup-Bolt-In-Bear-Jaw-Door-Latches,46361.html

Sorry I can't help you get the door open though. However, everybody else has offered a suggestion so here's mine...from inside the truck place pry bar between door and pillar and pry door forward. This may release latch because you shimmed the striker forward. Obviously, protect the door and pillar from damage by placing some kind of material on either side of pry bar that will not mar the surfaces.

-Andy

 

I hate bear claws. At least the new ones for the rod industry. JUNK!!! A lifetime of old cars and never once had a worry or fail of a door popping open while driving.

 

ok, so, more pulling and pushing, head scratching, kicking and screaming, and still nothing.
and goddamn, it's hot in there today with that window up! headed for a triple digit day here in Austin.

 

stick a 7 bar prybar between the rear edge of the door and door jam, sometimes you can pry em apart enuf to get the door open,...I've done that before with no damage, can't say what your results mite be tho.
...another thot, can you get at the door hinge bolts that go into the door?...if so, maybe remove those and get the door off that way.
I like that truck.

 

Sorry i am out of ideas. Hang in there....keep us posted.

 

Can you get to the door hinges from the inside?


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yes sir, and that was one of my thoughts, to simply remove the door from the cab and start this process all over.

 

I don't know enough about those things to offer any good advice beyond the obvious, but I want to find out what happens!!

 

tred,

If you can access the hinge bolts from inside the truck to take the door off, and you haven't done it in the weeks this has been tossed around then it may be time to just sell the truck.

I'm stunned!

 

If I remember correctly you cant get the hinges out of the door without the door open

 

^^^ yes, you are correct, been awhile since I had one off...

 

Got a porta power? Shove it in the door gap. Eventually the door or the cab will move enough to get the door open

 

tred,

Can you post a couple more pictures - of the other door - a picture of the latch area of the door jamb and a picture of the striker area of the body jamb - so that we can see how they want to mesh/latch?

 

can someone stop buy his house and make sure he isn't stuck in the thing and if he is drop a sixer thru the vent window ... got to keep him hydrated ...

 

I'd stop by but I don't know where he's at exactly.


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If you find him stuck inside and drop off a 6 pack, hope he has a hole in the floor, if you know what I mean.

 

It's an old truck. It'll have a boatload of holes in the floor.

 

I would try unloading a can or two of something like CRC freeze off, or some other freeze spray on the latch and hinges, then try to open the door.

you might just get lucky !