passenger side lock question

mystic122468

mystic122468

Member
Okay, i have been wondering this for a while...What was the reason for only installing a lock on the passenger side of the model A??
 
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So you would have to exit the curb side instead of the more dangerous street side with oncomming traffic.??? ken ct/
 
As I understand it, it was for safety reasons. If you were on the passenger side of car, you were on the curb side an therefore out of traffic. That is of course, unless you were in one of those countries where they drive on the wrong side of the road. ;)
Jon
 
I've seen this discussed on several forums - not sure anybody really knows. Don't know whether it's true but I've heard some cities and/or states had laws making it illegal to exit a vehicle on the street side. That has some credence as several pre-WW2 car makes don't have outside locks on the driver side - some Model T's don't even have doors on that side!

It presents a quandary when taking a lady for a spin. Do you open the passenger door for her, then have her unlock the driver side? Or do you get in first and slide across, leaving her to enter and close the door on her own (not very gentlemanly)? Or do you lean in and unlock the driver side before she gets in, thus presenting her an unflattering view of your backside? :eek: :rolleyes:
 
Ladies rode in the back seat. that is why doctors and salesmen usually owned coupes. the scandalous ladies rode in roadsters.

locks on the curb side were for safety.
 
mystic122468 said:
Okay, i have been wondering this for a while...What was the reason for only installing a lock on the passenger side of the model A?
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yes...lots of conjecture/hypotheticals regarding this one . one thing that pretty much everyone agrees on tho.....ford was frugal/cheap!!
so, how many millions of hours and door locks did he save money on by not doing installing such? lot more believable than some vague safety thing...which , by the way...you still ended up opening the driver door from across the way to get in. unless you slid across new upholstery every time...uh huh:eek:
 
J Franklin said:
Ladies rode in the back seat. that is why doctors and salesmen usually owned coupes. the scandalous ladies rode in roadsters.
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Guess I was referring to those modern ladies who are liberated enough to ride in the front seat and us geezers who are chauvinistic enough to open the door for them. ;)

Dunno about doctors but salesmen owned coupes also because they needed the luggage space to haul their wares. But if the traveling salesman jokes are true, I'd think they'd want sedans to pack in as many ladies as possible - or maybe they all drove roadsters! So what kind of ladies rode in the back seats of phaetons? :rolleyes:


hardtimes said:
ford was frugal/cheap!!
so, how many millions of hours and door locks did he save money on by not doing installing such? lot more believable than some vague safety thing:eek:
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But that doesn't explain why non-Ford makes, including some high-end ones, have outside locks on the passenger side but not the driver side. :confused:
 
Strange. Being RHD, (driving on the wrong side of the road while standing upside down,) we have the door lock on the left of the vehicle, thinking it was not changed from the LHD cars. Now I see some LDH folks saying they have the door lock on the passengers side, i.e. the right of the car. It may have been changed for safety reasons. It sure makes door locking challanging at times. Another one of life’s little mysteries.
 
This may not be true, but I've always thought it was a gentlemanly thing. As the driver, the man would use the slide lock on the driver's door to lock his side, then use the key to lock the passenger door after letting his lady out of the car. Coming back to the car, he would open the passenger door with the key, lean across and unlock the driver's door, let his lady inside, then come around and enter his own side.

Lots of old photos of downtown areas clearly show angled parking, which would not have been a safety hazard like parallel parking.
 
watch any old period movie,from around the thirtys
they always exited from the passenger side
even on the expensive cars
Ive even seen the mechanic in a ford garage enter and egress from the passenger door inside the shop
model Ts didnt even have a drivers door for years
 
I've always found the exterior lock exclusively on the passenger side annoying. Has anyone every adapted a keyed lock to the driver's door?
 
I second what mot says. Watch old movies and see all drivers leave the car out the passenger door. I usually climb in the passenger door on my late 31 after turning on the fuel under the hood and then unlocking the passenger door. Gotta keep it authentic! Ha!
 
KGBnut said:
I've always found the exterior lock exclusively on the passenger side annoying. Has anyone every adapted a keyed lock to the driver's door?
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Snyders has this in their catalog:

Used on the right side of the Coupes, Tudors, and the 30-1 Closed Cab Trucks. Chrome plated, can be used on left, but not original. Comes with two keys. $35
 

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CHuDWah said:
Guess I was referring to those modern ladies who are liberated enough to ride in the front seat and us geezers who are chauvinistic enough to open the door for them. ;)

Dunno about doctors but salesmen owned coupes also because they needed the luggage space to haul their wares. But if the traveling salesman jokes are true, I'd think they'd want sedans to pack in as many ladies as possible - or maybe they all drove roadsters! So what kind of ladies rode in the back seats of phaetons? :rolleyes:




But that doesn't explain why non-Ford makes, including some high-end ones, have outside locks on the passenger side but not the driver side. :confused:
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That one is easy, as they all COPIED FORD:)!!
'they' couldn't beat/match fords sales...so they figured may as will join him,eh:cool:
 
I doubt safety laws were the reason, because that wouldn't explain open cars. I go with the economics theory. You might say Ford was cheap, but you could also argue that he was just practical. Why have two locks when one would do?
 
always thought this was odd . Most people of normal size dont have enough room to slide across front seat. 2nd story is "for safety of curb side" thats to me is bull . SAFETY ? the why did ford put spare tire in driver fender. This doesn't sound right to me.
 
I've heard for years about the "safety side" at curb, I had a '30 Buick with right side door lock only. The only reason I can see for Ford putting spare in mostly the left fender is that there is more adjustments on the right side engine compartment??? No spare--easier to get at. In the early '30's, it was illegal to honk your horn unless it was a dire emergency in Memphis, Tenn.
 
In Fort Lauderdale it is still illegal to enter and exit the car on the traffic side of the road.

You've watched the old movies, did you really want to stand in the road unlocking the door with all those cars wizzing by, wait that's the same as today.
 
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