42 ford truck cab door locks

42Ford M-H

42Ford M-H

Senior Member
I just noticed last night while I was working on oiling the door mechanisms that I only have a a locking door handle on the passenger side door. I'm fairly certain that the drivers door is also original. Is their any reason why they would only put a lock on the passenger side? Or am I incorrect, and the driver door must have been replaced at some point?
 
Old Fords have the feature of pass door only having the lock. Idea being from a safety point of view, you lock your drivers door internally, shuffle across the seat, exit the vehicle via pass door, whilst standing on the kerb [safely away from passing traffic,], you lock that door from the outside.
Interestingly, RHD vehicles, have the same feature, however, everything is reversed; the pass door in RHD is your drivers side, consequently, it has the external lock.
 
On the '42 thru '47 Ford truck (and Mercury) the only door which had the lock option was the passenger side. Quecky but I've owned two and both were the same. My '47 Mercury has the option and is factory original.
 
I haven’t found an inside lock yet on the drivers door, any idea what it would be? Interesting is that the door has the hole in the jamb for the lock bolt, but doesn’t have the indentation in the outside door skin.
 
The inside lock on drivers door....depending on how the inside handle is fitted, you either pull or push it away from you to open door. If you move it in the opposite direction to opening, one more notch, that has the effect of locking the door, ie you cannot open door from outside.
 
Just don't leave a ladder near the truck . That way no one could climb in !
Just kidding , nice , real nice . Most old American cars that did not have a separate door lock used the door handle pushed or pulled in the opposite direction it would take to open .
Any plans for a bed or tow hook ?
 
Thanks for the info folks, I had no idea that’s how some older doors locked. I’m rebuilding the dump box that was on the truck when I got it. It’s a gar woods model. It’s a low profile style. For the front bumper I’m not 100% sure yet. I have 2 bumpers that I may put together, I feel like it needs something bigger, but I don’t want to hide any details of the front.
 
Just got back from traveling, you are 100% correct. Pulling driver side handle towards you opens the door. Pushing the handle away clunks into into a forward position that locks the outside handle.

Not sure I’d have ever figured that out lol
 
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