Door Locks

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Door Locks
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Sosnoski on Friday, October 25, 2013 - 05:12 pm:

I had someone ask me a question today regarding door locks on the Model T closed cars. The reproduction door lock is a half-turn lock - meaning that you have to turn it 1/2 turn before you can remove the key. The door latch only allows the lock to turn 1/4 turn. This means its impossible to remove the key when you lock the door.

This repro. lock has been sold for years - literally hundreds of them, so it would seem strange that this is the first time someone noticed you can't remove the key when you lock the door.

The door lock on my original coupe is a Yale DF. It is a 1/4 turn lock. I can't get to the car right now to check the latch but I assume since this lock was on this car that the latch only allows the lock to turn 1/4 turn. I have another latch here which is the 1925 style. On this latch you can only turn the lock part 1/4 turn - it won't go any farther.

I have a collection of door locks, all of these are the same series that was specified for use on the Model T per the documentation in the archives. Here is what I've found.

Yale DF - 1/4 turn
Briggs & Stratton - 1/2 turn
Baird - 1/2 turn
Yale FC - Full Turn
Yale HM - Full Turn

So I'm wondering what people have on their cars? Are there differences in the latches with some requiring 1/4 turn and others requiring 1/2 turn or even a full turn? Or - are there different variations in the locks themselves where some are only 1/4 turn while others are 1/2 turn?

Learning something new every day.

Dave S.


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