Latches. Convertible VS coupe

[Jim]

I had the pleasure of meeting Marck at the swap meet in Charlotte a few weeks ago and he mentioned the latches on the rear compartments in his convertible were different from the coupe latches.

Today I was removing some parts from my convertible parts car and remembered him telling me about the latches.

The latches were the same in this convertible as are in the coupes but Marck showed me his and they were different. The latch itself was different but the gray plastic was the same.

??????????????

Edited May 3, 2011 by Jim (see edit history)

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

What's the difference?

There is a difference between the pass thru one on a coupe from the others so it can work the slider, but you wouldn't see a difference from the front.

Could they be replacements from a different model?

[NCReatta]

The latches I was comparing were the glove box latches vs. the rear compartment latches.

Notice the "hump" on the compartment latch as opposed to the skinnier similar part on the glove box.

I was going to do some switching around, but when I put the latch with the "hump" in the glove box door, and the door needed an extra little shove to get it "over the hump" and get it closed..

I'm confused... ??

I feel pretty confident that these latches have never been replaced, as the car has only 47k.

[Guest steveskyhawk]

My guess is that they were intended to be interchangeable but GM may have changed vendors resulting in a cosmetic change. It shouldnt damage anything if the glovebox closes harder. I would be careful if it became difficult to open.

[NCReatta]

Well it became hard to close or open if I remember correctly.

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

Does look at a mistake from the vendor that they decided to "USE AS IS" in the rear compartments. Unless they ran out of the correct ones and grabbed some from another model line that needed that hump for their application.

We're learning that they did whatever they could to keep production going.

Did the glove box one work well when switched to the rear compartment or did it feel sloppy there by not having the hump?

That part can be interchanged between the latches, but it's a PITA due to the strong tension of the spring on that shaft.

If I had to make do, I'd just take my Dremel with a cut off disk and grinding disk and make short work of the hump.

[Jim]

Marck,

I remember you showing me the difference and glad you posted the pix.

Must have been a fluke as the ones I took out of my convertible parts car were identical to the coupe latches.

McReatta is probably right the the vendor screwed up and sent them out anyway.

[farnelle]

Jim,

I think you and Marc are talking about two different latches. Marc seems to be talking about the difference between the glove box latch and the rear storage compartment latch.

You seem to be comparing rear storage compartment latches on convertibles vs coupes?

Now I am confused???, but that is fairly normal.

[NCReatta]

Yes, I am, as Ed is saying, talking about the difference between the Glove Box latch, and the rear compartment latch on my convertible. I have NOT looked into anything regarding coupe latches yet.

Just trying to clarify.

Perhaps others could check out their latches and see what they find?

[Jim]

I mentioned coupe latches only because all the latches, with the exception of the pass through door latch in a coupe are the same. The two compartment latches in the rear of a coupe and the glove box latch are all the same and the same as the glove box latch on all Reattas. Except for the '88 glove box.

Marck had showed us his convertible rear compartment latches were different from all the other compartment/glove box latches.

I was comparing the coupe rear compartment latches to the convertible rear compartment latches.

In my convertible parts car case, the latches were the same as all others, but Marck's had the latch reversed on his convertible.

Edited May 4, 2011 by Jim (see edit history)

[NCReatta]

I must have some kind of fluke/freak of nature car..

Both my rear compartment latches on the convertible have the "hump", while the glove box latch doesn't.

The latches themselves don't appear to have been "reversed" or put in backwards. But the rear compartment latches look the be a completely different metal latch.

Anyone else wanna check theirs?

[Guest steveskyhawk]

Marck,

There were many variations incorporated in these car. Some people would have you think they were produced in an M and M factory where there was a distinct pattern and uniformity. The Craft Centre mindset was just the opposite. Wait until you dismantle multiple cars. You will be amazed at the differences. Each year was way different. Did you know that if you went to the dealer and bought a replacement glove box latch (back when they were available) you could get any color you wanted as long as it was black.

[NCReatta]

I've dug pretty deep into a couple cars, Steve. The Maui I have is practically a shell sitting at my shop at this point. I've taken it from being a complete car (as much of a "complete car" as a wreck can be) to practically being just a shell. Not going to crush it, however, I've committed whats left of the shell to a friend of mine. But I want to grab a couple things off it before he picks it up. That's my project for the next couple months..

Anyways, I was aware that when the latches were still available, they were only available in black. Short work can be made of that with some SEM though.