Tom Martinez Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I'm preparing 1931 Lincoln LeBaron convertible coupe for upholstery. I'm currently pre-fitting interior trim and sorting out the door hardware. Here's what I'm curious about: The drivers door has no exterior key lock, only an inside button at the top of the door. The passenger door only has an outside key lock and no inside button.What is the practical logic to having such an arrangement? This design forces the lone driver to always enter the locked car from the passenger side, then the passenger door would always remain unlocked while in the car, or if you help a passenger into the car first, they can reach over to unlock your side, but the passenger door would still remain unlocked unless you locked the passenger in from the outside! You can not lock or unlock the passenger door from the inside. I wouldn't let my daughter go on a date in that car!I confirmed this is the original set up, and all the parts indicate this is how the car left the factory. I suppose this is some sort of obsolete logic I don't understand.Can anyone please enlightenment me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My understanding is that it was designed so you could lock the driver's door, slide across the seat to exit through the passenger side door and step out onto the safety of the sidewalk instead of opening the driver's door into traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Back then you didn't lock the doors when you were inside the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest longman Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi mate,My 1930 Whippet Coupe has the same setup. I don't think it's any real problem on these cars, as you can easily slide across the bench seat and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Pretty standard back then my '33 Plymouth is the same way: Outside key lock only on the passenger side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bofusmosby Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Yes, my 37 Pontiac is the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 This was, as mentioned, a common set up in cars back in that time.I agree with West, locking the car doors while driving the car was not done back then, as times were different.Now, I'm trying to understand the logic of not letting your daughter go on a date in that car! I wouldn't mind any of my daughters dating a man with a LaBaron convertible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 If you watch movies or even tv shows from the 1950's it was common practice for the driver to exit the vehicle on the curb side. Awkward but safer I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Yes, times WERE different back then. Often as not the doors weren't locked when NOT driving either. Keys were often left in the ignition too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poci1957 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 My understanding is that it was designed so you could lock the driver's door, slide across the seat to exit through the passenger side door and step out onto the safety of the sidewalk instead of opening the driver's door into traffic.That is correct, I noticed this on 1930s Classics years ago and thought it unusual, but that is how it was and it is authentic. Todd C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Seems like this lock issue has bounced back and forth a few times. When I watch old movies from the 30's & 40's you always see people sliding across the drivers seat to exit and enter from the rt. side. As far as locks go, When I bought my 65 VW in 1968 I always hated to go to the drivers side ( no key lock on the rt. side ) unlock the door, open reach through and unlock the rt. door from the inside, get back out through the left and walk around the car and open the door for a date and later my wife. I didn't realize cars had a key lock only on the rt side and none on the left. Our 50 & 59 Pontiac's had key locks on both sides. Switch gears now to my 2001 Nissan Xterra which has a key lock on the drivers side only, so I asked product planning why they were only putting a lock on the the drivers side when all my other Nissan/Datsuns had both? Answer; With key fobs- you don't need a key for both sides. I just thought it was a cost cutting measure.Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Apparently, this was another hold-over from the horse & coach era... when streets were not paved and rarely clean even if they were paved... polite folks entered and exited on the curb-side. And if a gentleman & lady were walking, the gent was supposed to walk on the "street side" of his companion, to shield her from being splashed by passing vehicles...This concept persisted up through WWII in terms of applying exterior door locks to cars, and even into the 1950's on trucks.My 1954 Chevrolet truck has exterior the lock on the passenger side handle; don't remember about my former '64 Chevy PU (same handles as the '54)... My '61 Willys truck likewise had a single exterior lock on the Passenger side door. I did find another locking handle for that vehicle, and had it re-keyed to match the existing key and installed that on the driver's side: the three shift-levers in the middle of the floor made it nearly impossible to enter from the passenger side and slide across. In MoPar-land, they started furnishing an exterior lock on the driver's side around 1946, possibly '42 on some models... my '41 De Soto Deluxe has the single exterior cylinder on the passenger front door. My '47 & '48 Chryslers & '48 Dodge all had the exterior lock cylinder on each front door, driver and passenger side.A friend's '40 Chevy Master de Luxe has the single exterior lock on the pass front door.I'm pretty sure my former '50 Chevy Fleetline had exterior locks on both sides, in the center of the push-button.Regarding fob-type remote-access devices, my wife has a 2000 neue Beetle, and I don't think it has a key-cylinder for the door locks... I know it does for rear hatch lid... so if the remote dies, I might have to crawl through from the back-end... It was simply a design feature that was slow to change... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 With that set up, so much for opening the door for the lady while she entered the car and then closing the door for her. I guess you took your chances of getting hit in the street or muddy. Or you could just excuse yourself while you slid in over top of her.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 With that set up, so much for opening the door for the lady while she entered the car and then closing the door for her. I guess you took your chances of getting hit in the street or muddy. Or you could just excuse yourself while you slid in over top of her.:eek:You could ask the lady to unlock the driver's door from inside as you walked around. Cars were seldom locked anyway unless garaged for a long period of time or parked in a dodgy neighborhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 You could ask the lady to unlock the driver's door from inside as you walked around. Cars were seldom locked anyway unless garaged for a long period of time or parked in a dodgy neighborhood.______________________________________________________________________ What I'm referring to is if you are not in the car. Now IN the car I didn't mind at all reaching past their chest to get to the handle to unlock the door from the inside!!Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 My Pontiac is the same. I always thought it was because of the laws back then. In at least three of the Canadian provinces it was illegal to enter or exit on the traffic side of a parked vehicle (as there were not many if any one way streets) it meant that you legally could only exit from the right side.As for driving with a door unlocked, I keep my passenger door locked all the time. It will open from the inside if I want to let someone in. Then when I get out of the car I just snap the lock on the drivers door and close it.I think my wife's new Sonota is crazy with the only lock cylinder in the drivers door. I can't be a gentleman now and walk up to the car and hold the door for her. Of course if I didn't have a scots background I guess I would just buy a second remote and have it programmed ($390.00).What I should do is just drive the real car only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 My '37 Roadmaster has the exterior lock only on the passenger front door, but interior lock buttons on all 4 doors. Each door will lock from the outside (even without the key) by depressing ther inside button, turning and holding the exterior handle as if to open the door, and pushing the door closed (it closes solidly,like a bank vault).My wife's 2005 Chrysler Sebring Convertible has the exterior keyed-lock only on the driver's door, but has electronic remote control door locks/trunk/alarm. It has locked me out 3 times when I got out with the car running to keep the A/C going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 My Pontiac is the same. I always thought it was because of the laws back then. In at least three of the Canadian provinces it was illegal to enter or exit on the traffic side of a parked vehicle (as there were not many if any one way streets) it meant that you legally could only exit from the right side.As for driving with a door unlocked, I keep my passenger door locked all the time. It will open from the inside if I want to let someone in. Then when I get out of the car I just snap the lock on the drivers door and close it.I think my wife's new Sonota is crazy with the only lock cylinder in the drivers door. I can't be a gentleman now and walk up to the car and hold the door for her. Of course if I didn't have a scots background I guess I would just buy a second remote and have it programmed ($390.00).What I should do is just drive the real car only.Most remotes can be reprogrammed with no tools. Extras available in junkyards cheap or free. Possibly a Sonata forum could tell you which years will work and how to reprogram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Perhaps a lot of this was part of the mindset of the generation that were brought up using Model T Fords, which most had no drivers door. A "Proper Lady" would have sat in the rear seat of a touring, or Closed car and would have entered first. The young flappers running around with "Dashing Dans" in roadsters were considered risqu'e riding in the front. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Regarding the old car: I unlock and open the passenger door, reach through and unlock the driver side (helps that the old car is pretty narrow). Then step back and hold the door for my wife. Once she is in and I've closed her door, I walk around and get in the driver site.Regarding new cars: I was under the impression that it was pretty standard to have one press on the unlock button of the remote to unlock the driver's door but two presses would unlock all the doors. If we are out and about in my wife's car, I just hit the remote unlock twice then open the passenger door for her. On my car with "keyless" locks, there is a sensor on each of the front doors so which ever door I walk up to will unlock when I put my hand on it. It does have a key cylinder on the driver side to use if something goes wrong with the keyless fob but in the eight years I've had the car I haven't had to try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now