1940 Super Door Handle Removal

[Daves1940Buick56S]

The door lock on the passenger side on my 1940 Super has never worked. You can turn the key and it "clicks" but doesn't clutch the handle. So I am finally getting around to these low impact items and I decided to see what I could do about removing the lock mechanism to see what's up.

 

Anyhow, one of the first steps is removing the exterior door handle. There is a small setscrew on the handle shaft that, once removed, enables the handle and shaft to slide out. Well, naturally, the screw on mine seems to be frozen solid. I have tried everything except heat (don't want to trash the door paint on the inside of the door), no luck. Of course, I tried the screw on the driver side to see if I was doing anything wrong and it loosened easily.

 

Any ideas? I suppose I could drill it out, the metal seems pretty soft. Has anybody else run into this?

 

Cheers, Dave

[FLYER15015]

Dave,

Soak it in PB Blaster for a couple of days.

Then put a screw driver in the slot and tap it lightly with a hammer, to "break" the rust bond, and resoak.

Do this a couple of reps, before trying to turn the screw.

Since you got the driver's door screw out, you know what the other side looks like.

Patience son..........................

 

Mike in Colorado