1936 Dodge 2dr sedan door lock

[Guest]

I have a 1936 2dr sedan I trying to restore. Last week's headache was trying to get the outside door handle off. Thanks to this forum I got the info I needed to get the handle off. This weeks' headache/nightmare is trying to get the door lock out. Book says to remove the retaining screw and the lock will come out. Unfortunately the screw won't budge. I've been soaking it for the last 2 weeks and I even tried heat on it last night with no success. Any suggestions! Also, out of curiousity, why is there only a door lock on the passenger side? Seems strange to me.

[Guest]

The door lock removal thing baffles me, but the reason that the door lock is only on the passenger side is because that in the late twenties and early thirties when suicide doors were popular people were often mamed or killed getting out on the driver's side. Hence the term "suicide doors". The auto companies were trying to save the lives of the folks that bought their cars by putting lock access at the curb side of the vehicle. That forced them to get in at the curb. Also, a lot of early autos were right hand drive and it took a while to "progress" to the driver's (left) side.

[Guest]

Actually it's against the highway traffic act laws in most jurisdictions to exit a vehicle into the the traffic. If you watch old movies you'll see the actors shift across the front seat and get out the passenger door and lock it behind him. The law is still on the books but the police don't enforce it. Model T Fords never had a driver's side door. (Except for those produced in Canada because Canadian Ts were sent overseas to right hand drive countries so it was cheaper to just build a T with both front doors than to build a specific car for a specific market.)