Unlock the doors on a '76 Corvette?

[facial]

Ok, my driver side door won't unlock from the inside nor outside (I have been getting in on passenger side). I saw something on another site that says it's probably the lube getting thick, and someone here suggested taking the door apart.

I would take the door apart, except I can't unlock it to open it. I was wondering if anyone out there would give an explanation on how to do it (I have power windows if that matters).

It is my car. If there were anyway of showing the registration, or a picture of me inside it, I would.

 

[knoll]

If the door won't unlock from either the inside or the outside, it may be something broken rather than hardened lubricant. There are a couple things you can try.

First, try to unlock it with a jimmy stick (thin stainless steel device for unlocking cars). Mobile locksmiths have them and so do a lot of mall security guards.

Second, spray some sort of solvent (like WD-40) into the key slot of the outside lock, through any openings in the outside door handle and with the window down, though the top of the door in the area of the latch.

If both of those fail, I would try a Corvette body shop instead of a general mechanic.

Worst case would be to slice open the door panel and replace it after repairing the lock mechanism.

 

[venous]

two ways to attack it:

(1) Take off the interior door panel. On most cars you'll find a few screws that hold on the armrest, then the door panel can be popped off with some careful prying with a screwdriver. The pros might use a special tool that slips around each plastic latch post and squeezes it. Once you have the door panel off the lock and latch mechanism should be accessible.

(2) If you can't remove the door panel with the door closed, you might be able to squirt some WD-40 down the glass channel aimed toward the lock assembly and the latch. Give it a good long spray with the red extension straw thingy. You want to try to hit the door latch at the back of the door and the backside of the lock. This sort-of commits you to opening up the door panel later to wipe up the smelly WD-40.

Good luck!