Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I'm pulling my interior to give it a overhaul this winter and all 4 of my door locks don't want to come off. I'm going to try warming them up a bit, but I don't want to break them as they are all in good condition. Any good tricks for getting them off undamaged?

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Those may be the rubber knobs and if so, heat is the answer. You can use a heat gun but be careful to protect the paint and lower the glass so you can get all sides of the knob. It needs to be heated to around 150F. A description of the knobs are in this service counselor.

There are two types of rods. One is round with serrations that sort of look like threads and the other is a thin straight flat sided sheet metal piece with sharp barbs. That second type rod and knob combo can be hard to remove and knob may still be damaged as it is pulled off. Just be careful and not twist when removing or the sheet metal piece can break. If pulling the knob off makes a groove inside you can usually reuse the knob by heating again and orient the barbs to a different spot in the knob as it is pushed back on.

I was thinking 1960's and that they screwed on!

I'll try a little heat and see what happens. I always hate "experimenting", I don't want to hurt my car!

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Thank you Howard! I suspect this is applicable as I'm working on my 53 Cavalier.

THANK YOU HOWARD!!!

These are definitely the rubber door locks. A couple of minutes with my heat gun, a little wiggle and it came off! Without that Service Counselor I may have wrecked one trying to figure out how to get them off.

Love this forum!!!

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