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My 1953 F100 has an outside door lock on the passenger side, but none on the driver's side door. Can someone explain the outside door lock thing? Did it have to do with year, trim level, something else or do I just have mismatched doors?
The story goes that when parallel parking was extremely prevalent, it was safer to enter/exit on the passenger side and not spend time out in the road on the drivers side fiddling with a lock. Many Ford trucks were equipped like this in to the 60's I believe. There are also cost incentives with reduced lock count on the standard models.
My 1953 F100 has an outside door lock on the passenger side, but none on the driver's side door. Can someone explain the outside door lock thing? Did it have to do with year, trim level, something else or do I just have mismatched doors?
Standard Cabs in 53-56 did not have the driver's door lock. Deluxe Cabs, as they were called, in 53-54, and Custom Cabs, as they were named in 55-56, had driver's side door locks among many other extra cost upgrades .
The story goes that when parallel parking was extremely prevalent, it was safer to enter/exit on the passenger side and not spend time out in the road on the drivers side fiddling with a lock. Many Ford trucks were equipped like this in to the 60's I believe. There are also cost incentives with reduced lock count.
So Ford didn't care about the safety of Custom Cab drivers? LOL And how many farmers and construction workers locked their trucks? Having no driver's side lock was not going to protect a driver that parked his truck in town to go into the hardware store.
It wasn't just Ford, but many early vehicles. You enter on the curb and slide under the steering wheel. It was just how things were done and dual locks was an upgrade that became standard as time and usage patterns moved on.
It wasn't just Ford, but many early vehicles. You enter on the curb and slide under the steering wheel. It was just how things were done and dual locks was an upgrade that became standard as time and usage patterns moved on.
It's a trivial thing, the above in post #4 is just my personal, non-scientific opinion. I was born in 1955. I never saw a man or woman driver slide across the seat and get out the passenger door, not my parents, not my grandparents, not a neighbor. I lived in the country. I never saw my parents do it when we went to town. My Dad's truck was a 48 ¾ ton Chevy Deluxe model. It did have a Lock on the driver's door .
However, I did see Sheriff Taylor in Mayberry exit on the passenger side and could never understand that.
55 is just too late on the timeline to have a working memory of when I understand this to be common. You need to go back another generation or so. By the time our trucks came around, I believe it was more of a carryover cost saving measure.
From the inside by lifting pushing the handle down. And, yes, with some parts and work, a lock could be added. The scariest part is modifying the body panel.
And the interior door handle should pointing, on the driver's side, between the 1:00 and 2:00 on the clock and between the 10:00 and 11:00 on the passenger side. The window crank should be at the same angle when rolled up.
The earlier trucks had the handle pointing back and down. You'd push it down to open, pull up to lock. The thing to note is the outside key and the inside lock mechanism do not work together. If you lock the inside handle and shut the door, you're not getting back in unless you break something. Lift the handle on the drivers door to lock, then either slide over and exit the passenger side or walk around and use the key on the passenger door. Getting the Extra Cab option (starting in '51, earlier trucks didn't have the option or ability to have one) with the driver's door key lock was handy.
From the inside by lifting pushing the handle down. And, yes, with some parts and work, a lock could be added. The scariest part is modifying the body panel.
I cut the lock hole for the drivers door on my 55 before I sent it off the be blasted and primed. I have not tried the lock yet since I am not that far along. I carefully measured the location several times. I used a drill to get the correct size on each end and then hand filed the contour.
The nice part is that Ford cut the hole for the retainer clip already, which made the job easier.
