Sticky door latch

[Art]

The passenger side door latch on my 58 works fine most of the time, but occasionally, the door won’t open. When pulling on the inside handle or pushing the outside button, it doesn’t feel like anything is sticking or binding, but the latch just won’t release. If I push hard on the door, trying to close it further, it doesn’t seem to move any, but it frees something, because the latch will then work fine. All the parts look good, and I’ve adjusted everything in every conceivable direction, and it makes no difference.

[Ron B.]

Try spraying white grease into the latch assm. Insides of doors can get very crusty!
Good luck,
Ron B.

[Harry W]

The gear type door latches are prone to sticking if they are "over engaged" for the sake of a better term. The gear on the door is being displaced upward into the fixed teeth on the pillar. This can happen if the car is twisted slightly on an uneven parking surface. My '57 does this on occasion and I will move the car a little to release the door. Sometimes just straightening the wheels will do it. I had a '56 Ford convertible "back in the day" that was horrible for this.