1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

Dear Model A Guys,

Before I end up destroying my original Female Dovetail Door Latches in order to replace the 'Sliders' , I thought it wise to ask those who have already restored one of their own. It appears to be a difficult , but not impossible endeavor to me.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

It is pretty easy to remove the dove tails. you do Not have to take the unit apart. just use a slotted screw drive and push in tell you are past the little nub that is inside the housing, lift up or down and work them out of there. I big problem is MOST venders sell the wrong dove tail, and they will NOT work period. Bratton`s has the correct ones #30970 they have to have the little groves on the side of them to work. also there is a top and bottom to each one. look very carefully to make sure you install them right.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

John is 100%
The one pictured looks pretty good. I have found them that the slot is so worn that it has to be built up. To do that, I use a mill and mill out the spot weld so as not to drill thru the face. The I build it up (or put a new pieces of sheet metal in) being careful to maintain proper thickness and smoothness so the pot metal pieces can move properly. Then re-assemble and carefully tack weld.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

Hi John,

I do have the set of fingers that Bratton sells , and there are no slots anywhere. They are as smooth as a baby's rear end.
I felt there should be grooves or slots in order for them to slide in the correct plane, but alas , there are none.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

Hello again John and Bill,
You guys are correct , I needed #30970 , and somehow I got a smooth set. I have alleady called Brattons and ordered #30970.
Many thanks

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

most venders sell the wrong ones for the slant window cars. and most of the smooth ones have a tail on the back end ta boot. they will not work at all.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

Thanks again for your help ; I ordered P/N 30970 but have not received them as yet. Perhaps I will have to get back to you when I receive them. I have not attempted to remove the old ones as yet, I have the entire units in ' Kroil Oil ' to loosen the crud in the units. I guess I don't really know where to push on the old ' Sliders ' in order to remove them, hopefully I will figure it out when I go ahead.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

I have machined the "wrong ones" and used them in the past. But not all have access to a mill
To remove the pot metal pieces, there is an indention in the front of them.
Small blade screw driver, push in and toward the middle gap

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

Thanks Bill , That's the info I needed ! Will do immediately. Love my Car.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

So here is the deal...

A&L sells the correct parts, find out where bratton's sources their parts. A&L repro the sliders properly. I personally used some NOS later V8 sliders that were close to correct but had a tail and I think needed a relief cut in the back with a dremel.


They all originally were selling the wrong springs. There were TOO stiff. When assembled the sliders MUST slide the whole length with moderate finger pressure. This is how the originals were and how your must be. The springs were so stiff you could not close the door without hurting the male dovetail. A&L Corrected this after the owner tryed the parts on his own car and the door would not shut. He remembered some jerk telling him the springs were wrong and tried another spring and all was good.

The whole unit they sell for the 68C may stick out too far. This can be fixed by milling or sanding the back side to the same thickness as the factory plates.

FWIW, the sample unit A&L shows at the flea markets was the one I gave them. Yes I was the jerk telling them about the parts.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

Thanks Kevin , I surely will find out real soon. My new ' Fingers ' should be here today or tomorrow. I have always tried to use original parts whenever possible, so I made a decision not to get replacement housings which I admit would have been chrome plated. If I need to take a few thousandts off the sides of the Fingers I will put them on my surface grinder , but I hope I will not have to do that. I will keep you all posted.

Re: 1931 S/W Door Female Dovetail Latches
 

To all who helped me - -
We have successfully inserted (4) new Sliders. I have attached a Cad file that I drew up, and it is to scale showing just how closely these Sliders fit in. On one latch the Sliders went in as supplied by Brattons, the other latch I had to grind off a little at the top ( which they suggest ) in order for the Sliders to go in. As Kevin said, the springs they supply are too powerful, I was lucky, my original Ford springs were in perfect condition to be re-used.
Many thanks to all.