1941 Ford woodie door latch repair

[41woodie]

Broken spring in rear/side door latch. Does anyone know of a repair or rebuilder for Ford door latches?

[woodiewagon46]

41, it's not that hard to do. I replaced the spring in one of my latches about 10 years ago. The hardest thing for me was finding the correct spring. Several suppliers such as Drake and Carpenter have door latch springs, but the Station Wagon spring is different. I was lucky enough to find an old time auto supply and the counterman had a box of almost every spring and '41 to '48 Ford station wagon was in the box. I might have an extra, let me dig around and see where I might have put them.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by woodiewagon46

41, it's not that hard to do. I replaced the spring in one of my latches about 10 years ago. The hardest thing for me was finding the correct spring. Several suppliers such as Drake and Carpenter have door latch springs, but the Station Wagon spring is different. I was lucky enough to find an old time auto supply and the counterman had a box of almost every spring and '41 to '48 Ford station wagon was in the box. I might have an extra, let me dig around and see where I might have put them.

It's hard to imagine a time when a box of labeled springs such as that was available at the parts counter.

[41woodie]

Originally Posted by woodiewagon46

41, it's not that hard to do. I replaced the spring in one of my latches about 10 years ago. The hardest thing for me was finding the correct spring. Several suppliers such as Drake and Carpenter have door latch springs, but the Station Wagon spring is different. I was lucky enough to find an old time auto supply and the counterman had a box of almost every spring and '41 to '48 Ford station wagon was in the box. I might have an extra, let me dig around and see where I might have put them.

46, that would be fantastic, the spring that is broken is the one that controls the locking lever. From what I can tell online the 41 latch looks different than 42-48 but the springs may be the same.
I'm attaching a photo of the latch in question, the broken spring is at about the 5:00 o'clock position. On the edge you can see the tip end of the spring that has unwound. From looking it appears that I would have to remove the rivets to access the spring

[woodiewagon46]

Yes, they usually break at the "hook". The box that the parts guy had was about 24"x24" and it was amazing. When he opened the lid it had the cars listed and which compartment the spring was located. It was cool to see cars such as Essex, Durant, etc.

[woodiewagon46]

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41, the spring that broke in my latch, is the one in the 12 o'clock position, not the one you need. If you want me to send the spring I have and keep it as a spare you are welcome to it. I have no idea where you can locate the one you need. Contact me by my E-Mail, [email protected] if you want me to send you the spring I have.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by 41woodie

46, that would be fantastic, the spring that is broken is the one that controls the locking lever. From what I can tell online the 41 latch looks different than 42-48 but the springs may be the same.
I'm attaching a photo of the latch in question, the broken spring is at about the 5:00 o'clock position. On the edge you can see the tip end of the spring that has unwound. From looking it appears that I would have to remove the rivets to access the spring

If you get the broken one out and can post a photo of it along with the broken pieces I can see if I may have one. I have one of those old boxes of springs that used to be in the auto parts stores.

[woodiewagon46]

TJ, that box is like gold. The place that had the spring I needed, was a company called Job-Lot, in Queens, NY. They went out of business and sold everything. I wish I knew who purchased that box of springs. I searched everywhere until I thought of Job-Lot, they were only about a half hour away and as I said they had exactly what I needed.

[KGS]

Originally Posted by woodiewagon46

TJ, that box is like gold. The place that had the spring I needed, was a company called Job-Lot, in Queens, NY. They went out of business and sold everything. I wish I knew who purchased that box of springs. I searched everywhere until I thought of Job-Lot, they were only about a half hour away and as I said they had exactly what I needed.

Gotham Auto Parts bought a great amount of Joblot's inventory. James formally of Joblot, and was the go to guy there, is now at Gotham and may well be the owner. James can be reached at 718-878-3699 [email protected]

[Karl Wescott]

Just to show off some eye candy here is the box I am the current caretaker of. Unfortunately it does not list station wagon springs.

[woodiewagon46]

Very similar Karl, about 24"x24". It's seldom used, but when you need it it's invaluable.

[TJ]

I think my box is the same as Karl's.