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MG MGB Technical - Breaking into a roadster

All,

Is there a well known and quick way into a roadster when the door mechanism fails from the inside and outside? at 1m95cm I am far too tall to be getting my leg over every time I want to get in and out. Both the internal and external mechanisms are working fine. There was no hint of a problem before. Now neither work the latch. It is not a locking mechanism fault either but the latch itself. The cam that holds onto the pin and turns to release the the pin therefore opening the door will not turn.

Does anyone know of a way to remove either the latch mechanism or the strike plate from the door or the pillar without destroying the door?

Ant.
Anthony Allen

The entire lock mechanism and assembly should be able to be remove the interior trim panel to get access. then you may be able to see what is and isnt working, perhaps even manipulate the proper release manually.
william fox

Trim panel is off. Have tried manual manipulation (!) I am interested to know how you think it is possible to remove the latch (not the lock) mechanism from inside. All help greatly appreciated.

Ant.
Anthony Allen

Ant,

The latch is secured by three 1/4 inch screws which srcew into a tapped plate trapped in the B post.

Pulling the trim panel behind the door will give access to the plate.

It will be difficult to drill out the screws to release the latch but it may be possible to drill sideways into the plate to cut through the screws.

I would be inclined to attack the lock in the door with a dremel - cutting away the lock cover to spring out the internals and release the locking "cam"
Chris at Octarine Services

Didn't you ask this elsewhere? Or are you another 1m95cm person with a faulty lock?
Paul Hunt

Chris: How about using a Dremel to cut a slot on the end of the screws that holds the latch plate in and then unscrewing them?

Paul: You can't have too many suggestions
william fox

Go with Williams Dremel plan its the least destructive, you can even use the screws again RIC
R E L Lloyd

Because the screws are too long to unscrew - the closed door lock is in the way!!
Chris at Octarine Services

I worked on a sideswiped 76 B last night. The latch release mechanism jammed/ broke on impact, and door skin and shell were damaged beyond repair, but I was trying to find a way to get it open that might help answer the very same question, which has popped up from time to time.
One drawback was that I couldn’t damage the one-off leather interior panel/door top, so it took about an hour to get to the latch from the inside. Once I found that the release mech was bad (inside and outside releases) I used a die grinder with a long shanked carbide bit and began nipping away at the latch cover. Even with the cover and much of the guts exposed, it withstood a terrific beating . I used a muffler tool with several different anvils, a hammer and long chisel, and several select phrases of discouragement, but it hung in there for half an hour and didn’t release. I think that if I had kept up the hammering, it would have eventually fell apart, but I’m not all that certain – they built those latches to be burst-proof…
I finally cut a 4” x 10” oval around the door handle and with much better access, I continued to pound and pry for 30 more minutes until it finally released. In the interim, I tried cutting thru the pillar mounted latching post with a sawzall. I got more than halfway thru, but I ran out of blades – the metal was so tough that it wore the teeth off 3 blades in less than 30 seconds. In retrospect, I could have used the plasma torch to simply whack thru the latch box, or used the muffler gun thru the outside hole from the beginning, because I had no idea that it would take 3 hours in a well equipped shop just to get close to getting the latch apart before resorting to the point of no return (cutting thru the doorskin) and beating it sensless. After opening the door, I found that the latch pillar had shifted aft about a half inch, and will need a minor pull and a new panel, but other than the door shell and 2 wheels, the rest of the damage – running from headlight to tail light – is purely cosmetic. The driver told me that he was doing 70 when a tractor trailer forced him to carom off of a temporary jersey wall hard enough to move one of the barricades. That's quite a testimony to the toughness of these cars...
Mark Childers

William - no but I can't be ar*ed to repeat mine.
Paul Hunt

Thanks. I think the dremel is going to be the way to go. With a rather nice C roadster surrounding this lock I am not going to be too destructive!

Ant.
Anthony Allen

Hmmm, I think this is the same idea, but first price a replacement post that secures t the B pillar side of the lock, then using metal cutting blade (or blades) in sawzall, cut from the inside out between the door/pillar gap. Make sure that the blade is not too long or short (using the good side as a reference). First remove the adjacent trim panels if you are nervous about them. Also you might put a block of wood under the foot of the sawzall to have a steady base to push on. Trick with a sawzall is to keep the base firmly pushed inward. Otherwise the vibration that you see and feel greatly reduces the motion of the blade across the work. Occassionally spray the blade with some oil to cool and lubricate it, don't push down on the blade too hard as this will wear the teeth quickly.

This is sort of the A-Bomb approach - effective but destructive.

Good Luck,

Brian
Brian Corrigan

Just been reading this thread & I have to ask,how do you know whats causing it if you can't get into the door,has the door dropped so it can't release from the striker plate try lifting the door as you depress the catch! might work.
D.M Bicknell

You *don't* know what is causing it until you finally get it open! When shut the door cannot drop very much at all, anti-burst locks at least, as the pin and loop on the striker plate will support it without offering anything to catch on. It could get stiff, but I'm sure anyone with a stuck door will have given it a bloody good tug before they start attacking it with a sawzall or a dremel!
Paul Hunt

All the trim and door seals have been removed. I can see a small section of the latching cam. This is spring-loaded and held in place by another mechanism and together these work like a pawl and ratchet. Sadly this cannot be released by the normal means. Getting into the latch itself to directly acces the pawl and ratchet is the only other way of getting in. I might have to dress back the flange that the door seal fits over to gain better access for the dremel but hopefully I wont.

Ant.
Anthony

This thread was discussed between 06/11/2003 and 13/11/2003

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