Hey y'all!

I've been scouring the net for a bit now, looking for replacement door lock and trunk lock sets for my 47 Plymouth Special Deluxe 2 door sedan. New old stock, used... Not finding anything that's not insanely priced (50 bucks per door).

This ride is modified (and will continue to be modified further) and I'm not looking to restore it to factory original.

With all of that said, is there any cheap route that I can pursue for the look of filling the holes in the doors? Anything "modern" that will work with the classic 47 door mechanisms?

The trunk cylinder is still intact, but I do not have the key for it (considering just calling the locksmith and having them fit a key).

Thanks in advance for your time and help!

do you have any pics of the lock cylinders used in the doors ? if i remember right, the trunk lock cylinder is in the handle, right ?

Locksmith I bet would be around 25.00 to make you a new trunk key.
Can't help you on the doors.

Correct, trunk lock is in the handle, I'll likely go the locksmith route on that one.

I'll have to get you pics of the locks when I get it back from the shop... The passenger side still has the cylinder, but no cover.

Finding something that fits into the original door holes is going to be tough.
I've installed the door latches, handles, and striker plates from several modern cars & trucks over the years, but by the time your done, you will exceed that "over priced $50 door latch". The modern stuff needs to be slightly modified, and the original door will need to be cut, and re-welded. The advantage of using the modern stuff it they are better latches, more easily available, and can be had with power unlock fobs.

Pictures of how much was cut from the doors on my 47 Plymouth to add the Dakota door latches, and what the pre painted finish looked like. Gene

Same thing outside the door.

Thanks for the photos and tips! Definitely give me something to ponder... At the end of the day, I may just shave the door locks. I'm mainly concerned with valuables that will be located in the trunk.

A remote trunk lock with a key fob can be adapted to your trunk lock. If you use one with a cable backup, you can hide the cable release inside the driver area.

Also, If I remember correctly, the original door locks were separate from the latches, once the lock is removed, a small square (3/16" maybe) key stock can be inserted into the lock actuating lever and can be used to lock and unlock the door (provided the latch mechanism is OK). I made a loop on the end of the square key stock so I could easily turn it. You can install a cover over the original key lock hole (if you desire) to hide the hole and help keep the weather out of your door. Then, you slide the cover out of the way, insert the square stock into the lock lever, and turn it like you would a key. I believe the key stock was about 2 1/2" long (it was a long time ago).

My car is a business coupe, I've added a 12" area between the back of the seat and the truck space that is accessible from inside the car (would have been the original location of the spare tire and the salesman storage rack, but about 2x as deep). The two doors for the storage area have separate locks and there is a divider between the two sides. On the driver side, I have a tool box, a quart of oil, a gallon of water, and a few other accessories one might need for a roadside emergency. The other side is a lockable area for the wife. In there is a package containing a couple of hooded sweat shirts, a small blanket, and a couple of rain ponchos, plus about about a 12" wide, 12" deep, and 14" high storage area for whatever she wants to lock up. A lot of times my wife will store her purse there if we stop someplace she doesn't want to carry it, or she will put in treasures she has bought in our travels. Gene

The key stock idea sounds interesting, though I'm having some difficulty visualizing it fully.

Thanks again for the tips and ideas!

Justin

The key lock assembly is a separate piece from the latch assembly, and it is a separate piece from the door handle. The lock assembly is attached to the door handle with a screw. The door handle and the door lock are connected to the door latch by small diameter rods. There is a square rod that extends out the back of the lock assembly. That square rod engages into a square hole in the latch assembly. When you turn the key, you are turning that square rod. Once the lock assembly is removed, that square hole in the latch is empty.

You can insert the correct size square rod (also called square bar stock or square key way stock) into that hole, and turn it clockwise or counter clockwise and you can operate the lock and unlock function in the latch assembly, provided it is not seized up.

With the lock removed, you stick the square rod through the hole in the door where the lock used to be, engage the square rod into the hole in the latch, (it gets easier with practice) and use the square rod as a key to lock and unlock the latch assembly. The square rod only needs to be long enough to engage in the square hole in the latch, and extend out past the door surface far enough to be able to turn it. Adding a flat piece, or making a loop on the part of the square rod that is outside the door surface will make it easier to turn the square rod in the latch assembly. Gene

I get it now! Thanks Gene! With a little bit of Google searching, I found the square key stock you speak of. It's rather inexpensive and would be enough to deter most folks from messing with the ride.

What might you suggest to build the cover to hide the hole?

Thanks again,
Justin

what is your paint like ? if it's just "patina", and you want, or are going to keep it like that, get a piece of 22g or so stainless [or any material for that matter] form it to the desired shape, and use a small, stainless sheetmetal screw or rivet to attach it to the door skin. use a thin nylon washer under the cover sized to the screw or rivet used to act like a slide for cover. to operate, pivot the sheild out of the way, insert lock "key", when done, pivot cover back into position. if using a screw, some loctite on the screw threads will prevent the screw from loosening during use. or another option, if you have a round hole, would be to use a metal snap in plug such as found in the hardware store for various purposes. just a couple of cheapo solutions. i don't know how big a hole you are working with.

Its been like 10 (or maybe 15...) years since we did the "key" thing on my son's 47 and I have not had an original Plymouth door handle here o look at for over 7 years, but I believe that key lock hole in the door is around 1/2" or maybe 5/8".

If you want a cover for it, I would probably do the pivot cover thing moparx suggested. On my son's car, he just left the hole open. His car has a missing chrome strip on the door with about 8 holes for the chrome mounting screws open, so another hole wasn't going to make that much difference. If you leave the hole open, be sure the water drain holes in the bottom of the door will let any water that might get inside the door, drain out. Gene

The paint is old but all there with no rust or patina, and it's going to be redone, hopefully this fall.

Thanks again for all of the ideas fellas! I'm considering both your suggestions and getting a set of similar but non mopar locks from the same era... Found a set of Ford locks on eBay that look damn similar for 36 bucks.

I'm grateful for having y'all respond!

BTW, do any of y'all know how to set it so that I get email alerts when one of you fine folks responds to my post? I have to check periodically currently and it sure would be nice to get to respond to you folks s lot quicker lol!