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MG MGA - Coupe door lock

To those Coupe owners out there, can the door lock (presently on the LH door, be used on the RH door?
I'll of course need to make an opening, and close off the other. The car will undergo a complete restoration, so I can do it along the way.

This is for a late LHD USA model, now residing in Australia.
Gary Lock

I believe it can, the lock is independent of the catch mechanism and there is a small tab that rotates 90 degrees to prevent the door handle from operating. Its been many years since I played with the lock mechanism but I think there may be an issue with the passengers interior door lock handle that you may have to disable I think there's a small grub screw on the door handle mechanism that needs to be removed. Other owners with more recent experience of this may be able to comment. Is this because you want a lock on both doors?
J H Cole

JHC, I just need the lock on the drivers side for here in RHD Australia.
Gary Lock

OK GL but I think the same is true, you can swop the lock as above but you will have to disable the old passengers side internal lock handle to non locking and convert the old drivers side handle to locking. All possible I believe -have you got the door linings off so you can see the innards yet?
J H Cole

All the key lock does is block the operation of the outside door handle. Adding a lock to the right door does not change the ability to lock from the inside. Removing the lock from the outside on the left makes it unlockable because there is no inside lock. To make your left door lock from the inside it would need a right hand drive specific latch for the left door. The piece that bolts inside the door and has the star wheel that grabs the shutface is left or right handed and is different RHD or LHD. There are 4 versions of that latch.
R J Brown

RJB, if possible, can you please describe the difference(s) between LHD and RHD latches for each side, assuming the lock is used. I'm interested in installing a second lock on my RH door after converting from LHD to RHD.
thanks, Mark
M Wellard

On my 1958 1500 coupe the left door cannot be locked from the inside, only with a key from the outside. The right door can be locked from the inside by pushing the lever that opens the door forward. This function is not present in the left door. I assume that a RHD market car is setup just the opposite.
I believe that if you install a lock for your right door it will work just fine. You must leave the lock on the left so it can be locked at all. The only lock on the left will be the keyed one that blocks the operation of the outside handle. It can only be locked from the outside with a key.
The right door could then be locked either way. With a key from the outside or the original way from the inside.
I Assume that a left side door latch from a RHD could be installed to make it lockable from the inside. If this were done then you could remove the key assembly and fill the hole in the door and have it as original.
The 2 different ways of locking doors are separate and unrelated to each other. It looks to me that either door could be made to have no locks, either lock or both locks. Your choice and cost.
The inside lock locks the latch, the outside lock blocks the operation of the outside handle. On my car if the left side is locked the full travel of the outside pull handle is blocked and cannot be moved through far enough to open the door. The right door latch acts more like a modern car by locking the door latch mechanism down in the door. The lever that opens the door by being pulled backwards locks it when pushed forwards.
I hope this responce makes sence. If not ask more questions.
Randy.
R J Brown

Randy,
I believe Gary (Door) Lock is looking for a description of the mechanical workings of the door lock, when operated by the inside handle. However, if he has the original LHD door catch mechanisms (both sides) that came with the car, he should be able to see what blocks the latch when you push the handle down. He could then try to replicate this on his RHD car.
I do know that some Coupe owners disengage the inside locking capability on the driver's side, so as to avoid locking the keys in the car! Mike Ash of NAMGAR had a tech article on this in MGA! magazine some time ago.
Peter.
P. Tilbury

Door panels are off of my car. Looking in it appears to me that there is no locking mechanism incorporated in the drivers door latch. Additional parts, from the left door of a RHD car, appear to me to be needed to allow car to work in an original (RHD) fashion.
R J Brown

RJ, -- while you have the panels off, can you take some pictures?
Barney Gaylord

Thanks for all this info...I didn't even realise that there were different locking methods for each side, as I have never driven a Coupe before, and this particular one was brought in from the USA as a restoration (non-running) project. The door innards have already been stripped, so I will dig out the mechanisms tonight and compare the two (they are marked L & R, so should be no problem...I'll send you photo's Barney if there is anything that stands out.

Gary (Door) Lock..Peter!
Gary Lock

Sorry to be a bit late on this.

Attached is a picture of the LH door lock on my ex-Californian Coupe, showing the little grub screw that disables the interior locking mechanism. It's easy to remove.

I haven't yet checked the RH mechanism to see if it's pre-drilled but it can't be a big problem if it's not.

I've put external keylocks on both sides of my rebuild but haven't yet decided what to do about disabling the internals.

P.S. hope to have the car on the road in a few weeks time.

A F Enticknap

This thread was discussed between 20/03/2011 and 12/04/2011

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