My driver's side door lock has been difficult to unlock since I acquired the car. The little arm attached to the lock cylinder that fits inside the locking mechanism in the door has way too much play and I had to jiggle the key back/forth forcefully to get it to unlock.

While I had the door glass out, I cut a small piece of fuel line from an old weed-eater and slid it over the arm. It works so much better now. Easy to lock/unlock with very little force needed. I shot a little silicone lube on the outside of the hose to keep it from binding in there.

Is good, yes?

 

Edited December 19, 20168 yr by jeremy93ls

 Brilliant! I love the simple solutions. Great work.

Note this only works for the 77-78 doors. I wish the improvements in all of the components in the 77-78 doors are arrived sooner in the line. Alas....

Edited December 19, 20168 yr by zKars

Looks like I've got another project to take care of over Christmas break!

On my 77 I switched the locks to the opposite side, left for the right and viceversa. I tried locating my thread on this and can't find it . IIRC it was just that easy. And they work like brand new, almost.

This is a technique I've used, mostly with good results, for years

Another issue with these locks is the steel arm wears out the end of the pot metal cam.  I did a write up of using coat hanger to overcome the issue.  Did the same thing on the end of the arm but wrapped it with some electrical tape as I did not have any tubing or hose at the time.

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/42253-how-to-s30-door-lock-coat-hanger-repair/