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  • M15 Door Locks

    I just bought and received a M15-20 flat bed truck! Yay! This is my first vintage vehicle...

    I noticed that there is a key lock on the passenger side of the truck but the drivers side has no lock and no where for one to be located. Is this normal?

    Thanks,
    John
    1948 M15A-20 Flatbed Truck Rescue
    See rescue progress here on this blog:
    http://studem15a-20.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    Yes, it is normal. My '55 pickup is the same way. I have often wondered about this but have never heard an explanation. Your door will lock. You just push the door handle forward from the inside. Then you slide across the bench seat, exit on the right side and lock the passenger door with the key.

    My only explanation is that it was a way of cutting that part of the cost of building the truck in half. Perhaps they claimed it as a safety feature. This would discourage truck drivers from exiting their trucks on the traffic side when parked on the side of a road therefore limiting their exposure to moving traffic.
    John Clary
    Greer, SC

    SDC member since 1975

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    • #3
      My 41 Champion also has no lock on the drivers side.
      Frank van Doorn
      Omaha, Ne.
      1962 GT Hawk 289 4 speed
      1941 Champion streetrod, R-2 Powered, GM 200-4R trans.
      1952 V-8 232 Commander State "Starliner" hardtop OD

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      • #4
        Checking back in pictures, the first year Stude had a lock cylinder that was remote from the door handle was 1936, so it's fairly easy to see if both doors or just one had a door lock. It appears that all Stude models ,even the President, only had them on the passenger side for all prewar 36-42's. I was able to check a few pics for other makes, and generally, the same thing was going on, although some Caddies, and perhaps others, had them just before WWII if they had a major body redesign. But I see that a '40 Chrysler, for instance, did it the same as Studebaker. Prior to around the mid 30's, the lock cylinders of most cars were integrated into the door handle itself, and this makes it pretty hard to pick out this detail from alot of pictures. But, I'm quite sure that the passenger-side-only lock cylinder would have been the norm for a couple of decades. Perhaps Mr. Quinn could confirm or modify this for us.

        I think it would be accurate to say that the vast majority of roads before WWII were not paved and only the main roads even in many, especially small, towns and cities had asphalt or concrete surfaces. If the vehicle was parked by a sidewalk or close to grass, vehicle users could/would usually exit the passenger side to avoid mud and dirt, as well as the safety factor. And - there is the added chivalrous benefit that in the days when, more often than not, the male opened the door on the passenger side first and assisted the female's ingress.

        Remember (well, yeah, it's before my time, too) that for many, many years the factory Model T touring bodies were manufactured without even a door for the driver. The body stamping had a moulding that outlined a "fake door", but there was no opening!!
        Last edited by STEWDI; 11-19-2010, 08:05 AM. Reason: clarity
        Roger Hill


        60 Lark Vlll, hardtop, black/red, Power Kit, 3 spd. - "Juliette"
        61 Champ Deluxe, 6, black/red, o/d, long box. - "Jeri"
        Junior Wagon - "Junior"

        "In the end, dear undertaker,
        Ride me in a Studebaker"

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        • #5
          John , even the Champ trucks didn't come with drivers side outside locks.
          sigpic

          Home of the Fried Green Tomato

          "IF YOU WANT THE SMILES YOU NEED TO DO THE MILES "

          1960 Champ , 1966 Daytona , 1965 Daytona Wagonaire

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          • #6
            Wow! Thanks for all the responses! I guess I'll be getting used to the Sude "Kookyness".
            1948 M15A-20 Flatbed Truck Rescue
            See rescue progress here on this blog:
            http://studem15a-20.blogspot.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              I was for being a gentleman. You had to open your woman's door before you could get in. Like you all didn't realize that. Chivalry!

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              • #8
                It was safety thing, slide across the seat to the curb, get out and lock the door. Stude was not alone.

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                • #9
                  Back in the day, it was against the law in a lot of towns and cities to exit out of the drivers door and into traffic. A lot tof the streets were narrow and did not allow angle parking. and parking lots? Whats that?

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