It is becoming more difficult to open the driver side door on my 1968 Olds 98 convertible from the inside. Opening from the outside works just fine. Someone told me the internal mechanism is worn out and may have to be replaced. Can anyone tell me what internal door mechanism from which years and models of 88s and 98s might be able to be used as a replacement?
Thanks,
Ian

 

I won't be able to get pictures for you until Sunday. But I've got a 1968 Olds 98 4 door hardtop parts car. I've already pulled the door panel off and sold the power windows, so it should be easy to get photos of the latch for you. I'm not 100% sure the 2 door and 4 door will interchange, but if they will I could provide you with this one. John

 

Have you taken the interior door panel off and looked at it ? I dont know if Olds is exactly the same as Chevy but there are probably some plastic bushings in the linkage that are worn and need replacing ? The mechanism is pretty simple and not much to wear out and need replacing. If it opens ok from the outside then the latch and most of the linkage is probably fine.

 

Here's some pictures from the driver's door of a 4 door. As Bill said I wouldn't think it's the latch if the outside handle works well. In the 4 door there's only a couple points that could wear and cause problems. Not positive that the 2 door is the same but sharing just in case it is. The door handle attaches to a lever with a spring. I know I've seen broken springs before, so that's one point. Then there's a rod that attaches to the lever from inside the door. That slot could wear. Finally the rod attaches to the latch mechanism, one more potential wear point. Let me know if you have any questions about the photos attached. John


The inside door release lever attaches to this device.

Different angle

Different angle

Inside the door, backside of the lever the handle attaches to

Another angle, backside of the lever the handle attaches to

This is the latch, the release rod is center far right in the picture

Door latch, release rod lower left corner

 

Aussie Ian,
Have had a ‘66 98 convertible since the early 80’s. I’m no pro, but here are some thoughts for your consideration. 66’s are different from 68’s to be sure, but not on these parts.

1) Convertible frames have no tops, by definition, generally bend on bumps & while driving. The frame, driveshaft (critically) and other parts are built for this flexing. The heavy front doors and related hinges were used both in hardtops (2 & 4 door) and convertibles. As far as I know Olds from 65-70, did not use different hinges for convertibles to make up for the flex. My conclusion is that Olds used hinges which were very durable for 4 door (lighter front door) cars and well, adequate, for 2 door (heavier, longer doors). So 60 years later, your doors that were designed to be recycled at 10 or 20 years are probably a little tired from carrying all that 2 door weight for decades.

2) If your hinges are original, you have a driver’s door which has been opening & closing every time someone used the car for close to 60 years. The door hinges & hinge pins may be worn. Fixing that problem means pulling the front bumper, front fenders, installing rebuilt hinges. That’s all just to get at the bolts which hold the door hinges in place. Then you have to adjust those rebuilt hinges such that the door-to-body gaps are consistent at ~3/16’s” all around the front door. This takes time. I did my door hinges in 2020 or so, but it was a good fix. It also took a few days.

3) The way to tell if your hinges are worn: Open the door on a flat level surface. If the door drops perceptibly, even 1/16”, your hinges are worn. Sure they’ll close right since closed all that door/window/electric motor weight is resting on the door post in the rear quarter. But if the d*mn thing drops on opening, yeah, your hinges are worn. Kits are available for Chevy Impalas that will fit Olds 88’s/Starfires/98’s, but you want to buy fresh pins from as close to your year as possible to maximize the chance for a proper fit.

4) Then even when you swap in fresh hinge pins, you have to manually adjust the doors for up/down, in/out and straightness. I do that using a long thing bar of plastic which is exacly 3/16”’s thickness. Basically I shove the plastic in the gaps knowing that if they’re 3/16”’s in the extreme _and_ consistent across front vertical, lower horizontal and rear vertical gaps, I’m probably good to go.

There’s more to say, but let me know if this feels like a fix you want to take on.

Cheers
Chris