66 Valiant Doors Won't Latch

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1969VADart

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My dad and I are working through his 66 Valiant that he recently picked up. Our focus has been on getting the fuel system all straight and getting it running. However, a notable problem is the doors on the drivers side won't latch. On the rear door, this toothed gear (see pictures) on the latch just free spins, but I am pretty sure it is supposed to click without fully rotating. On the drivers door, the same gear does not properly latch. Any ideas what I should be looking for inside the door that might be the problem once I pop the door panels off? Unfortunately, I can find the latch receivers as replacements, but this part is not reproduced, that I can find. Otherwise I would just buy new latches. Any advice would be appreciated.
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I had a similar issue with the latches on my 65 (beside looking like crap). I soaked them in Evaporust to clean them up externally, which also cleaned them of the old crap internally. After lightly lubing then, they now work (and look) like new
 
I had a similar issue with the latches on my 65 (beside looking like crap). I soaked them in Evaporust to clean them up externally, which also cleaned them of the old crap internally. After lightly lubing then, they now work (and look) like new

Appreciate the input. I believe the drivers door one just needs to be cleaned and lubed up. The rear door gear just free spins, which it should not. That leads me to believe something in the door is disconnected or broken.
 
Here is what the inside looks like. The 2 levers (the one on the left for the inside handle and one on the right for the outside handle), the other internal brackets, and lock mechanisms all work in unison to operate the star wheel. This one is filthy and won’t hardly operate the wheel. Cleaned up, I bet it would work fine
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The saw tooth gear is actuated by the lever on the pivot post, most likely the lever is stuck in between positions and/or the return springs are bad. The gear will free spin if the lever is in stasis. from a 65 barracuda

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Edit: 65 dartman beat me to it!
 
The saw tooth gear is actuated by the lever on the pivot post, most likely the lever is stuck in between positions and/or the return springs are bad. The gear will free spin if the lever is in stasis. from a 65 barracuda

View attachment 1715697251

Edit: 65 dartman beat me to it!

That is a very scientific sounding explanation. Hopefully I can figure it out. The pictures are a big help. Much appreciated. Thanks.
 
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