door locks will not lock

I just ran into the same problem when replacing driver side latch on my 73' Duster. I actually had to do some blacksmithing to get my donor latch to work as it had a ball stud and metal retainer for the outside door button rod attachment and it was missing the little slider arm for the inside door lock button which has a big mushroom rivet I had to grind down, drive out and then weld onto the replacement latch. Must have been an earlier door latch because even after swapping the missing parts from my original latch and drilling out some holes for my plastic rod retainers which were different I can only lock my car from outside with the key or from inside when the door is closed. I suspected this was normal for pre 73 models as the latch works perfectly.

One of the latch bodies had a hole behind the latch hook and the other didn't, that must be one of the tip offs to different model year or front versus rear latch on a four door. Who knows, but as always it can be made to fit.

I like the lock it from outside Frank Bullet style which means I never have to reach under the front bumper for the spare key again. I consider this an un-intended upgrade.

Funny how almost every part I have bought at a swap meet had to be made to fit. How many running year and model to model changes did this company make on the same basic part? I was hoping the law of averages would catch up and eventually something would end up being a bolt on part. Another 45 minute job that took all day.