Ok,
I have never owned a mini that has had decent door locks.

What is the secret (if there is one)

I am talking wind up Leyland Minis Late models 76,77,78

Can you buy new bits for them

Cheers

I'll second that. My old Clubbie NEVER got locked in the four ears I had it because the locks were pretty old & worn and never stayed locked properly.

I wonder whether you can improve the locks with aftermarket parts/lock barrels etc?

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.

You could modify a standard type cam lock to suit...

I fitted remote central locking to one of my clubbies and removed the external door locks all together which worked quite well.

I think one of the big tricks though is to make sure everything is free (and greased where applicable) and the internal lock is adjusted correctly to stop things binding up.

Good luck

Not done it, but I believe some Mazda van (or Ford Econovan?) lock barrels can be fitted with a bit of filing in the door.
Also, there's an aftermarket lock barrel assembly (can't remember the name) that can be fitted too.

_________________
DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

One of mine has barrels from a Jag and work a treat.

I have a 78 clubby, and since I got it I've had hell with the locks. Recently I decided to just put in keyless entry to avoid using the lock barrels.

After putting it in, I found that it didn't always work, because the locking mechanism was so hard, so I just oiled and loosened everything, and now the whole lot works like a dream. I even made the barrel seal out of an old bit of inner tube.

One thing though - does anyone know how to make it possible to lock the door while open?

The locks are not designed at all to be operated that way and cannot easily be modified.....since yours work so well now, you could probably go back to your original key locks.....

Mine work fine. Well they did.. I got to put it all back together soon. Will clean and grease as I go but it should be ok..

ford Laser locks fit with some filing. This isn't my idea by the way. GZE van was nice enough to pass the info to me.

Product no is ndl22a (a) is for assembled

ndl22ls is unassembled

They come in silver and black and i don't remember what part of the code means silver or black.

My lock smith refused to key it to fit the ign key but GZEVAN said that this can be done... Ohh well. Before I had a key for ign, left door, right door, petrol and van and now I have one less.... no biggie

Here is a crappy pic of it installed...

From the looks of it, Starlet door locks look the same as the Mini onesa also. You'd just need to file out a bit of the door to fit the square sections of the barrel(s).

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Toyota-Starlet-Front-Door-Barrel-Locks-Keys-LH-RH_W0QQitemZ400098499705QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Car_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5d27ba9c79

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.

i recon some1 who has put central locking in should put a( how to ) so we can all do it

It has been done already.
This is what I did and have never looked back.
Works perfectly and don't have to worry about fiddly locks.

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38603&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=locking&start=0

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1978 Mini S - "FAX"