doors stuck shut on 48 Ford pickup

What is the best way to get the doors open on a 48 Ford pickup that are froze shut. The handle turns but nothing releases to open the door. I don't want to ****** up the doors as they are in good shape and I don't want to add more work if I don't have too. Just need to know how to open them.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

 

Coat Hanger? Is the handle not hooked up to the mechanism or what?

 

Frozen from the cold?

 

everything is hooked up, and it is not frozen from the cold. They just won't open.It opened about 6 years ago before I went on an extended vacation with the army and now they just won't budge. It doesn't help that the drivers side window has been broke for many years.

 

Start soaking the latches and hinge pins in AeroKroil penatrating oil. They will free them selves up. Another excellent and probably the best penatrating oil in the world is Zyglo oil used in aviation NDT processes.

 

You're not gonna hurt the driver side gl*** much any more if you have to remove it from the outside. Instead of risking getting cut, can you spray penetrating oil to any of the latch mechanism from any angle?
Don't be afraid of getting stung by a wasp, wrong time of the year!

 

hose the latch down good from inside the inspection cover and inside the window with a squirter. i like way atf/acetone works, it seems to me to be better than kroil and all the others i have tried. use a copious amount and keep drenching it and working it.

 

make sure they aren't locked, inside handles pushed forward.

 

I have about 50 old Fords, most of them found after being abandoned for many years so I know what you are talking about.
I always use a large flat tip screwdriver to force the door away from the jamb. Do it from the inside so you dont damage anything.
Every time I do it, it makes me realize that in a wreck, the door WILL pop open

After I open them I hammer the plunger in and out while applying oil til it frees up.

 

I know the doors aren't locked, this is the truck I learned to drive in and have a 50 Ford sitting next to it that runs along with my 54. My grandfather always got mad, cuz I would lock the door when I was inside and he was on the outside. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

If the doors won't open how is he going to get into the inspection cover and inside the window...?

 

I had this problem with a '50 Ford project. I took a piece of rope and tied the interior door handle to the armrest in the down (open) position. Then, sitting on the seat, I mule-kicked the door open with both size 11 feet. ****'s not that delicate.

If one of the windows is already broken, there's your entry.

 

if none of the windows are already broken then break one out. they are cheap to replace. be a problem solver.

 

And after oiling...have someone large press the door toward closed as hard as possible while yoy try to get things moving. That will remove some load from latch.
Latch, door, and upholstery are pretty primitive on these things. If you crawl in through the broken window, is there any potential access to the latch through the crack on the inside?
Don't these things have a screwed on plate covering some of the inside of the door, too?