Door Locks

Hi, Val,

Don't change anything here; use the original Bradley locking system on the driver door.

If the lock is shot, you can replace it. It's just a common mailbox lock that you can get at Home Depot or any decent hardware store. The tongue may need some artistic bending so it can engage the original ledge-mounted striker, but you might be able to mount the original tongue on the new lock if the cam surface is the same. If not, you might be able to file it to fit.

Otherwise, try another brand of mailbox lock at a different store until you score one that's the same or comes close.

DO NOT put a lock on the passenger door. If you do, you won't be able to lock it or open it from the inside, and that's a real hassle when you have a passenger. I did it, and the experience was something of a prelude to the first time I was ever almost happy when a gull wing broke and I could undo my mistake with a new door.

Also, when you think about locks, think "convertible." If you've ever owned one, you've probably learned never to lock it. If a thief wants your stereo, he'll cut your top to get into the car. Not much sense in losing a stereo AND a good top. Same goes for the GT. The doors can be broken very easily. They are also very expensive, and sometimes, like when Ray is not producing, they're impossible to get at any price.

More of my personal experience on this:
The only reason I ever lock my car is to prevent curious passersby from lifting the doors to get a better look inside, then trying to close them but breaking the doors because they don't know how. If you pull straight down, as anyone would normally expect to do, the door prop does not give, and will cause the Plexiglas to crack or break. Then you'll have to write another check to Ray for $250 and shipping. I've lost at least two gulls from polite friends who just wanted to close their own door when they got out of my car. Now I tell everyone, before they get out, to please allow me to take care of the door.

In regard to one your previous posts:
Not trying to be snotty (rare), but good comedy for me is following the occasional "build your own gulls" post that shows up on this site. Several members have attempted -- or promised to attempt -- to produce a good homebrew door, but so far, the result has always been the same -- plenty of interest, high anxiety, long wait, no gulls.

A small number of members came up with clever alternate designs that work okay, but none has produced a proper, original-style gull.

Personally, I love the clean, uncluttered-terrarium look of the original gull, and the homemade suff gets kind of goofy looking when some sort of framework is built around them. It might be more pleasing to the eye if something thin and delicate could be fashioned, but everything I've seen to date has been thick, wide and cumbersome. Visibility in the GT is bad enough, and worsens proportionately when these is less viewing area through the gulls.

If you do purchase new or manage to create replacement doors, try omitting the handles. They're all but useless, and the flimsy hinge mounts break very easily. Typical hardware store handles look better on a shed than a car, and you'll find it just as easy to lift the window from its bottom edge than with a handle.

Good luck with it.

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