[ihc] When you 'SHUT' things TOO hard

[Wynne John M NPRI <WynneJM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I know, I just recycled a subject line.  After reading the previous message about the hood latch, I recall a problem I ran into with my 76 Scout Terra.  In my rush to wrap everything up and store all of the odds and ends as I was getting mobilized with the Guard over a year ago, I put a little too much umph while shutting the driver's door.  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that the door didn't quite line up with the skin of the rear quarter.  In fact, it now sits about 1/2 inch too far into the door jam.  The door will not open by the outside handle or inside handle.  Yanking and pulling only seems to rock the entire vehicle, and there is absolutely no indication that the door will open or even move the smallest amount.  There is a definite tension on the handle levers, so I know the linkage is still intact.

Short of using Tom's tool of choice and cutting the door's skin off, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this door to open?  I no longer have spare doors, since I tried to be helpful to a fellow soldier once and gave away my spare doors, tailgate, and windshield frame, since this individual indicated that he REALLY wanted to fix up a Scout he had recently purchased.  I went through a few emotional states when I found out that he lost interest and threw away the Scout and all of the recently acquired parts!  Ok, the emotions are coming back...

Any way, has anyone ever removed the inner door panel and gained access by dismantling/destroying the latching mechanism?

Thanks for the help and talk to you later!
John Wynne
76 Scout Terra