Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, so I replaced my very rusty leaking rear hatch with a good used one and swopped over the lock, however it appears the new hatch is off a later T25 so the lock hole is bigger, do I just need the lock seal for the later models or is it more complicated?

You need the later lock and seal.

early van tailgate lock has a bush and a seal, late van locks only had a seal so were probably bigger diameter anyway, I don't know the measurements so get a late seal and try it, if it doesn't work you will have to get a late lock, though you may be able to transfer over the cylinder/tumblers to keep it same key, I've never worked on early locks so don't know

Been on brickwerks checking out pictures Of The rear locks, liked the idea of later lock and swopping over barrel but does not look like that would be possible they look fundamentally different so 45 quid for the newer style lock and then end up with different keys is one solution or try to fabricate something to make the late larger hole the same size as early hole. Hmm.

asterix_the_gaul wrote:Been on brickwerks checking out pictures Of The rear locks, liked the idea of later lock and swopping over barrel but does not look like that would be possible they look fundamentally different so 45 quid for the newer style lock and then end up with different keys is one solution or try to fabricate something to make the late larger hole the same size as early hole. Hmm.

If you acquire some spare keys you can easily key your existing key to the new lock...
Trial and error, but straightforward enough, just need to strip the lock down.

The late and early tailgate lock is different.
As you know the early tailgate has a smaller diameter lock to the later tailgate.

However!!!
The whilst the barrel (plug - inner part that rotates with the key) of the lock is also different between the early and late.
Both types use the same key profile.
This means you can remove the wafers from one lock and put them in the other - so you have only one key.

This would seem an elegant solution but beyond my skill level at present, I need to find some How To videos.. Or a tame locksmith..

Brickwerks now have an alternative late lock £25