Locked out of boot....DONT SWEAR OR YOU WILL BE BANNED!

[Ludwig]

Afternoon all! We we're at a very nice little vintage meet today at Camerton , Somerset (anyone else there?) when I unlocked the boot & turned the handle. There was a click & the handle just turned but didn't allow me to open the boot. The locking mechanism still works ok but I'm guessing something has come adrift internally. So, how do I get in to take a look? Can I remove the rear seat from inside the car? There's nothing in the Haynes book so I'm looking to you guys for some wisdom.

Ta!

p.s. if you could hurry up my lunch is still in there

[Dryad]

You can remove the back of the back seat by undoing the two wingnuts either side of the back of the seat, but you have to...open the boot to get to them. Probably the best solution is to give a sharp hard pull to one side of the back seat back and hope it pulls off (as it did on mine). If you damage the seat it's probably easily and cheaply replaced (several ended up in a skip at the end of the National this year!) and much cheaper than replacing a bent boot lid. Once you gain access to the boot I have no idea how you would release the lock but I'm sure someone will be along soon who will know.

[simmitc]

Going in via the seat will (a) damage the seat and (b) be of no use unless your spare wheel area is empty so that you can reach through with a long rod, or you undo all the screws and lift the boot floor. Without that, you will not reach the lock which is at the bottom of the lid. Sorry.

If anyone comes along with a solution, please do NOT post in an open forum - we don't want to advertise how the bypass locks.

[Dryad]

Going in via the seat will (a) damage the seat and (b) be of no use unless your spare wheel area is empty so that you can reach through with a long rod, or you undo all the screws and lift the boot floor. Without that, you will not reach the lock which is at the bottom of the lid. Sorry.

If anyone comes along with a solution, please do NOT post in an open forum - we don't want to advertise how the bypass locks.

I DID say it might damage the seat, and I certainly wouldn't have openly stated how to break into a Minor!

[chrisryder]

late minors have the wing nuts in the boot, some had a 'strap' onto the parcel shelf which IS on the inside of the car, not the boot. worth a check to see if you do have a strap, you could be in luck.

after that, you can get to the nuts that hold the boot hinges on. removing the hinges might allow you to tip the top of the boot lid outwards, and slide the lid to one side to release it from the catch.

[bjm38]

Seeing as replacement boot-locks are most likely more readily available (and most certainly cheaper) than a new back seat, then drilling out the lock assembly is probably the way forward. The ******** ******** who ran his breakdown truck into mine last Christmas taught me that one. Once the actual lock's been removed, it just needs a bit of dowelling whittling to a suitable size and shape to wedge into the rebate in the catch mechanism.

Bernard

[mike.perry]

Ealry cars had a leather strap and fastener on the parcel shelf, later cars had the fastener in the booot under the parcel shelf, you might be able to pull the seat back forward enough to get to the fastener. The latest cars apparently had wing nuts.

[RobThomas]

Early cars have 2 screws on the bottlid handle. If you've got them, remove them and if there is no retaining screw fitted to the inside holding the handle assembly in .... you can work it out from there.

[MarkyB]

Mine is 1967 and has a strap with a lift the dot connector inside the boot, I doubt much would be damaged by dragging the rear seat back open.

[kennatt]

you will still not be able to get at the lock with the seat removed,if the spare wheel is in place,unless you remove the wooden shelf,and from memory you need to be able to hold the nuts under the shelf to remove it.so then you need to rip the wood off as said early one are easy two screws later ones .......get the drill out

[MarkyB]

The spare wheel is offset to one side, as long as there is enough clearance between the boot lid skin and the boot floor edge I think the lid could be opened with the application of some ingenuity.

A torch and a mirror will probably help a lot!

[Ludwig]

Thanks everyone for your sage advice. I've had a few PMs letting me in on some possible ways in. I'll give it a go this weekend & let you all know.

Ta!

p.s. She's a '67 model so no leather strap inside

[mike.perry]

If you do manage to get into the boot via the back seat then you can undo the boot lid hinges

[brixtonmorris]

I might try cutting through the boot hinges, over the gap between the body and boot. and gently lifting /working the boot lid open from the top. I would not damage the seat unless it was shot. A hacksaw will got through the ali hinges very easily, and they can be replaced with nice new ones. Take care not to scratch your paint, and with the lock area - dont bend/ force it to much.