I discovered that my passenger door won't open on my '82. It was fine Sunday after the wife got out of the car.

The lock can be released with the knob on the inside, so that shouldn't be the problem. The most likely problem is the rod between the handle and the latch has fallen off, or the rod for the lock to the latch has fallen off. Either one may require some serious work to get the door open.
There are a few other threads here that may help. I'll see if I can find one real quick, as I am off to werk! You can do a search, also.

There are a number of things that can cause this and some can be a real PITA.  First thing, try pulling the unlock button at the passengers side armrest.  You have probably already tried this but pull it HARD.  I had the same problem years ago and had to use vice grips on the lock rod (after removing the little knob)  to pull the unlock rod hard enough to disengage the lock.  This worked in my case but may not for you.  If the rods have become detatched from the lock, it may be a difficult time getting the door open.  Iv been told the door panel can be removed  from the inside IF the passengers seat is removed but that in itself is going to be a treat.  You may try unrolling the window all the way and looking down into the open window gap.  IF the plastic rain diverter is in place over your lock you wont be able to see much but at least its a try.  If the rain diverter is gone you should be able to get a pretty good look at the lock mechanism and reach it with some tools to manipulate it.

Door lock release sticks

This will give you an idea of what to look for if looking down past the window...it might help to figure out what you need to do to get the door open.
I'll look for some other stuff later tht might help...
This is another pic
Adams' Apple2009-11-13 11:26:33