FirstCorvette,  When you get the door panel off you should see a black plastic water diverter covering the latch mechanism.  This is held on by 2 (I believe)screws in the edge of the door.  This has to be removed in order to get to the latch itself. disconnecting rod clips is the first,and perhaps the only easy step on the latch itself. Unless you have examined one of the flat clips for the flapper rod, look closely at an online catalog to see exactly how the clip locks on the latch lever, it will make removal easier. Once all of those are disconnected the 3 screws in the edge of the door have to be removed.  The latch WILL come through the access opening in the door but it will take some twisting,   turning, and blue language to get it out and the same to reinstall it. (I've not tried it but it may be possible to remove / install the latch through the large access port in the bottom of the door and pull it up into position others may know if this can be done.) If you drop the latch while trying to get it out, you will have to fish it out of the bottom of the door.  I tie a string somethwere on the latch body before I disconnect it and then tie the other end somewhere on the door so if I drop it inside of the door cavity its no big deal, I can pull it right back up. Take your meds and sit a "cuss jar" nearby you may need it when putting everything back together.  It's an agrivating job but not the worst you will do on your vette.  Others may have some tricks to make it go smoother.  Unless it's an emergency job, you may want to order a couple extra rod clips in case you loose one inside of the door, especially the little flat one that secures the flappper rod to the square latch lever. Crossfire19822008-06-13 05:37:21

[QUOTE=FirstCorvette!]How big a pain is it to remove the latch mechanism ?  I sprayed WD40 in mine and it worked a little while not it's stuck again.  I think the WD40 only lasts a little while and I need to get some white grease in there but I want to clean it good first.  Don't want to have to get into the door again.[/QUOTE]

Take another look at the grease slurry I described in my post above.  It worked.  That is what we did at the dealer.

I just went through the same thing. Drivers door key turned but it was hard.  The passenger lock would work only when I didn't need it to work. But if I had to unlock the door with some one waiting to get in. It wouldn't work.  I changed the lock actuator on the passenger side. Even though it seemed like it was working. It wasn't 100%. As far as the lock and key on the drivers side I've sprayed WD-40  BP Blaster, then Lithium grease and it was still hard to turn. I pulled the actuator out. It didn't look bad. But, It was still 30years old. I changed it and now everything works fine. Now I don't have to worry about breaking off the key in the lock. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.