Door assembly for pick-up trucks

An improved door assembly for a vehicle body of the type in which two doors, each having front and rear edges, are longitudinally spaced as front and rear doors on at least one side of the vehicle body, the door assembly comprising:

• a continuous door aperture formed through the side of the body extending longitudinally between a front pillar having a vertical portion extending upwardly from the body floor and a rearwardly canted portion extending therefrom to the body roof and a rear pillar extending substantially vertically from the body floor to the body roof;
• means for pivotally connecting the rear edge of the rear door to the rear pillar for swingable movement between a first position closing a portion of the continuous door aperture and an open position;
• means for pivotally connecting the front edge of the front door to the vertical portion of the front pillar for swingable movement between a first position closing the remainder of the continuous door aperture and having rear edge portions overlying the front edge of the rear door and an open position;
• a striker member carried on the front edge of the rear door;
• a latch assembly carried at the rear edge of the front door for releasably engaging the striker member;
• means for operating the latch assembly from an external surface of the vehicle body, the means for operating mounted only to the front door;
• upper and lower latch means carried at the top and bottom of the rear door respectively;
• upper and lower keeper means carried on the body roof and body floor for latchingly receiving the corresponding upper and lower latch means when the rear door is in the closed position;
• and
• operating lever means, carried on the front edge of the rear door and inaccessible when the doors are both in their first positions, for moving the latch means with respect to the keeper means.