the rod that conects the doorto the latch fellofin my old ute and has to use wire and go fish around.

Here's a tip for the future.

ALWAYS lock the door WITH THE KEY. No exceptions, .... never ever.
No problem.

I have never locked keys in a car, ever, & I walk away laughing from those that do.
A bit harsh? Sorry, but you do it to yourself.

Here's where the Datsun 1200 is superior to the Sunny B310. With the 1200, the door only locks from the outside when using a key. So you can not push the knob, hold the latch up and slam the door locked.

in every datto ive owned, the doors have been unable to lock before you shut the doors. always had to use the key.

yeah this is the case with all front doors,
with 4 dr sedans the back doors can be locked from the inside, as there is no keyhole.
so i just open the back door n then lock both doors from the inside, if i don't have the keys on me.

It's also much easier to use the packing tape on the rear doors in a 1200, as there is a bigger gap.

all this inapropriate touching of poor little dattos