Mini Cooper - how to fix broken car latch

if you are in the middle of the nation where there are no mini dealers, maybe you shouldn't have a mini, but if you know the right people--well then it is ok.
i thought i had broken the latch on the driver's side.  i foolishly tried to open lock and latch at same time and heard a terrible ratcheting sound.  i could open door by reaching my hand outside and pulling the latch, but not by the inside latch.   the fix! well, i drove to california (not just for this, but for an extended visit) and my engineer son-in-law volunteered to have a look see.

after removing the door, (many visits to internet) he discovered (internet also) that many minis have this problem.  the latch is not broken, but the cable has stretched.

following are pictures of his fix.

1. cutter and inside clicker part of mechanical pencil

2. cut piece

3. cutting piece to length to use a shim

4. cutting grove with hacksaw

5. shim in place on cable

now all that needs to be done is to put door in place.

getting armrest off was a bit of hassle - slightly different that the one shown on line.

YEAH!!!!!!!