Door handle broke... again!!! Hard to fix???

bloopbloob · Jun 19, 2007

so my door handle broke again. they charged my like $150 to fix it about 2 years ago, so i'm going to buy off the net and try it myself. i will definately get metal this time. just wondering how hard is it to install? hwat do i need to take door panels off, and do i need the rivet gun& rivet kit i've seen sold with it too? also, what would look better? black or chrome handle??
thanks

black or chrome handle!!???

gcwh02 · Jun 19, 2007

$150 BUCKS!?!?! Thats nuts.. Ok, first off, go black. Second, it takes 10 min to change and i even did mine w/o rivets. You can use a nut and a bolt instead. Bam, your done.

bloopbloob · Jun 19, 2007

i'm mostly wondering about the door panel i guess. never taken one off. pretty simple? do i need a special tool??? anyone else have an opinion on black or chrome????

ryan218 · Jun 19, 2007

black...door panels are easy..you need to go the auto zone or something like that and buy a interior tool...its a prong on the end that you put over the clips and pull up under the door panel..you can do it with a flat head screw driver but you will for sure brake the clips..which are cheap but save money how you can eh!

Darkwriter77 · Jun 19, 2007

Make sure you buy the METAL door handles. Those plastic ones turn brittle and break in like a year. I'm not sure if the HELP! Motormite door handles are available in metal or plastic, but 50resto.com has both versions available - you can get both sides together for like $14 in metal, IIRC.

A couple of 1/4" bolts or machine screws, nylon lock-nuts, and some lock-washers work perfectly fine - much easier than rivets. Remove inner door panel (might need to invest in new plastic push-pegs), *CAREFULLY* drill out rivets (or grind off heads with a Dremel), bolt on your new one, and re-hang the door panel. Done!

89five.o · Jun 19, 2007

Black....I used the ginormous rivet guy I bought off of 50resto. $150 is crazy. If you use a rivet gun make sure you have someone helping and put a couple of layers of tape under the handle area in case the rivet gun slips so that you don't scratch your paint.

bloopbloob · Jun 19, 2007

ok. i guess i'll go black! i think it'd look better too. yeah its crazy! i just wanted it done, so i dropped it off and told them to fix it. i think they charged me like $100 for the handle and 50 for labor or something. i was pissed! PLUS they did scratch my paint also!!! shouldve got a quote first! i was expecting maybe a $50 bill for everything, but i couldnt really tell them to take it off... plus i hate crawling in through the passenger side to open the door!!! oh well. i'll wait this time, do it myself, and do it right i guess with better parts....

Kabuki_notch · Jun 20, 2007

that's an easy fix meng

Flavadave4 · Jun 20, 2007

I just bought steel ones for like $19......buy them and be done with it.

Waz900 · Jun 20, 2007

I went with Chrome because I have 17" Cobra R's, new badges, and new clear headlights and i'm very happy with the look (plus it's something not many people have, see all black suggestions above). My suggestion is to buy the plastic rivets that hold the door on anyway. They're 15 years old and plastic. I've had to take my panels off several times to fix door actuators and other things and I decided that they are good to keep around.

glowstang93 · Jun 20, 2007

Here is a link to to 50resto's instruction to do the door actuator, but it should help with getting the door panels off. http://www.50resto.com/downloads/instructions/LRS-21842.pdf

I agree with ryan, buy the upholstery removal tool, its usually $5-10 and well worth saving the panels. If you panels have been off before splurge and buy some new fasteners. O'Reily Auto Parts has them, as well do most auto parts stores.

View attachment 380468

ryan218 · Jun 20, 2007

glowstang93 said:
Here is a link to to 50resto's instruction to do the door actuator, but it should help with getting the door panels off. http://www.50resto.com/downloads/instructions/LRS-21842.pdf

I agree with ryan, buy the upholstery removal tool, its usually $5-10 and well worth saving the panels. If you panels have been off before splurge and buy some new fasteners. O'Reily Auto Parts has them, as well do most auto parts stores.

View attachment 380457

yeah thats it...paid like 6 bucks for it.

bloopbloob · Jun 20, 2007

wicked. thanks for the help. :SNSign:

nisreo · Jun 20, 2007

ive dealt with seller "450451" on ebay. Check out his auction for the black handle kit.

I bought the same item and I couldnt be happier. They come with studs, not bolts, so someone cant unbolt your handle from the outside and break it. He shipped them really quick, and it even came with a free mustang pen and a hand written letter saying good luck on the restoration etc. Overall one of the best ebay experiences ive had.

I reccomend this guy all day.... oh and like said about, 10 mins to install.

TheUser · Jun 20, 2007

I'm not real sure how you could use studs on something like this. I used carriage bolts (rounded head so you can't get ahold of them from the outside) and nuts. It took me a little longer than 10 minutes and I hated doing it, but I had problems. It took me forever to drill the rivets out because I was using and old POS drill w/ no power. I ended up bending some of the metal and taking a little paint off right under where the handle fits. I also got my handle attached a litttle to high, so it's rubbing the paint off of the top of where the indention is because it rubs when I pull up on the handle. That's all my fault because I wasn't using good tools and I spent a long time on it and got frustrated. At that point, I just wanted to get it over with.

Good Luck. Take your time and do it right. And yes, the black metal handles are the way to go unless you're trying to stand out or something. The chrome ones might look good on the right car, but I don't care for them myself.

Darkwriter77 · Jun 20, 2007

Mine are only chrome because the original black paint came off. I've got the painting goodies to respray them properly, I just gotta get around to doing it sometime. (Maybe tomorrow morning before work, if I can get my butt outta bed early enough ... ha! Yeah, right...)

nisreo · Jun 20, 2007

TheUser said:
I'm not real sure how you could use studs on something like this.

well, bad choice of words, not studs as in a threaded rod, it has a flat head on it, and just below the base of the head are notches that fit in the handle base to keep it from spinning when you tighten the nuts in the back. Hard to explain. From the outside there is no head to greab onto, it sits flush with the bottom of the handle base.

heres a pic,
View attachment 380424

Darkwriter77 · Jun 20, 2007

AKA Carriage bolts.

Door handle broke... again!!! Hard to fix???

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