The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk A-D lever door handle frustration

It seems most pictures I see of the lever door handles, they are not horizontal. Most are hanging down 1/2 to 1" and I just saw one that was actually tilted UP.

I prefer the looks of the lever handle to the push button, and that is one of several reasons I'm looking for an earlier model. But having the lever not dead horizontal would drive me nuts.

Is there a big issue with lining them up? Is it simply a matter of wear that causes them to sag? Are they adjustable?

Please help me understand.

Thanks!

It can be caused by rust/dirt, bad spring, worn metal on the square end of the handle shaft. It is more work than most people want to do, or are afraid that they can't fix it. It doesn't affect the operation of the door latch. Mine will stay put in the proper alignment if I put it there after I close the door. Aftermarket latches are said to be junk and old originals are challenging to repair.
Carl

The handles are a press fit on the shaft and a heavy hand yanking down to open the door can cause it to rotate out of position. The handle can be re-aligned and pinned in place, as I saw on an old posting here on Stovebolt. I also had some luck in bumping the handle back to its original position while still in the door by hitting it up with heel of my hand. That might work for awhile but if it moves easily back into position it will also move easily back out of position!

Or maybe http://www.classicparts.com/1947-51-Door-Latch-Spring/productinfo/18-575/#.VNwRSc9d7X4 ??? Never tried one (yet), but it's a cheap fix if they work. Mine aren't sagging though. I could throw in a comment about the missus here, but I won't.

Good info - thanks.


You value your life?

Dude! You just did. She must also be a blonde, if you figure she won't guess what its about.
Carl

Back on topic please.

I slap an angle finder on the handle in the sagged down position and see how many degrees it's off horizontal. Remove handle, clamp square end in vise, heat red hot and twist shaft up the number of degrees it was down. You must hold handle in line while twisting or the shaft will bend to one side or other. When reinstalled the handle will often point up with the door open but drop back horizontal when shut. This eliminates the spring having to retain it's tension. The latches were of such a terrible design that I refuse to let a truck leave the shop without bear claw latches or at least safety belts. If they don't want either they can take them somewhere else. Many a kid, including me, has fallen out of one of these trucks when a door popped open.

Sounds like a good plan as well.

Thanks!

Evan, I see you have a restoration shop. So I'm having a little problem understanding
your definition of a 'restoration'. Which I thought was the process of repairing the
degraded aspect of an automobile or truck with the purpose of returning it to an overall
"authentic" condition.
By cutting away parts of a pristine door and adding a completely different design of
door latch it would seem to me that it should then be referred to as a custom job, not a
‘restored’ vehicle.
Not to say that there aren't cases where the doors did fly open, where the original door
latches were worn out or they were maladjusted or the door simply wasn't closed
completely in the first place. Also people have been known to bump the handle with
their knee or hook it with their sleeve releasing the door latch.
I grew up on Chevy cars and trucks, getting my first one in the late 50's and owning
many more over the years. My full time work was at Chevrolet dealerships from '59
through the mid 60's at which time my uncle called me. It’s now 57 years later and I’m
still owning Chevy’s and I've never seen the doors fly open on a Chevy Car or Truck of
any vintage unless one of the previous conditions were present or occurred.
Do door lock wear after 65 years of use? Of course they do. Are they difficult for the
average person to repair? Of course they are. From the reports I’ve heard about the
stock appearing aftermarket replacement locks, they’re not quite up to snuff either. I’ve
got a pair somewhere here in the barn that I’ve never had occasion to use and they look
at first glance just like the original ones. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate them so I
can’t comment on how they fit or operate. But all that still isn’t a good enough reason to
modify a perfectly good door with a completely new design.

Just for those that are thinking of 'customizing' your doors or ‘up-grading’ or
‘personalizing' or 'modifying' or whatever you choose to call it, I've been hearing of
problems with the way the straight 'bolt-in' 'Bear Claws' are a little less than perfect also.
Specifically alignment problems with the handles after cutting away the back end of the
door.
A large number of the so called 'bolt-in' kits or products on the market require
modification or adaption which in many cases, the average guy simply isn't equipped to
tackle. If I were 'customizing' my truck I would ask around a bunch before I cut my
perfectly good doors apart leaving no path to turn back from. A couple thousand ‘Bear
Claws’ sold over the last few years compared to millions upon millions of GM latches
designed and installed at GM plants over the decades does not necessarily make it a
well proven design in my book.
And that’s just my take on the subject.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL