Think this would work? Door handle swap

[Skunksmash]

I don't have any pics but you've all seen this stuff anyway. I'd like to use the interior door handles from a 70's model truck, on my 87 model door panels. Anyone know if that would work? IMO, they're just better. Its easier to hook your fingers in there, and they look so much more stout. And they don't do that -bend inwards over time- thing.

[dieseldawg142]

i put an '85 door handle in a '77. only thing i came across was the rod for it is on opposite sides of the mounting bracket. just have to bend the rod slightly

[motornut]

I used 89 panels and handle pulls in my 78
the old rods used metal clips,new use plastic bits in my switch

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Skunksmash

And they don't do that -bend inwards over time- thing.

The bend inwards over time thing is an easy fix.

There were two styles use: Early versions used a thick black "rubber band" over the stop tab. When the band gets lost the handle stops too far inboard. Placing a little piece of rubber over the tab (or glued to the tab) takes care of it. Can be done for minimal effort and for free. Bend the tab slightly to fine tune the adjustment.

The second design used a rubber stop inserted through a hole in the tab. I'm not aware of any problems with these but if the rubber is missing you should be able to just replace it with an ash tray bumper or any other small bumper.

My $0.02.

(My truck was built with the old style on the left side and the new style on the right)

K

[Skunksmash]

Yeah I was thinking of a fix for that. I had thought about just completing the "stop" piece with a welded on piece of steel. That way, it could never go any farther than it was supposed to. The problem with just bending that piece is that eventually, it can bend back. That's happened to me before. But if you welded it all the way up to the top, it wouldn't be able to bend anymore. Just a thought I guess.