F-1 door handles

[packrat5]

The door handles on the son's 51 pickup have that droopy look from years of use. The question is, has anyone any experience with the "replacements"? Are there good and bad ones, or all of them the same Chinese junk?

[Ross F-1]

I assume you are talking about the latch assemblies, not the actual handles? No personal direct experience but I've seen pictures. I think I'd go with fixing yours. The latch assemblies can be rebuilt, if you can weld. Sometimes they droop because of the spring that returns the mechanism, sometimes because the square handle shaft gets sloppy, sometimes just because they get rusty or goo'd up. By replacing the springs and welding up any wear, you can make them pretty much good as new. I need to get after my driver's door, it's getting pretty bad.

The "star wheel" in the pic is one of the culprits, the spring above it is the other. You have to bend tabs up on an outer plate to remove the cover plate, of course there's a chance the tabs will break off...

[Vanspeed]

Both my handles on my f-1 drooped a bit. Took the mechanisms out of the doors and fixed any wear areas. Welding required. Put them back on and they were very close. Took the handles and put the square shaft in my vise. Years of use had twisted the shafts a little. Twisted them back and they are perfect now.

[jack orchard]

Originally Posted by Vanspeed

Took the handles and put the square shaft in my vise. Years of use had twisted the shafts a little. Twisted them back and they are perfect now.

Good idea. Did you have to use heat?

[Bums F-1]

For a temporary fix slip a small rubber O ring over the handle and let it drop into the gap between the handle and the door.

[Vanspeed]

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Originally Posted by jack orchard

Good idea. Did you have to use heat?

I did not use heat, just went slow.

[4t8v8]

I took the lazy approach and put the square shafts in my vice, heated them and bent them a little to put the handle square with the world. Didn't take much. Lubed the mechanism. Been working for 30 years with no problem. Hasn't sagged a bit since.

[waterboychuck]

Buy new springs and if it still sags then bend as in above posts.

[Ken Crans]

He cam is most important takes a beating, not hard to take apart to weld new tab and change out springs.

[packrat5]

Great! I will just fix my old ones. I am extremely skeptical of "replacements"

[Ross F-1]

One other thing to check; make sure your handles are on the right sides! They have a cam-action built into them, and if put on the wrong sides, nothing you do will make them sit right. There is a spring in them that also warrants attention.

[49r]

Originally Posted by 4t8v8

I took the lazy approach and put the square shafts in my vice, heated them and bent them a little to put the handle square with the world. Didn't take much. Lubed the mechanism. Been working for 30 years with no problem. Hasn't sagged a bit since.

x2 for 40 years. Will fix them properly one day ...