I have had no luck in removing the spring loaded, inside door and window handles on my 52 Chevy. It has wood door panels and I do not want to screw them up. I have tried the standard clip removing tool and it did not work. Any suggestions? Thanks
They can be a bitch, but I do believe they are held on with a horseshoe clip like all chevys through the 60's. My clip removal tool only gets them about half the time. You have to make sure you are trying to remove the clip from the correct side. I know this seems basic, but it is hard to see them in the tight space and know which is the back side. Once you make sure you are taking them out the right direction you may have to use a small screw driver to "push" the end of the clip, one side at a time, out if pulling with the removal tool doesn't work. If you don't have a pulling plier like tool or the one that pushes it out as shown in the previos post, you can easily make one like that shown in the picture
On my 52 Pontiac, I had to use a "L" pick to remove mine...pretty good chance you'll either lose the clip behind the panel, or bend it out of shape, but you would probably wanna use new ones anyways. Hope this helps.
The thickness of your WOOD panels is very likely making it difficult (if not impossible) to push the panel back far enough to get access to the clip. DD
Tape off the panel before you get too far in there, and with a little force on the panel, you should take the pressure off of the clips... use a pick from the back side of it, and you should be able to catch the tabs, and pull them back off the shaft...
i have had luck getting stubborn ones off by sliding a rag under the handle, pulling it around so it gets down into the clip area. and then turning it around to get the fibers in the rag to catch the edge of the clip and open it up.
Thanks for the "Pick" suggestion-it worked. The clips are smaller than the usual clips and the tool would not work. Taped off the around the handles so we did not scratch the wood. One guy pushed the spring loaded bezel back with a screw driver, one held the light and I hooked on to it with the pick. Thanks once again to all the Hamber's for your help. Jeff