I am finally at a point in my build that I am mounting the outer door handles on my 40 coupe. I bought new handles from Bob Drake, they look great by the way, but when I tried to install them I found that the hole in the door jamb where the mounting screw passes through was too large and the screw would not grab. I was able to look at another car and found that there appears to be a washer missing that should be welded on the inside of the door jamb panel. I am not sure if that will resolve my issue on the handle mounting however since the opening in the door skin looks to be a bit large and there is no structure on the inside of the door skin to stabilize the handle. I am afraid that once I get the washer in place and screw down the handle it may just pull the handle over and the handle will not hold in place. Here is a pic of the pass side looking through the door handle hole...PO repaired this part of the door so the opening and internals are far from stock, just trying to get back to functional. Thanks...
I can't figure out what your problem is from your description. Just a lack communication I suppose. Do you have the latch mechanisms ? The should look like these.
Thanks for the reply...I have replaced the OEM latches with Altman latches so the door jamb looks a bit different now. That said, the door handle works exactly the same, the square rod fits into the Altman latch just like the OEM mechanism. If you look at this photo you will see the access hole for the outside door handle...there is nothing on the backside of this hole to catch the mounting screw. The screw, when installed in the door handle, just passes right through the door jamb. I know that I need to "weld" a washer behind this access hole so that the screw will actually have something to hold the door handle in place...what my question is, "is there anything on the backside of the door skin around the door handle hole, or is it just smooth?".
I am not much of an artist so bear with me...here is a top-down view of the door handle and latch mechanism. I hope that it is clear from this sketch how the handle mounting screw just passes through the door jamb...I can remedy this but the question still remains, is there anything else on the backside of the door skin that supports the inner portion of the door handle? Right now all I see that holds the door handle in place is the mounting screw and whatever support comes from the square shaft that goes into the latch assembly. My concern is what happens to the door handle when someone yanks on it to open the door...does the screw and the square shaft hold it secure, or can it twist?
Ok I get it now. Don't know if i will have the definitive answer though. My 40 has 39 door s on it. I converted the handles to 40 type. The 39 doors had a back up plate because the screws that held the 30 handle on needed a threaded boss for the handles attachment screws. The 40 door handles do not require this screw plate since the mounting screw comes in at an angle from the door jamb. If my car was already painted I think I would try using the handle without reinforcing it on the inside. If it were still under construction I would want to reinforce it if someone speaks up and says there actually is supposed to be a reinforcement plate behind the handle. I attached a few photos of the conversion process just for reference. Probably not much help. The last one clearly shows the washer needed for the handle screw.
Thanks, that helps a lot. This is my first 40 so I am on a steep learning curve, not much in the way of printed media to use for reference. I don't know why but both doors had about a 4x6 inch section replaced at the door handle/lock area. The driver's door has been modified for the Bob Drake lock assembly but the passenger door had nothing to hold the lock in place. I ended up welding the hole closed, a lock on the driver's side only is just fine. Here is a modified sketch showing in red what I plan to do to correct the door handle issue. I think I can kill two birds at once here...strengthen the door skin behind the handle and provide a support for the mounting screw. I use a lot of structural adhesives so it will be an easy task to bond these brackets in place without damaging the paint. Thanks again...
A structural adhesive will work great. I have used it for adding reinforcement plates for the doors on my '32. KK
I use quite a bit of the 3M08115 adhesive...works great on everything from small parts to larger panels. This F100 firewall is installed with it...
your solution is similar to what Gm did in the 40s with their lock mechanisms. your initial sketch was correct, you are missing part of the door.. having owned many 40 doors over the years I never considered what would occur if that part were lost.. congrats on solving a problem~!
The 39 guy sent me a message about your question. and My door are completely apart and I was able to get a couple of pix of the piece in question. looking through the inside panel access hole. looking at the back of the door edge, between the skin and the inner panel. the rectangular hole on the left side is for the door latch plunger. ( for reference ).
Thanks joel...it's kinda creepy looking at that bracket now, this is the first I have ever seen one yet it looks almost exactly what I had drawn. Something bad must have happened to my door around the handle since the skin had been repaired and the window channel was all bent up. Time to start bending metal...
Thanks Joel. Now my curiosity is satisfied too. This makes me wish I had reinforced my 39 doors. So far I have not noticed any flexing around the handle but I will be watching for in now.
Actually, I found the reinforcement last weekend when working on my doors. There was a "low spot" on the skin next to the handle hole and I bumped into it. I think the low spot was due to shutting the door by pushing on the handle. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I am adding a pic to show the hole in the support piece that actually holds the door handle screw. You can see that it's a slotted hole to allow the screw to drop through the hole in the door edge. The second pic is of the original handle and the screw that goes with it. I hope this helps. Good luck.
Looking at this photo I see the same gap issue that I am seeing in my handle. The alignment between the handle and the mounting flange is perfectly uniform when sitting un-mounted, but when I install the handle and seat the square shaft into the latch assembly, the handle pulls out causing the gap to be uneven. I called Trique Mfg and they gave me a course of action to take to "adjust" the Altman latch to fix this issue. I want to get all this resolved before I fabricate the inner door mounting plate. Thanks again for the help!
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