Weekend wrench: I cant handle this

"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
05/16/2020 at 20:32 • Filed to: None

Keepin the puns rollin

So working on the car 2 weeks ago resulted in my doorhandle breaking. After surviving 40 years, it breaks now. And since both handles are original, I need to replace it in case the other breaks. Magical. Diagnosis:

How its supposed to look

How it actually looks.

So unless you remove the full window mechanism and everything it is basically impossible to get to the inner door handle. I guess you can’t remove it from the outside because of theft reasons, its still bullshit. At least if the drivers side breaks I am covered. This is a legitimate concern. When I finally managed to get the old hamdle out, I may have chucked it out of disgust. It shattered.

So you know, apparently these are made out of ceramic. Bold materials choice for 70s gm.

The replacements that have been “reinforced” are nonmagnetic. So good luck on those I guess.

Bonnie likes the hose.

DISCUSSION (23)

pip bip - choose Corrour > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 20:35

40 years for an outer handle is pretty good

My bird IS the word > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/16/2020 at 20:46

It would have survived 100 of it wasn't made out of glass

jimz > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 20:49

it’s called “pot metal.” a cheap, mostly zinc alloy used for shit like badges and trim rings by basically everyone up until the mid-late-80s. it fractures because it was never really a well controlled mixture and the varying boiling points of the different metals thrown “into the pot” meant anything made from it probably had more than a few bubbles or inclusions to be a stress raiser.

Bandit > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 20:54

Handle installation is awful. You’ll want to loosen up your window glass guides to get as much room as possible to access stuff from the backside! And the pot metal used on handles and grilled and such is crap, it corrodes appears easily and is so brittle.

My bird IS the word > jimz
05/16/2020 at 20:54

I thought it was called C hinese ium

My bird IS the word > Bandit
05/16/2020 at 20:57

I am so sick of the poor metallurgy on this car

jimz > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 21:06

in the ‘70s?

lone_liberal > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 21:06

I had enough fun replacing the door lock cylinders so I’ll pass on this. You should see the ridiculous pliers I bought to do the installation after suffering through the removal.

jimz > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 21:08

no, it wouldn’t. my first car was a 1987 Plymouth Turismo. they were still making door handles out of this shit. I owned the car in 1993, and the driver’s door handle broke. The car was 6 years old.

That’s the reason pot metal is shit. you could get something that would break tomorrow, or last 50 years.

My bird IS the word > jimz
05/16/2020 at 21:13

I was just joking

My bird IS the word > lone_liberal
05/16/2020 at 21:15

Ugh I still need to replace both lock cylinders. I’m hoping a locksmith can adjust them to use the same key.

jimz > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 21:18

i was not aware

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 21:37

Well you know, they don’t make ‘em like they used to!

My bird IS the word > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
05/16/2020 at 22:20

Did they ever make them like they used to, or is that just a myth? Cause this is built like shit.

lone_liberal > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 22:54

I would think that it should be no problem for the locksmith. I had to replace the ignition lock cylinder so I bought a matching set.

just-a-scratch > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 23:08

Survivorship bias. Only the best or best cared for examples last. There were plenty of crap examples that did not make it. Be glad they don't make 'em like they used to.

just-a-scratch > My bird IS the word
05/16/2020 at 23:12

Low quality castings often fail by brittle fracture into lots of pieces. The pot metal others are talking about makes sense for this. It's a cheap material to use of you want a difficult to form shape, and you want it to have the bright chrome finish.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > jimz
05/16/2020 at 23:34

Zamac

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > My bird IS the word
05/17/2020 at 00:42

“Cause this is built like shit.”

Exactly! The way they used to make them was like shit.

LOL

What we have today is much higher quality and more durable the majority of the time.

GLiddy > My bird IS the word
05/17/2020 at 01:20

My passenger side handle broke after about 10 years. I don’t recall that it was a huge issue replacing it though b ut it has been awhile so memories fade. I decided that the problem was that F body doors (and bodies) sag with age and so my passenger side door would rest down on the latch. To open it easily, people would not just pull on the door handle, but also pull up on it to prevent the door from binding on the door latch. This added stress over 10 or so years finally caused it to crack and break right in the middle. Ah, the fun of having a car with a half-frame.

GLiddy > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/17/2020 at 01:22

Yeah, as I mentioned in a previous reply, the one on my 2nd gen F-body lasted maybe 10.

pip bip - choose Corrour > GLiddy
05/17/2020 at 02:12

that sucks.

mind you better than the handles on Aussie XD/XE/XF Ford Falcons, they break so often it isn’t funny.

My bird IS the word > GLiddy
05/17/2020 at 08:25

I have te same issue, althoung I have replacement hinge pins and bushings ready to install. Although, I was trying to replace everything at once, as I still need to replace my drivers door glass, the window felts (scratching the glass) and the weatherstripping.