I haven't ever broken one of those handles. Once, a passenger in the back
seat "yanked" on the handle without unlocking the door and broke it. They
certainly are weak, but I don't think that they flex, unless you pull on it
way too hard. Usually then, it will break immediately, or if not, then the
next time it is used.
This is but one weak and hard to find part for these cars. The '61
through'63 turn signal lever is susceptible to breakage by hitting it with
a knee upon entering the car. The horn ring for same is easily broken
during a "vengeful honking episode".
I think that filling the hollow portion of the interior door handles would
be a good way to strengthen them, if the compound will flow down through
the stem of the part. Let's put our heads together and figure out a way to
preserve these other two fragile pieces as well. Unfortunately, once any
of these is broken, they can't really be fixed.
Paul W.
In an email dated 6/7/2005 2:20:20 pm GMT Daylight time,
joestill1@xxxxxxxxxxx (Joe) writes:
On our '61 Crown, the sole surviving interior door handle was filled with
some sort of putty, sort of like plumbers putty, when we got it. I don't
know if that is the reason is was spared and the other three weren't but
it's an idea anyway.
--
Joe
Allen, Texas
'61 4D Crown Southampton
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1961/JoeStill/index.htm
-------------- Original message --------------
Everybody who has owned a 60-63 imperial is probably aware of the problem
with the interior door handles breaking. I was pulling stuff off a 61 at a
junkyard last week and noticed that all four of the handles were broken on
that one. My blame for the problem is that the top of the handle is hollow
and gets real thin were it meets the stem, causing it to flex, over time
all the flexing leads to breakage. My idea is to fill the hollowed top
portion of the handle with something. I believe that would stop the
flexing, add strength and save the unbroken pieces that are left. I have
considered lead, fiberglass resin, or some sort of epoxy like maybe JB
weld. As for the already broken handles they're pretty much scrap metal,
they're made of pot metal I believe, and cant be welded as far as I know.
I would like to hear some of your opinions on this fix. Has anybody ever
did this before ?
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