Hello gentlemen - I’ve run into a problem with the exterior door handles on my 1931 Coach. Basically the hole in the door skin where the handle shaft enters does not line up well with the square hole in the latch mechanism that this shaft must fit into. The hole in the door skin seems too far forward or the mechanism too far to the rear. When I install the handle I can make it mate with the square hole in the mechanism but then the forward end of the handle sits way too close to the door skin. I assume the door handle should be more or less parallel to the door skin itself but it is not. Same problem on both sides of the car. I do not see any adjustment that would remedy this. It could perhaps be fixed by welding up the hole in the door skin and re-drilling it about 3/16 inch aft but I doubt that is the right solution. My car has had door handles adapted from a Model A since I bought it so I don’t have any pictures or measurements from the original hardware. I now have proper handles (I think). Any idea what I am doing wrong? Many thanks for your help. … Tom Fowler VCCA #5898
I suspect that the door lock mechanism may not be correct, the exterior holes for the handles were relocated or ???? Maybe if you post the dimensions and a couple of photos we can help figure it out.
I had the same problem when I purchased new window regulator boards. The real problem was the location of the inside handle being a little off. When you attached the link it misaligned the outside handle mechanism
Here are a couple of pictures of 31 door latches. The rusty one maybe earlier. Do yours look something like these? If not I have a box of these somewhere and might be able to help if you know what you need.
Many thanks for everyone’s help. Some photos are attached that more clearly show the issue. My door handles must be inserted through the door skin at an angle in order for the shaft to mate with the latch mechanism. The mechanism is labeled “Ternstedt” with a date code of 11/30 so I believe it is correct. The handles are ones I have acquired over the years and may or may not be correct. One photo shows the angle the handle takes relative to the outside of the door skin. It will operate the mechanism but the front end of the handle looks too close to the door skin to me. Another photo shows how the shaft enters the door skin and mates with the mechanism from the inside with all wood pieces removed. Note that the handle shaft must slope to the rear to make the connection. My best idea is to weld up the hole and re-drill it a bit to the rear but am confused why that should be necessary. - Tom
Hello Tom Fowler, Ibwild may be correct if your inner door handle rods cause the latch mechanism to be located out of alignment with the outside door handles. Another thing to remember is that the drivers side outer handle does not have a key lock and the passenger side does, don't know if that changes angles or not. I think that I'd try to adjust the mechanism to correct the angle of the outer door handles and then make the inner door handles work second. My opinion.
One thing I see that doesn't look quite right is the striker edge metal on the door. Usually there is a slight angle back into the door yet it looks like you have more of a 90d angle. The latch mechanism should have a slight angle to it also to match the angle on the face of the door latch edge. A simple measurement from the edge of the hole to the edge of the door would tell if the hole is in the correct location. Was all the wood missing from this door? The original door wood would also show why you have the strange angle to the handle shaft. It appears to me that the latch is too close to the edge of the door but the pictures are not good enough to show exactly whats going on.
