1950 Ford F-1: Fixing Saggy Door Handles

Follow along as I disassemble and troubleshoot the door latch actuators on my 1950 Ford pickup. They have a flaw in them that cause the outside door handles to sag.

[@randywertheimer6822]

Hi, first time watching one of your videos 1950 Ford F-1: Fixing Saggy Door Handles posted six years ago. Yes, common problem with these old trucks and a pet peeve of mine also. Unless you are building a show truck or are a perfectionist, there is another way to straighter out an outside door handles in 5 minutes. Not everyone who watches your video has the mechanical ability and may want an easier and faster way for a daily driver. All it requires is removing the door handle and heating up the shaft until it is pliable. Insert it back in the closed door still hot and pull it up until it is level. If it is off a little, you may have to reheat it and tweak it. I have seen 50k F1's with saggy door. handles. I also saw a video where they bought a re pop driver door mechanism to fix this problem and after installing the new door mechanism, the handle pointed upward instead. He left it like that because he didn't know how to tweak it my way. Yours is really the correct way but if you want a faster and easier way then one may consider my way as an alternative.

[@IowaMercMan]

Well done! I had a 49 F1 with the same clapped out door handles, I tried swapping the parts side-to-side, and that helps... but only very temporarily. I wish this video had been available when I was wrestling with it.

[@bigd2203snuffy]

Everyone who owns a 48-52 needs to see this!

[@tinygaragefab]

Thank you! After seeing this post, I finally started and linked this in a thread on the FTE forum, but it hasn't been approved yet by the mods. Hopefully they approve it so that everyone with a 48-52 CAN see this video!

[@bigd2203snuffy]

Tiny Garage Fabrication I shared it to a F1 Facebook page also. People need to see what you are doing. It needs to blow up! I haven't taken my latches apart yet. This helped immensely! Sagging door handles are a point that can easily be fixed. It helps the look of the truck!

[@PeterParker-tb4ch]

Disregard my comment from a couple of days ago. I combed through other comments a bit more carefully and saw that you had previously answered that very question. Thanks again for what you do.

[@tinygaragefab]

You're welcome, and thank you for watching.

[@jeffcurtis1491]

Awesome video man! Thanks! This helped me a lot!!!

[@PeterParker-tb4ch]

First off, thank you for your channel and your inspiration. It is refreshing to see someone doing things the right way the first time and doing the difficult work instead of taking the easy way out. I have watched this particular video a few times now, forwarding to various parts and back and forth in an effort to see how you address different areas on these assemblies and my latest takeaway was your mentioning of buying new springs for these assemblies. Would you consider sharing your source. I have found torsion springs throughout this truck ( there aren't that many) a bit of a frustration. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Looking forward to your next video(s).

[@burritosupremejeem]

I have a '37 Ford pickup...the latch mechanism appears to be the exact same unit. Great video, thank you....my weekend project just materialized!

[@tinygaragefab]

They certainly kept things simple for a long time! Good luck with the project, it's a good one.

[@johnd.clarkejr.1830]

Very well done! Step by step very informative and easy to follow. Should be a very useful When I replace the window felt on my 52 f1

[@tinygaragefab]

Thank you! It is a most worthwhile fix. While twisting the handle to make it "look right" is easier, there is far more satisfaction in doing the job right. And it's actually pretty easy. 👍

[@JohnSmith-oy9tc]

Just watched this video on FTE. GREAT job. Will be doing my 48 soon. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@tinygaragefab]

You're very welcome! It is completely worth the effort, I promise. The popular notion of just putting the handle in a vise and twisting it does nothing to fix the issue, despite what you may read in the comments below and elsewhere online.

[@sillyhead7441]

Thanks dude, found you through the Ford truck page, you just started a thread on this. Just subscribed, keep up the good work.

[@adventureswithedna]

Fixed mine on a Edna after watching this video a few years ago

[@tinygaragefab]

That's awesome! I'm glad this fix is still being utilized all these years after I posted the video.

[@aviatorblc]

EXCELLENT work !!! Well done.

[@tinygaragefab]

Many thanks!

[@57churbro]

Awesome job 👌... sagging door handles always bugged me too..l will have to do this aswell thanks for making this video 👍

[@tinygaragefab]

Happy to help!

[@kj9219]

Had fun watching you do all that. i also built up the handle shaft, making it square again. On my passenger door the handle would spin all around because the square hole it fit into (with the gear) was shot. So I just welded the gear to the square hole and worked perfectly. Don't know why they made it with two separate pieces. On that same door the spring had broken at the middle mounting place so I heated up that end of the spring and reconnected it which made the spring tighter. Yeah I could have just bought a new spring but that's not as much fun. It's been working fine and made the door handle straighten up too. Ford really made these mechanisms heavy duty..

[@tinygaragefab]

Thank you! Nice to see someone who appreciates the work instead of just telling me to twist the shaft on the handle and call it good. Lol.

[@dennisd4452]

I've got that on my '47 Ford pickup. I was thinking of adding door poppers and welding the handle.

[@tinygaragefab]

That's certainly a good fix. However, I wanted the factory handles to keep the look I was going for.

[@dennisd4452]

@@tinygaragefab - I hear you. Nothing like functional original door handles on an olde ride.

[@onehot57]

That has always pissed me off to, I bought a 1947 Ford sedan and the drivers door handle drooped. When I bought it the seller gave me the springs to fix it, so I did! Not a pleasant job.

[@tinygaragefab]

Good thing it was just springs in yours! I would have much rather had a simpler fix for mine. But this was a great learning experience.

[@benharper1682]

So you soaked it in molasses? to remove the rust? more detail please. oh and by the way, great video. Love it

[@tinygaragefab]

Yes. My buddy had a molasses bath for some parts he was doing, and he threw these in with his stuff. The acid in the molasses dissolves the rust, much like vinegar or muriatic acid does. I just use vinegar myself. Takes about a day, but works well and is quite inexpensive.

[@johnyoung9739]

Awesome Thank you 😊 I will try it …

[@tinygaragefab]

Good luck. It's not too bad of a job one you get in there.

[@kj9219]

Hey TG I want your opinion. on my '48 the cab wants to be higher on the passenger side (when viewed from the back). I've loosened up that side of the rear mounts and raised the drivers side rear -then tightened them both down. And she still wants to list over about a half inch. hate lop sided stuff. The only thing I can figure is my front leaf springs are shot (w/ no arch left) and causing that issue. Sound like that's on track? I don't see indications the frame is tweaked. Guess I'm not sure if I should go w/ new leafs or try some other suspension all together..

[@specialized29er86]

Door handle droop happens to us all with age.

[@felixmikkialmosttoasted3911]

Any idea how to get a seized door open ? Pop the hinges?

[@pkerit308]

The Standard cure all these years has been to heat and twist the square shaft of the handle

[@tinygaragefab]

I've been hearing that a lot lately. But that doesn't do anything for it still being able to travel upward and rattle while going down the road. That would drive me mad. YMMV

[@levadathurlbeck2150]

Does anyone know how to change the lock on passenger side of 1941 Ford P/U? Lost the keys

[@pkerit308]

Its a lot easier to put a little twist in the square shaft

[@uniberp]

You did not show the weldup.

[@garrettwilson1150]

Do you know where I can purchase a new spring for the latch?

[@tinygaragefab]

I got my replacement springs on ebay. There are a couple different styles, so pay close attention to detail when selecting the ones you buy. The little tangs at the end are different lengths and bent different ways for different years.

[@daleatinney5798]

maybe you could bend shaft on door handle

[@tinygaragefab]

That doesn't solve anything. It doesn't eliminate the slop and will allow the handle to rotate up, and that would rattle a lot while going down the road. It's worth the time to properly fix the problem.

[@daleatinney5798]

@@tinygaragefab enjoyed your video..

[@busmirror]

Yeah you can do all that or....grab that handle with the door closed and pull up until it twists to horizontal.

[@tinygaragefab]

Um...clearly you missed the point. But thanks for watching!

[@busmirror]

Over the last 50 years of my restoration work, I've explored any number of methods to get those handles horizontal, so far, giving them a twist has worked every time.

[@burtcaudill7687]

Thank goodness mine was making me mad sub for you my friend

[@tinygaragefab]

Yeah man, while it isn't the easiest mod, it definitely isn't the most difficult task you'll face with these trucks. Thanks for following along, I have some cool projects in the pipeline.

[@nathanroberts4183]

How do you remove the inside door handle?

[@tinygaragefab]

There is a set screw that runs parallel to the handle. It is under the part that you grab onto and it screws in to the shaft to keep it from coming off.

[@sammyzonna8045]

lmc droops npd makes non droop handle

[@tinygaragefab]

It doesn't matter who makes the handle. If the actuator inside the door is damaged, as I showed in the video, ANY handle will droop.

[@bigospig]

A repop part is low quality? Say it ain't so!

[@tinygaragefab]

Yeah, it's the story of my life. I was born in the wrong generation. Lol.

[@timgelder4263]

Lol,or you could just swap the handles and shafts from the other door

[@tinygaragefab]

Um...no. it's not the handle shaft that has twisted which causes the handle to droop. It's the mechanism that the shaft goes into that fails. Maybe watch the whole video and see how it works??

[@timgelder4263]

@@tinygaragefab it's a combination of both the shaft twisting and wear on both the shaft and the opening. It worked on a 37 and a 50 for me and is worth a try before you over think and tear everything apart

[@tinygaragefab]

@@timgelder4263 since when is taking something apart to do a proper, full fix, considered overthinking? Is buying a new assembly that isn't worn out overthinking? I'm just making old new again, and not taking shortcuts to do so. It's what separates my work from that of most "builders." But yeah, glad you got your '37 and '50 fixed so easily.

[@timgelder4263]

@@tinygaragefab I think we both agree that sagging handles are UGLY. I see them all the time and most could be fixed so easily by the average guy. I'm sure you do high quality work. Didn't mean to butt in, have a great day!