Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hi

Back again - after curing the door latch problem with a Rota-Lokit Kit I have now found that the various door handles I have bought are a mixture of handles and exterior door plates that don't all marry up so I am in desperate need of a LEFT-HAND SIDE handle.

If anyone can help by knowing where there is one for sale or have one to sell please let me know by either posting here or sending me a pm.

Some photos of the item I require attached.

Best regards Michael

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Micheal, I'll check the boneyard on Monday for you. Do you only need one? Also check with the Flackmaster in Dallas - he may have some on the shelf.

Thanks Got your TWO emails sent direct and have replied

Regards Michael

According to Robert Neal's book that handle appears to be the early single screw style and only in production a relatively short period of time. Replaced with one having the screw shown & with a different shaped bezel. That allowed a second screw on the outside front for more strength. Hope the short production doesn't make that first one too hard to find.

Thanks Howard for your input.

I know to my cost about the different handles as the only reason I started hunting for some replacements was that at the dismantling stage of my car the front left hand door "bezel" was broken, consequently I purchased some more "bezels" but when delivered they had the second hole for a screw from the outside - we didn't check the old handle through the "bezel" until recently - they don't fit together at all !! Hence the new hunt for a complete door handle/bezel unit.

Your comments have raised more doubts however.

My car IS for sure an early one (1948) and as far as I am aware has only ever had the handles you see (on all 4 doors) strangely enough though the donor car found by another Member is a 1949-50 22nd Series and has the handles matching mine.

This doesn't correlate with MY handles - so maybe MY handles were replaced ? Adrian who did the first restoration on the car when in Africa did have acces to another donor car so maybe the handles came from that ?

Again Thanks and my Best regards Michael

Robert Neal is the expert and all I can do is paraphrase. He mentioned the early handles were found to be weak and were phased out starting in November 47.

Said they were primarily found on convertibles but some made their way to other bodies. Even with only a couple of months production, guess there could be a few thousand cars still out there having them. One being found on a 49 might mean it was one of the renumbered cars but again, hard to say without some numbers. Parts book lists each as applicable for "all" so they must have been interchangeable. A screw hole having to be either filled or drilled depending on the handle would probably be the main difference.

Doesn't say if the first style was still available for parts replacement after the second appeared so that might be a possibility. If an early one failed I wonder if Packard would have replaced all 4 or maybe just beefed up a replacement. There was a campaign to install reinforcing plates on the handles of some early production convertibles.

Here are some photos of the driver door handle I removed from the parts car today. Note that these are two hole models. I see that Kanter has both the one and two hole versions. If this will work on your 48, pm me and we can discuss further.

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Thanks David your efforts very much appreciated.

I'll pm you as you as requested.

For other guys reading this, this handle is off a later car and has a different faceplate to mine with an additional hole for an external screw - my handles have the single screw fixing from the inside of the door panel.

BIG QUESTION IS WILL THIS HANDLE REPLACE MINE WITHOUT ANY WORK OTHER THAN A HOLE IN THE DOOR PANEL AND A SELF-TAP INTO THE HOLE ?

Best regards Michael

Can't answer the screw question for sure but am sure they will need new style gaskets.

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It looks like it would be possible to add a hole in the door panel for the extra screw, but I don't believe that a self tapping screw would hold very well.
From what I can remember there is an extra reinforcement inside the door panel for the later type with a captive nut for the screw.

See the side by side photos comparing the 2 types (Unfortunately for the right side - no left ones of the early type)

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