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hello everyone,
Maybe someone out there can help me out. I have a 42 clipper 2 door and the drivers door handle is sagging. Part of the problem is, I think, because of a missing part on the inside handle itself. On the drivers side only, the square shaft that the handle turns is drilled and taped on the end but nothing is attached to it. This end can move around a lot and if I manually hold that end in position everything seems to fit better. The book I have doesn't show anything there as far as more parts go. Any ideas or solutions?
Thanks in advance,
Miles

I'm curious as to which handle you mean and where or what you have drilled and tapped. A picture would sure help.

Apparently there was an early outside body handle issue mentioned in the Clipper body differences manual. According to the parts book the 42 outside handle assys and the inside remote assys (and also handles) are the same as the 47 -- different assembles by model but interchangeable by year.

My 21st sedan (2122) has nothing but a square shaft which fits into the latch assy for the outside handle and on the inside or remote assy a square shaft which appears to be press fit to the inner pieces. Based on parts list interchangeability I'd expect the 42 is similar. Wouldn't think there would be any big difference between a 2 and 4 door in that respect either.

The hole for the pin to inner door handle is drilled thru the square piece but offhand I didn't see anything that appears tapped or was flopping on either handle. Wonder if someone has tried a repair of some kind.

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I tried to load pictures on here yesterday but just couldn't get it to work. Anyway, the shaft I'm refering to is the square shaft that is connected to the outside door handle. It is loose in the door lock and as a result, is able to move around quite a bit. The taped hole in the end (8-32) was, I assume, put in at the factory. When looking at the end of that square shaft from the inside of the door (door panel removed) it is not centered on the 1/2" access hole that it lines up with. However, when I hold the outside door handle up and straight, then the end of the shaft is centered on that hole.
Now, for the good news. This morning I made a plastic part to fit on the end of the shaft. It is .47 OD X 1/8" long with a center hole drilled and countersunk for an 8-32 machine screw. It holds that shaft fairly centered in the 1/2" hole and now, while not perfect, the outside door handle sits much straighter and everything works smoothly. The new piece sticks out of the inside of the door about 1/32" and will rub a little on the inside door panel very lightly but I don't see that as being a problem.
Thanks again for the help. It's amazing how different a problem looks when someone else just gets you looking at it a little differently. Now, I think I will start another thread with my next problem.
Miles

The tapped 8-32 hole must be what they mean in the handle removal instructions above when saying "remove the screw which goes through the door trim panel from the inside". Wonder if that is 2 door only or was eliminated later. As you see despite the poor camera angle, the supposed to be same as 42 sedan handle on the 47 has no hole and is centered reasonably well in the opening. Nothing is loose.

If it would help, I can remove the latch and take a photo or two for comparison. Maybe there is something obvious missing or has failed on yours. Being a sedan, I don't know if there are latch differences though.

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That the door handle shank is drilled on the end and tapped is not a surprise to me, just that it is found on such a late car - it's a standard feature of car security on earlier models.

Using my 34 sedan as an example, all 4 door handles are retained only by exterior wood screws thru the escutcheon and the door skin into the wood framing, there is no internal fastener to secure the handle when the door is shut. Thus even with the doors closed all the handles can be removed from the exterior with a screwdriver. Only one door handle is keyed, the front passenger side. If the remaining doors are locked from the inside by turning the interior door handle to the "lock" position, even removing the door handle and inserting something to turn the latch will not open the door. But the keyed lock on the remaining handle only prevents the handle from turning the shank and if the handle is removed, you can insert something into the latch and rotate to open. So, the shank end of the handle was drilled and tapped for a fancy little machine screw which went thru the inner door panel, nested into an elegant little escutcheon which was formed in the panel and on into the shank and thus prevented the door handle from being removed. The screw was a modified fillister head style with a very shallow head. Pretty standard stuff for the earlier cars, Packards and others. Once exterior door handles were retained by a screw not accessible with the door closed was this no longer needed.

Quote:G'day Miles,

Usually picture problems are related to the size and/or type of file trying to be added. This Photo Post Guide Lines FAQ of BigKev's may help?

I've handled this problem before. The shaft can be drilled and tapped for a 10-32 screw which together with a high quality epxoy like Lord 304 or West Systems G-Flex will remedy door handle slop.

About the only reason for theft of Packards during the 20's and 30's was illicit use. Meyer Lansky's gang stole a new 343 and out ran the cops hitting 85 mph on Sixth Avenue in New York City. While all that is required to get into a car is smashing a window, the amored cables and combination coil and ignition provides an effective detterent compared to the ease with which lesser cars can be hot wired. Cadillac preferred locking gear shifts.