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I'm replacing the exterior door handles and bezels on my 49 standard 8 4 door. There's a small spring that retracts the handle into position. It slips over the pin that connects the handle to the bezel. Can't figure out how to get the spring in the correct position to insert the pin. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Chuck

Not sure if this handle is the same as yours. It is from a 22-23 series but with the single screw it may be an early 22nd version. If handle is the same the spring appears to be an ordinary 180 or maybe a 225 degree torsion spring. It looks like it just lays in the slot. One leg is resting on the bezel flat surface and the other leg is resting on a similar flat spot in the handle. Pin just goes thru the spring center and when the handle is operated the legs are forced upward as if trying to wind the spring and provide the tension.

If the spring is a 180 degree it should just lay in with minimal added effort to partially wind the legs but if a 225 degree then there would be a fair amount of tension to overcome and you would need to use some kind of clamping arrangement with soft pads -- maybe like a quick grip clamp -- to hold the center of the spring down in the slot while the pin is inserted.

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Thank for the reply. Clamping did the trick.. Time of success ended up taking 2 hours on door 1, 1 hour on door 2, and 1/2 hour to finish door 3 and 4. Clamping took the tension off the spring so the pin could be tapped in. chuck

G'day Chuck Gross,
to PackardInfo, and I invite you to include your '49 Eight Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.