69 Door Handle Question....

Discussion in 'The Bench' started by Ken Mild, Oct 8, 2002.

  1. Yardley

    Yardley Club Jackass

    Re: The wrong handles :af:

    They still won't give a rat's a$$. They'll still sell tham as 68/69 handles, no matter what you say. Too bad. They (like most all businesses in this country) can't be told what is right from a consumer. Ever try to tell the guy at the parts counter he is wrong?
     
  2. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    Re: Re: The wrong handles :af:

    You're absolutely right. They will continue to sell them as 68-69. I will still call them though because I can't sleep at night knowing they are incorrect without letting them know "I know".

    I'll also tell them I think it's misleading and that they should advertise them as "incorrect in appearance, but fit and function are correct", like 75% of everything else in their book. :rolleyes:
     
  3. grisby

    grisby Well-Known Member

    Try this link. I use it sometimes and it helps. Its for a Chevelle but it does give some cross referrences.

    http://www.angelfire.com/tx/lonestarclassics/body.html

    it states that the handles interchange with the following

    1968-72 Chevelle Station Wagon
    1971/72 GMC Sprints (El Caminos that are sold by GMC)
    1968/69 Buick Skylark/Special (all models and bodystyles)


    HTH
     
  4. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    This is what I saw on the site Bill:

    1968/69 Chevelles, along with 1968-72 El Caminos, interchange with the following:

    1968-72 Chevelle Station Wagon
    1971/72 GMC Sprints (El Caminos that are sold by GMC)
    1968/69 Buick Skylark/Special (all models and bodystyles)

    Now the guy at Y1 says 66-67 Chevelle, GTO, Tempest and LeMans interchanges with 68-69 Skylark.

    This is laughable.

    I should call up and give him this info and see what he can turn up. Now even if this web site is right, what do they mean by "interchange" per say? Are they saying they are identical, or that they "will fit"? That's where I think we get screwed up all the time. I'm not always sure "interchange" means identical in appearance as much as it means "fit and function". I'm still going to look into it.

    Thanks for the tip. :beer
     
  5. grisby

    grisby Well-Known Member

    You got a point there Ken, kinda like those one size fits all generic universal parts (that only take an hour to adapt:af: )Good luck with Y1, but hey look at it this way, at least with Y! you know up front that they are going to charge you an extremely high amount to ship them!!:grin:

    Good luck
     
  6. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    OK, here's the lowdown. I left a message with Kevin Orr (i.e. bigwig) and he referred me to Peter who handles documentation and Peter was awesome. Great guy. But, they do not have the "correct" door handles in their inventory. Peter said he is going to update the catalog to reflect that there is a difference in appearance, which is really all I was asking for. Good experience all around. He gave me a couple numbers of NOS suppliers he recommends that I try which was cool, but knowing NOS prices, these incorrect repros are looking better and better.
     
  7. 69GS400s

    69GS400s ...my own amusement ride!

    Did you check......

    A Parts Interchange is supposed to list identical parts, not something that will 'work"

    IN hemmings every month there's dozens of advertisers who list "Parting out...." Desert cars ?? I see 68/69 Sky's all the time

    I got my right side mirror from one of them for next to nuttin......dare anyone to tell it apart from the NOS one i was bidding and lost on Ebay for >$250

    Lastly.....IMHO, if you're not ready to put the car on the road.....you have time to search for the correct ones. You can always re-order the incorrect ones from Y1. I'd return them while the irons' hot.

    Hell.....I'll even loook at the 4 doors i have stashed away from a Sportwagon i parted years ago.....although i wouldn't hold your breath on their condition

    GMC Sprints ??? didn't they make like 2 of those ??
     
  8. Yardley

    Yardley Club Jackass

    Re: Did you check......

    It was 3.
     
  9. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    Re: Did you check......

    Dude, you know what I mean though right? The handles on a 69 stick out farther from the door than the "others". They simply are not available aftermarket.. Maybe the desert is the way to go.
    That stuff just doesn't pit out there, it just fades, and it can always be polished up. I'm tempted to keep the ones I got the other day though because they are so nice looking compared to my originals. They just aren't correct. Now it's just a moral dilemma. :rolleyes:
     
  10. painekiller

    painekiller Well-Known Member

    not only do the handles stick out further they will not work properly on 68 69 buicks. the striker on the back of the button is different and the angle of where it mounts on the door are different than 70-72. i have tried to put 70-72 handles on a 69 and the button is hard to push. of course you could bend the striker on the button and it would make it easier but look at the handle and it will look like it is sticking up.
     
  11. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    Hmm. Is that why they always say you've got to use your original 69 buttons?

    The angle of the mounting......I've got to check that. This is not sounding good. Pit free Arizona handles are sounding better and better. Hey Painekiller, do you think I should call Peter at Y1 and have him change the entry in the book to "will not work on 68-69 due to mounting differences"?
     
  12. painekiller

    painekiller Well-Known Member

    wouldn't do any good he would say WE JUST GO BY THE BOOK!!! it's like going to auto zone if it's not in the computer they have no idea what you're talking about. i went to the zone once and asked for a fuel pump for a 70 455 buick and they asked me if it's a car or truck?? i don't think buick made a truck in 70??? how good of one's do you need? i'm thinking about parting a 68 i just got and the handles are nice no pits has some very minor swirls.
     
  13. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    Well, I called Y1, they actually ARE going to change the book to reflect this innacurate part. I was relentless and it paid off.

    Painekiller (gary?),

    I called Sundell in NC, he is sending me 69 Chevelle door handles, as per the interchange link "grisby" sent me,

    http://www.angelfire.com/tx/lonestarclassics/body.html

    it says that 68-69 Chevelles interchange with 68-69 Skylark, so I had him send them to me and I'll send my Y1 ones back. We'll see what these other ones look like, if they are also wrong, I'll take you up on it if the price is right. Just to give you an idea, these brand new ones from Sundell are approx. $75 for the pair including gaskets.
     

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