Adjusting the angle of the door handles

[pmansson]

I have several doors where the outside handle is not in perfect line with the beltline.
I have one door without its panel and thus fully accessible. There are 2 screws which look like they could be related to adjusting this.
I have undone them, but the handle won´t move at all. I haven´t applied pressure yet, awaiting some knowledgeable response to this matter.....

Thanks,
Peder

 

[pmansson]

No experience worth sharing on this topic?
Surely there must be other doors where the outside handle doesn´t line up perfectly with the beltline....?!?

 

[Bill Riblett]

Seems to me that there is also a little room for adjustment in the trim itself.

 

[pmansson]

Thanks Bill. Yes there is, but the actual handle is not horizontal. That´s the problem.
Tilting slightly upward at one end.
I undid the 2 screws on the rear, inside the door. This I thought would let me adjust the angle of the small mounting bars that protrude to the outside, but noting will move, and I don´t want to use force just yet.
Perhaps 37 year old fixing keeps it in place where a gentle knock with a ratchet handle extension will loosen it....?

 

[Bill Riblett]

Maybe the "mounting bars" are bent a little, or twisted.

 

[blumax]

Adjusting door handles

There is some latitude in adjusting the rake of door handles by loosening the two screws beneath the handle. May be difficult as there is often corrosion that develops around the screws as they enter the die-cast door handle material. Go carefully as the screws tend to be "soft" S/S and will easily round out when too much pressure is brought to bear on loosening or tightening same--good idea to use some rust-buster before trying to turn the screws.

Also, be sure the two rubber bumpers located beneath the handles are installed into the body to prevent paint damage from handles smacking on the surface as you open or close the doors. BTW--they are a PIA to install for a small rubber pad. Just recently replaced both sides on a Coupe where three were missing and all four needed refreshing--new ones were indicated and let me say--not an easy job to fit those little bits.

The bottom line is that when all the little things are in place--and there are a lot of them in our Coupes--that make a great difference in "how things are actually working"--versus how everything was originally designed to work--in many cases there are a lot of missing or substituted parts that are not original--especially with screws and simple hardware bits and pieces.