1952-59 Ford shaved handles/ door mechanisms

Hey guys, just wanted to do a tech thread on what we (sickboymesa and I) have come up with in order to rebuild the door latches/mechanisms for shaved handles. This also helps minimize the slack that is in the star.

The first step is to grind down the rivets and knock them out.



Grind out the one just below the star.
Also grind out the one on the right side in this picture.



Punch out the rivets and this is what you are left with.



Next you want to cut the tab off of the end.



As well as cutting out this tab.



Once thats done, grind down the edges of the star on the back side. enough to knock it out. I like to leave a nugget of metal in the middle for later.

These are the pieces that are left when you cut everything and knock out the star.



Next you want to cut down the push release. * BE SURE NOT TO CUT THE POINTED EDGE THATS UNDERNEATH THE BOTTOM PIECE THAT YOU CUT OFF! YOU NEED THAT!!!*





Then you want to weld tab number 1 to the push linkage. getting it as close to the side as possible without touching it.




Weld tab number 2 down towards the bottom of the mechanism. (yeah, I know my welding ****s)




Now you want to weld a very small amount onto the point that I told you not to cut off earlier. This helps with the movement of the star.



The br*** fitting that holds the star in can either be replaced with a new piece that needs to be cut down, or you can just clean it up and put it back in. We cut new pieces and put them in. I dont remember exactly what size it was, but he picked it up from ACE I think. There is also a very small plastic white washer that he used to space the star on the outside. Kind of hard to explain cuz I dont have photos of it. I didnt have an extra one when I did this rebuild. Im not using this one in my car. Anywho, here is that br*** fitting.



Now re***emble everything. Remember to use a lot of grease when re***embling. It really makes everything smooth.










When I put the star back in, I used a 22mm socket on the inner start in order to tap it down even and tight. Then I did a few small tac welds on the nugget and edge of star in order to keep it in place. Then lather on more grease and you are good to go. Here is a before and after video.



We used a standard bike brake cable in order to pull the latch down. You just mount your shaved handle solenoid at the bottom of the door. It will pull the brake cable straight down and open the door. Very cheap and easy way to rebuild the mechanism for shaved doors. Let me know if anyone has any questions on this method. Thanks for your time. Hope someone can use this in the future.

Rocky

 

Great write up! Thanks!

 

Great info!!! I just copied this all down as I will be doing the shaved door handles on my 54 Merc. I have all the electrical parts and this will make things work better and make things easier to mount in the doors from the sounds of it. Thanks for the great tech. Ken

 

Very welcome! Let me know how they work out for you!

 

interesting... beats the hell outta sticking your arm thru the wing window and popping the door open so everyone can see how you get inside your car.

 

Nice write up, Rocky!

 

Will def. be using this for my build!