on a 1951 Ford shoebox? And also the window crank handle. I know the 1950 has a pin in it, but the original owner of my car put thick ass door panels on and I cannot see what is holding them on. Any help is much appreciated. CN
they have the little wire clip, and pardon my french but they are a cunt to get off. you can get a tool to get them off that is a piece of flat spring steel with a forked end to push the clip out, you go in behind the handle and push it out the opposite side. same on all fords up to about 66.
Lowsquire hit the nail on the head.. about them being a bitch to get off....even with the tool.. You can get the tool at your local parts store and they run about 3-4 bucks...
I took an old wire hanger and bent a tiny hook on the end. You can reach up under there and grab the back side ot the little "U" shapped clip and pull it out. I found it much easier to pull it off than to push it off.
If the 51's are the same as the 49 & 50, push in the escutcheon - it's spring loaded - and it will expose a crosspin retaining door handle or window crank. Push the crosspin out with a suitable tool - nail, small punch. It may take a bit of tapping, but don't get carried away. Once the pin is out the handle/crank should back out a little way and you can pull it completely off. More than likely the door panel is retained by spring clips that go into a drilled hole in the inner door panel sheetmetal. There is a tool to help remove these - usually on the KD rack at the parts store. If you're careful you can get em out with a strong blade putty knife. Pop each spring individually and don't get tempted to just yank the door off. Do that and you'll tear up the chipboard upholstery panel.
they are different to 49/50s. that was the year they changed to the "modern" type. I drive a 51 and have had the door panels off a few times...arghhhh!!
I thought that it was different than the 50. I have the insides of a 1950 door that has that pin. I am going to try and take them off tonight, thanks for the advice and we'll see what happens. CN
Sounds like they are the same as the handles on my 53 Ford. KD also has a set of 'pliers' for the horseshoe shaped spring retainer. Works slick and no real hassle.
I realize these are "old, old, old" posts, a matter of fact some 15 years old, but maybe somebody will read my reply: I've taken these door handles off many, many times, and "Yes", they are held on with a simple "Horseshoe Shaped" tension clip. So, all you need to do is get in there, push the clip out, release the tension, and "pop" goes the handle, door, or window. Sounds easy right - "Good Luck"! What everyone doesn't tell you, what the many "YouTube Videos" don't show you is the difficulty you may run into in getting these "clips" loose. No room, you can't see the clip when the panel is still in place; and if you happen to run into one, usually only on the window crank, that has the "tension spring" behind it; well you got other problems. Now for that "tool" they sell, the one you can get at your local parts store or Harbor Freight; it's flat, usually gold in tone, and has a strange "fork" shape at the end, well that may work on some later cars and trucks, but when you get into these 50 models; the tool just doesn't work. I don't have any "tip" or "trick" to tell you, but I can say many of these handles become a true "PITA" (not the animal lover group); you have to attempt to look into the area, no room to work, small area, very small; grabbing the clip at the end, "Good Luck". I use a small, very small screwdriver, some small, very small "picks", a thin hack saw blade, and some vise grips, all in the attempt to get me an area where I can work and to attempt to dislarge the clip; many, many times it has taken me hours to get one handle off. So; what I am saying is: "If you are running into problems; asking what am I doing wrong; I've watched the videos; the answer is "Nothing"; they are , can be simply, or can be a true....no more acronym here: "Pain In The Ass". Good Luck JPL/OHIO
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