I'm almost finished doing my door panels. I've notice quite a few Effie trucks that have a door handle mounted to the panel. I think its a great idea and reduces the wear and tear out of the door crank and door handle. I'm thinking about mounting some handles on my panels and was curious if anyone mounted some door handles and what model car or truck did they come off of?

 

My 56 came with inside door handles on the panel. The lower portion is plastic and the top matches the upholstry color. Is that what you are talking about, pull handles to close the door and rest your arm on? They are available as reproduction at most venders that carry parts for our trucks.

 

ranger - I thought the 56's didn't come with the arm rest type pull handles? Maybe I'm wrong? I've seen most of the aftermarket panels are smooth with no handles attached. Most of the truck pic I've seen also don't have the handles. I am talking about the type you rest your arm on or pull the door closed. Maybe I should I check more closely?

 

I bought new ones from Mid Fiftys for my 56. The trucks have (at least mine, it was a custom cab) the arm rest mounting provisions in the drivers door but non in the passenger door. When you buy the mounting hardware from a vendor it's just long sheet metal screws.

Look in some F100 vendor catalogs most sell the arm rests

Chuck

 

Ed,

I was wondering about the arm rests myself a couple of days ago, so I looked through some old dealer brochures and stuff and found this illustration.



The upper image is a standard cab and the lower image is a custom cab. Maybe only the custom cabs had the arm rests?

 

Earl - The standard doesn't even come with panels? LOL... My truck,(i think) was a custom cab, but there isn't much of original on the interior panels. I original handle doesn't look very good, at least form the pics? I may look for some other options from other vehicles, (just to be different).

Merc- I'm going to check my mid fifties catalog and see what handles they have. Thanks. Sounds kind of weird that they would only put a handle on the drivers side and not passenger?

Thanks guys!
Ed

 

I have the single arm rest on the drivers side in my 56 Custom Cab. It's the plastic lower with the fabric upper.

By the way, Is there a solution for the constantly stripped out interior door handle shaft and window crank?

The vice grip look doesn't cut it for me. :-))

 

azwafree - It looks like the 56 Custom Cab came with one arm rest. Weird, but??? I'm have my new door panels on, but I'm still debating on which way to go with arm rests. Without it, it looks pretty blah.
As for the stripped shaft, both of mine are in pretty sad shape. What I did was drill a hole into the shaft and then tapped it out. My handles have a set screw in the middle. I used a longer set screw with the same threads I tapped the shaft out with. It hold real tight now. Only problem is you can move the handle in various directions. So when you drill it out, make sure that is the direction you want your handle to be in. Otherwise, you can replace them with a kit, which I heard is real pain to put in.

 

I like the idea of door pulls on both sides. Either armrests or strapes.It gives us something to close the door with besides those flimsy factory handles. I agree with your drilling and tapping idea. I'll drill the existing shafts and order new handles so I'm not dealing with the old parts.

Took her out for a maiden voyage last night. Had to keep it short with the battery light glowing but that stock v-8 with the Fordomatic is just right with the standard, non-power assisted brakes! :-)

 

Most Miatas from 93-97 had nice simple open V shaped arm rest pull handles that would adapt well. They came in black or tan (red on 93 LE only) but could be recovered. Make sure you mount them to the door itself, not just to the panel. www.mostlymiata.com is a good source for parts.

 

AX- You brought up an excellent point here. I was planning on simply drilling a couple of holes and mounting the the handle to the panel. I would think if you pull the door hard enought the panel will come loose since it's held on with clips only. (I didn't use the screw because I didn't want to see screws in the panel.) This might be a stupid question, but how do you fasten the door handle to the door itself when the panel is mounted on the door? How do you get inside the door to tighten the door handle? Unless you mount some screws? to the door first and then mount with nuts from the outside? Seems kinda difficult. But I do see you point.

 

Look for armrest/assist handle assembly that attaches from the exterior with screws. Most do, but the screws may be hidden under a trim cover or under a removable piece of fabric. Look carefully underneath the assembly for likely screw points. Attaching only to the panel itself will end up being a disaster.

 

heres some on ebay depending on the look you want.
Contemporary: ebay # 7961866627
classic: ebay # 7961866627
2 pc classic with bling: # 7961890276
period style: # 7962023100

remember they can be recovered/painted/dyed