My outside door handles on my 52 F1 look to be plated yet the inside handles are stainless steel, looks like DC sells them but not if they are stainless, did they make the outside ones in stainless as well. Also anyone have a supplier for stainless steel striker plates and dove tails.

Thanks

 

Outside should be stainless and inside chrome.

 

The stainless striker plates and dovetails show up on e-bay regularly:

1948 49 50 51 52 Ford Truck SS Door Striker Plates PAIR : eBay Motors (item 250576329711 end time Feb-13-10 16:47:39 PST)

1949 50 51 52 Ford Truck Stainless Male Door Dovetails : eBay Motors (item 280461446979 end time Feb-12-10 14:55:41 PST)

And I concure with Ilya - Outside are stainless and inside are chromed. I have bought both and the repros do come that way.

 

I am sure my outside ones have been plated and one has corrosion similar to some chrome trim and the inside ones are looking like stainless as I have polished them on my buffing wheel, don't know.

Thanks for the link on the striker plates and dovetails, just what I was looking for.

 

Because of wartime material shortages in 1952, Ford switched from stainless to potmetal chrome exterior handles as a running change during the production year. I have two 52's, one with stainless and one with chrome handles.

 

Thanks, so I should be able to find a set of stainless outside handles from an earlier truck or are they being reproduced. Carpenter list one, are they stainless or chrome.

 

SFAIK, original handles should all interchange, although I can't say I've actually personally tried. All of the aftermarket replacements I've seen were chromed potmetal, and they only offer one type for 48-52, which leads me to believe they are all universal.

 

The outside handle are the same from 48-52, are any of them stainless or are they all plated pot metal.

 

Not sure what you mean???

As I stated previous, original handles, up until Ford changed them, were stainless. To the best of my knowledge, no one in the aftermarket is reproducing the handles in stainless.

 

I quess what I am looking for is information that at one time from 48-52 that the outside handles were manufactured in stainless steel and I can search around for a set on the used market.

thanks

 

That answer would be yes.

 

FYI, I wouldn't pass on the pot metal ones. The SS versions are made of SS sheet metal, two piece. Nothing wrong with them, but they are not without their problems if well-used.

 

The exterior handles were made of stainless steel, or what Ford refered to as "Bright Metal." Bright Metal is a chromium based stainless steel (and is this easier to polish and is magnetic) as opposed to the nickel based stainless steel you are accustomed to on most non medical applications today. I have never seen a set of original chrome outer handles but that doesn't mean they were not produced as Merc has noted. I would venture to say that many of these have been changed with aftermarket chrome replacements to fix the interior springs that broke regularly. The stainless steel handles are stamped and hollow, the pot metal handles are solid cast and plated. The stainless steel handles are significantly lighter.

I have seen a few sets of (supposedly) chrome plated exterior handles for sale on e-bay. The set I bought from C&G are definately stainless steal. But that was three years ago and it appears that the newer ones are now chrome. I might shop e-bay for an original set of 51s that are in good shape if you want stainless. If you get in a real bind let me know and I'll let you have my original ones and I'll put the new ones on. They are both definately stainless and hollow. I was waiting to paint, but I might be too old to drive by that time!

With regard to information/evidence/proof, here is the late 51/52 Paint and Trim Spec page from the Salesmans Handbook - See Para 5:

(Early 51 grills were painted body color with "Argent" Grilles on the Extra Cab. Late 51 grilles switched to "Ivory" on both models which carried on through 52)



Here is a set of interiors - aftermarket in chrome with "Extra Cab" chrome Escutchens:

1948 49 50 51 52 Ford Truck Door Handle & Window Crank : eBay Motors (item 250576299504 end time Feb-13-10 15:03:38 PST)

Here is a set of Chromed Exterior Handles:

1948 49 50 51 52 Ford Truck Outside Door Handle Set F1 : eBay Motors (item 280460256865 end time Mar-04-10 19:25:38 PST)

 

Julie

Thanks, great info. Interesting about the hollow stainless and the full body pot metal ones as the two I have are hollow, maybe they are stainless, more research neccessary.

 

Take one out and look at the place where the steel shaft enters the handle; the steel will be rusty, the handle not. That's stainless.