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Shaving Door Handles or Modern Replacement [by: Halloweenking]
Hotrodders Bulletin Board: Knowledge Base: Body-Exterior: Articles

Shaving Door Handles
First, prep the surface before working. Remove existing handles and lock mechanisms. Remove all paint and sealers down to bare sheet metal at least 5" from working area.

Now that you have prepped the area you are ready to start. Draw a rectangular template around the area you wish to remove. Encompass a minimum of one inch (1") around the handle mounting.

Now that you have traced a stencil to follow with your cutting tool (cutting wheel, saw, or plasma cutter), cut and remove the handle area. Be careful when doing this not to overheat the metal to prevent warpage.

Now that the handle area is removed, measure the hole with a caliper or micrometer to 0.001". By measuring to 0.001" you will have a better and tighter fitting patch panel to weld in. You could also place a white piece of paper on the outside of the hole and with a spray can of paint spray the paper through the inside of the door to get an accurate stencil for the patch panel.

Now, in shaving a door handle, you will need to cut a piece of sheet metal to the measurements or to the stencil. After cutting the replacement panel you will need to form it to the door's curvature and/or bodyline.

After the panel is formed to your satisfaction, you will begin welding it in place. Spot-weld the panel in on all four sides to hold it in place. Now, continue spot welding until the entire seam is filled. Weld 3-5 spots on each side shifting randomly from side to side so the sheet metal does not overheat and warp. Grind the welds smooth, being careful not to overheat the metal. After grinding, let cool and smooth with a light coating of filler. Prime/seal then paint.


Modern Replacement
First, prep the surface before working. Remove existing handles and lock mechanisms. Remove all paint and sealers down to bare sheet metal at least 5" from working area on both doors, donor and replacement.

Now that you have prepped the area you are ready to start. Draw a rectangular template around the area you wish to remove. Make sure the area you remove on the door awaiting replacement is large enough to house the modern handle. Make sure through measurement. Encompass a minimum of one inch (1") around the handle mounting.

Now that you have traced a stencil to follow with your cutting tool (cutting wheel, saw, or plasma cutter), cut and remove the handle area. Be careful when doing this not to overheat the metal to prevent warpage.

Now that the handle area is removed, measure the hole with a caliper or micrometer to 0.001". By measuring to 0.001" you will have a better and tighter fitting patch panel to weld in. After cutting the replacement panel you will need to form it to the door's curvature and/or bodyline.

After the panel is formed to your satisfaction, you will begin welding it in place. Spot-weld the panel in on all four sides to hold it in place. Now, continue spot welding until the entire seam is filled. Weld 3-5 spots on each side shifting randomly from side to side so the sheet metal does not overheat and warp. Grind the welds smooth, being careful not to overheat the metal. After grinding let cool and smooth with a light coating of filler. Prime/seal then paint.

Due to the fact that shaved door handle kits as well as modern handle replacements vary so greatly, the step-by-step was left rather vague. If you need any more step-by-step information on either adaptation of the new modern handle and mechanism, or if you require a more in-depth explanation of any of the steps above, including techniques, please contact me.