On Tue, 1 Aug 2000 11:11:40 frandrum@voicenet.com wrote
>Can someone ssave me a lot of aggravation and tell me how to adjust the
>door opening
>mechanism on my 72 spit.
>It opens fine from the inside but I don't get enough pull when I use the
>outside handle.
>
>Thanx much,
>Frank
>
Hi Frank
Typically (at least for me) this problem would be due to a worn part
in the external door handle mechanism. It's kinda hard to describe,
but when you pull on the handle, some internal parts move down this
plastic channel. The plastic wears and allows play. If you test the
handle off the car ("no load"), it'll work fine, but "under load" the
mechanism will pop out of the channel and give no action, kind of
emulating the locked position. The internal part is replaceable but
I don't know if anyone sells components for the door handle. But
this means that if you have a used handle from a later
1500 (black), you can swap the part with your chromed handle.
With all that said, there is some provision for adjustment. The
external handle works directly on the latching mechanism via a screw
which can be further backed out to allow more push. However, this
probably won't help if a worn mechanism is the problem.
I hope this made some kind of sense - it's a lot easier to see than
to describe!
Greg Rowe
78 Spitfire
PS Oh yeah, don't pull the whole door panel off - you can get away
with just popping a few clips and carefully bending back the corner.
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