Aftermarket Door Handles - Any Good?

[67Slider]

Has anyone had any luck with aftermarket exterior door handles? I am looking at Classic Parts, Classic Ind, Truckandcarshop and some others but don't see any real differnece in quality or manufacturer. NOS is hard to find and big $$$. Any suggestions or comments?

[Fldawg]

got a set from brothers and so far so good and it's been 2 years

[DT1]

Got mine from LMC. One of the few parts from them that has actually held up good.

[tr69c10]

I got mine from the truck shop they lasted about two years
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[Tim Christian]

If you have true 67 doors none of them will fit without mods

[67Slider]

I know one is not but I can't remember if I changed them both out or if I kept one of the original. I'm pretty sure I replaced them both because the originals were cut in the door for speakers. I do recall seeing the teardrop holes in the back when I was painting tho. My luck is I have one of each.

What kind of modification is neccesary?

I heard the OER stuff from Classic Ind is pretty good.

[webfoot]

I would be surprised if there was any more than 1 manufacturer, so it doesn't matter really where you buy them from.

[bundeber]

I haven't used the truck ones, but the OER handles I got for my 68 camaro from them were excellent. Heavy duty, good seals, good construction. I did have to adjust the plunger rod for my car, it comes long and needs to be test fit several times. I imagine the truck ones are similar and will need to be trimmed too. I'd buy a set from them in a heartbeat. If they are as nice as the camaro ones, they'll be good to go.

[Tim Christian]

They are two different styles on the market one style is like orginals and one had rivited plates

[rkn463]

Originally Posted by Tim Christian

If you have true 67 doors none of them will fit without mods

I knew the interior was different but what is different about the exterior? I just ordered some from the Truck Shop and they listed the exterior as 67-72 (as does LMC) LMC does list a different part # for the interior part. Can you shed some light on this?

Thanks in advance,
Richard

[DT1]

Originally Posted by tr69c10

I got mine from the truck shop they lasted about two years
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Two years! Are you kidding me? I put one on my passenger door over five years ago and it still works perfectly. Maybe it's because no one ever opens that door.

[67Slider]

I just ordered some from GMCPaul. They won't go on the truck for awhile but I've heard nothing but good things about the stuff he sells. I will post when I get them.
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[cflvulcan]

I bought a set from lmc and not two weeks being on my 69, the passenger side push button went all the way in due to the spring blew out the backside cause the cheap tabs broke. Had to modify to make work again. But other than that they fit great and so far the finish has held up for the past year.
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[sanford66]

Originally Posted by Tim Christian

They are two different styles on the market one style is like orginals and one had rivited plates

More info on this ^ please. I'm going to say that the original handles sucked from day one at the factory. They were poorly designed with pot-metal tabs holding the button/spring plate in place and prone to breaking. I know because i've had two other trucks that the handles broke on me. I'm crossing my fingers that they don't break on the truck i have now. I would like to see a pic of the rivited plate handles, seems like they would be an improvement over the stock handles. Joseph

[bobs409]

Never a problem with them working but unless your truck leads a sheltered life inside a garage most of the time, expect them to start pitting anywhere from 6 months to a year! As time goes by, they'll keep getting worse and soon look just as bad as the ones you replaced.

This is another one of those "buy over and over and over parts".

[Tim Christian]

Hey bobs409 just wondering have you ever bought anything you liked????? LOL!!!

[1972RedNeck]

Originally Posted by Fldawg

got a set from brothers and so far so good and it's been 2 years

I got some from brothers and they might have lasted 25 times.

[bobs409]

Just tellin' it like it is Tim.

Some repro parts are garbage, you should know that.

$85 dollar floor mats that dryrot within 2 years, door handles that pit in 6 months, etc. I'll tell (warn) anyone and everyone I can about the bad ones.

The parts I've never mentioned are the good ones.

Originally Posted by Tim Christian

Hey bobs409 just wondering have you ever bought anything you liked????? LOL!!!

[special-K]

Originally Posted by sanford66

More info on this ^ please. I'm going to say that the original handles sucked from day one at the factory. They were poorly designed with pot-metal tabs holding the button/spring plate in place and prone to breaking. I know because i've had two other trucks that the handles broke on me. I'm crossing my fingers that they don't break on the truck i have now. I would like to see a pic of the rivited plate handles, seems like they would be an improvement over the stock handles. Joseph

Yeah,OEM was junk from the get go. It only lasted over 30 years then a small portion have failed. They really should last forever.
Sorry,just had to comment ere. I see people call OEM stuff poor quality as if they forgot how long it lasted. Figure most people never even lubed these "moving" parts when they get used more times than the truck was ever run. It'll take a few decades before we know if any repros are an improvement over OEM. The only failure I've ever seen is a broken spring on a couple trucks,which is metal fatigue.