CJ Classics Exterior Door Handle Pad Set Mustang 1965-1966/ 1969-1970

Of all the chrome on the outside of your classic Mustang, the exterior door handles are probably the ones that take the most abuse. Between the wear and tear of being on the outside of the car plus the use they get every time you open the door, faded and pitted door handles are pretty common. Today, we're going to replace the door handles on this 1967 Mustang convertible using these show quality replacements from Scott Drake.The kit includes both left and right side USA-made door handles, new gaskets, internal hinges, as well, springs and hardware. For this installation, you'll need a door panel removal tool, Phillips head screwdriver, quarter inch ratchet, 3/8 deep socket, 3/8 shallow socket, pliers, flashlight, and a small screwdriver or pick.As you can see, our existing door handles are in pretty bad shape. Pitting and wear is very typical of the exterior door handles. To remove them, there's a screw over here and there's a nut on the inside that we'll have to take the door panel off to get to. We'll start with the screw. To get to the inside nut, the door panel is going to have to come off. We're going to start with the window crank and the door handle. Both were held in place by one Phillips head screw. Now, we're going to remove our armrest. There's two bolts in the bottom of the armrest that hold it to the door. Next, we need to remove the bezel for our remote mirror. These just simply thread in place. They're usually pretty tight. If you can't get it off by hand, grab a set of pliers. Just put something over it to make sure you don't damage the chrome.

The last step in removing the door panel is to remove all the clips around the outside edge. I'm going to carefully peel back the water shield. Now we're going to roll our window up so it's out of the way and we can reach the door handle nut. The nut should be a 3/8, so you want to get a swivel if you have it, or some sort of a ratcheting wrench would help as well. You're going to go up through here, underneath the regulator, and up to get the nut off. You want to make sure the window is as high as possible so you can fit your arm in easily. The stud is most likely going to come out with the nut, which is okay. You want to make sure you're holding onto the handle. If you have a freshly-painted car, it's not a bad idea to put some painter's tape around it. The handle will be loose now.

Once you have the hardware removed, you need to remove the rod that goes from the door handle to the door latch itself. It's going to be at the bottom of the door. It's a little metal clip. You pull the clip off, open the handle at an angle, and pull the whole assembly out of the door. Now, we need to remove the rod from the factory handle. Little metal clip here, simply push up on the clip and the rod will slide out.

Now, we can assemble our new door handle. We're going to start by taking the O-ring and putting it over the button. Just roll it down to the bottom. We'll put the button into the handle, put it through from the inside, and then place the spring over the back of the button. Now you want to put your exterior gasket on first, and now the latch can go on. This black grommet is going to go over the back of the button. Push it down into place, then use the provided screw to hold it in. Hit the button, make sure the spring is seated properly. Now, we're going to reinstall the door latch rod. Make sure it goes on the inside hole, not the outside. Install the new supplied clip, press the rod through, lock the clip into place. The last step before reinstalling the handle is to put the threaded rod in the outside hole here. We're ready to reinstall our handle.

We want to make sure we have both gaskets seated properly on the handle. We're going to fish the lock rod down. We're just going to get the handle in place. We'll install the outside screw so it holds the handle in place so we can reconnect the door latch rod. Now, we connect the rod to our latch itself. The connection is the same way on top, the bar is going to slide in and have a little metal clip go over it. You can see it from the side. The best way, though, is to put your arm in and just go by feel. Our last step inside the door is to put a new nut on the stud for the handle. We want to make sure the gaskets line up on the outside, and we're going to tighten this screw down.

Our last step before we put the door panel back together is to make sure our handle is working properly. You can close the latch with your finger, push your button. Working properly. We'll double check the lock just to make sure nothing got disconnected. Close it again, lock it. Everything's working properly.

Not only do our new Scott Drake chrome door handles look great, they're functional, as well. The most time-consuming part of the installation is going to be the door latch rods. Figure on about an hour per door. You'll be back on the road in no time.