Door handle rod assembly

[B3R7 0]

Hi all,

I Need some help please! I've got a new project car - 69 fastback. It has repro doors and I recently bought some Scott Drake external handles as it didn't come with any. I've massaged the door a little to get the handles to fit as this seems to be a common issue. Following some youtube videos, I've removed the rod from the door latch assembly and attached it to my door handle and re-inserted back into the car when mounting the handle, but there is no chance that the rod has the length to reach the door latch assembly, even when I adjust the pin at the bottom to the maximum distance. I've attached a few pictures to show what I mean. A still from youtube shows how it should look. Then there is a pic of the bottom of the rod inside my door that I have just added the handle to (it looks closer to the mounting hole than it actually is). There is also a pic of the drivers door which currently has the rod attached to the assembly, but looking at it I can already see that it wont be long enough to reach the mounting hole at the top of the handle mechanism once I start on that side.

What am I missing here? The car came with no external handles, so there was nothing for me to pull apart and learn from and everything I look at online looks the same as mine, but long enough to reach from the handle to the latch assembly.

Appreciate any info you guys can provide!

Thanks,

Brett.

Images:

https://ibb.co/zrNtDNw
https://ibb.co/PMqJ7DG
https://ibb.co/Yk8KcHb

 

[69RavenConv 286]

Without digging too deeply into your photos, you may want to consider buying a new set of re-popped rods to go with your new handles.  They're not too expensive and you know they're the correct length, etc.

Since your handles were missing, there's no guarantee the innards are correct. I replaced my pitted handles with nice re-pops years ago and everything fit well on re-pop doors. I think Scott Drake acquired the company that made my handles so they're probably still using the same tooling. 

[JET 445 43]

Those repro handles are crap, the internal parts are for an earlier model and don't fit, get  some original Ford handles and get them rechromed.

[B3R7 0]

Figured I'd post a follow up for anyone else that has the same issue I had (wasnt the repop rods, but rather the handles). I purchased the Scott Drake kit C4DZ.6222404/5A - 64-66/69-70 outer door handles. The issue is that the provided internal mechanism doesn't fit the 69 (and I assume 70). I managed to get a set of internal parts from a Scott Drake 69-70 specific door kit and they did the trick. Some pictures posted below for reference. The incorrect 64-65 mechanism bends up into the door, whereas the 69-70 mechanism bends down, where there is room for it and the mounting hole for the rod is much lower. In the picture below, both mechanisms are lined up at the same height on the bench so you can see the difference. Don't buy this kit for a 69, it will only give you half of what you need!