'50 Special--Tips for mounting outer door handles? Gaskets too thick?

[beerczar1976]

I recently ordered new door handle gaskets to put my outer door handles back on. They are quite a bit thicker, like 3-4x, than the old ones I found kicking around in my boxes of old dis-assembled parts. I don't think the old would have "squished" down that much over the years. Do you think that the vendor may have used the wrong gasket stock? I can't quite get the inner retainer spring (long rectangular steel with slots cut in it) to slide back in and grab the tangs on the ends of the door handle that go inside the door. I've tried hammering the spring lightly with a hammer and block of wood, but it barely budges. Should I maybe try putting a little bit of grease or something on the tangs to get the retainer spring to slide easier, or are the gaskets just too thick? Could I maybe run them across a belt sander to take a few mils off?

[Bhigdog]

Repro parts that are off spec are the rule rather than the exception. If your gaskets came from N.J. I'd say it's a slam dunk fact they are incorrect. If you can thin them down that would be the second best fix. The best fix would be returning them and finding some from a different vendor.................Bob

[old-tank]

Or make some so you don't have to wait on another set of wrong ones.

[60FlatTop]

Try running the coldest water you can get over them and then sanding them to the right thickness.

Bernie