1936 Desoto Dodge Chrylser Plymouth Handles / Window Cranks

[wangwilko]

Hi, Is there someone out there making reproduction door handles and window cranks to suit 1936 Mopar.

I have a 1936 Desoto Airstream in Australia and the handles / cranks are made using the pot metal so some have broken and missing bits.

I don't want to go and get the existing ones i have re-chromed only to have knobs or handles break.

There seems to be ample Ford parts which looks like the best I can do, which does not sit right with me. 

The other question is on the handle the part that screws onto the car seems to be fixed to the door handle shaft by a compression at each corner of the shaft to prevent removal.

Has anyone dismantled their handles by grinding this compressed bit off and what did you use to to put them back together again.

I will try and add photo's.

[jpage]

As far as I know there is no one reproducing any of these handles at present.  Unfortunately, restoration is the only way to have new looking handles. I doubt that new reproductions wouldn't be any better! I restored mine and had a steering wheel rebuilder recast new knobs for the handles and the switches on my '36 Dodge. The original knobs are riveted to the  door handles, so I had threaded inserts cast into the new ones so I could fasten them with a machine screw. The screw was epoxied into the insert and the head was carefully ground down even with the handle. The dash switch knobs, with the exception of the throttle knob, were cast around the original shafts like the originals. On the Dodge, all the knobs have an outer chrome ring and the switch knobs have a metal letter inserted in the face, so the moulds had to be made with the letters removed but the rings in place. This was done by using good original knobs as patterns. After the moulds were made, the old knobs were carefully ground away ( they are very hard to break) and the letters and rings were replated. Before casting new parts, the rechromed rings were inserted into the moulds and the then the resin was poured into them. The knobs with the shafts had to have mould made with an attachment to hold the shaft in it's proper position until the resin hardened, but I'm not sure how the caster did that. Surprisingly, the new knobs came out with almost no flash and just needed a little buffing to finish. The letters went into place with just a little cleanup work on the recesses as the plating made the letters just a tad bit larger than they were originally. I did have to cut the ends of the switch knobs back a little because the shafts sunk a little deeper in the mould that they should have, but it's not really noticeable. This was about 25 years ago and I still haven't installed them so I can't speak of there sturdiness. The caster was a friend of mine and the project served as kind of an experiment for him as he had not previously cast any knobs like this. At the time it cost me around $300 U.S dollars. I only have some photos of the cigar lighter knob and I'll get some of the handles for you later today.

 

 

 

 

[keiser31]

Try Rich for the handles....https://forums.aaca.org/profile/112535-thehandleman/

[wangwilko]

Thanks jpage it is what i thought may be the case you have to re-mold yourself.

With regard to the levers made of that pot metal with your experience is it worth cleaning them up and chroming or are they going to break down the track.

Have you taken the mounting escutchen off the handle shaft which requires grinding the pressed corners on the shaft off if so how did you put it back in place.

keiser31, thanks i will make contact with him. My handles look like Dodge handles but the end sweeps down at end.

I will post photo tonight. Thanks again Peter

[jpage]

If your handles and window crank arms are in good shape and fit the square shafts on the riser mechanisms, there's no reason I see that they can't be reused. Will they break, that's possible as they are 86 years old, one just has to be careful with them. I'm not sure what you mean by the 'mounting escutcheons'. Do you mean the knob shaft that is peened over on the window riser arm or are you talking about the outside door handle mounting plate? If the former, I had the knobs cast with a nut insert for a screw, if the latter, yes I did remove them for plating. They are very thin and usually crack at the corners. It does require grinding off the upsets on the main shaft. I believe that there is a small retainer cup to hold a tension spring in there too, but I can't remember exactly. When I reinstalled them, I drilled a small hole in the shaft and pressed in a small roll pin to hold them in place. I'll have to double check as it's been a long time since I did those. If you can't find any handles let me know. There's a guy in Texas, an older gentleman, who has a good deal of parts for mid '30's Mopars, but unfortunately, he's down with an injury at this time.  Chances are, that any handles you find will probably need restored, especially the window risers as that old material they used gets really cracked and ugly over time. If I can remember, I'll try to get some photos out to you.

[jpage]

Here are some pics of the handles. If you look closely at the outer door handle you can see the head of a small nail that I used to hold the original retainer in place. Also, in the photo of the back of the window cranks, you can see how the screw head was ground down to fit. The knob shots show how the new castings came out with the rings, letters and shafts in place. I made a new stainless end shaft and crimped a new cable to replace the old throttle cable with a threaded end so a new threaded knob could be screwed onto it as the original was cast to it similar to the other switch knobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by jpage (see edit history)

[wangwilko]

Hi John, Yes the pin idea was what i was thinking. Here are the photo's of the handle and crank.

So i am guessing that the spring part would need to be removed before chrome plating is done.

There is a guy here in Aus who is very good with re-chroming pot metal parts.

My Desoto being in Australia was put together by JT Richards in Adelaide and the door handles may have been used

on other cars but difficult to find similar. I was reading that often a mixed box of parts were sent out from America

with earlier parts etc and Richards had to make do with what they got. 

Do the handles look like anything Mopar you have seen before.

The rib along the spin is Dodge but the sweep down end throws me.

Thanks for your time as you are a wealth of knowledge and i want restore this one correct.

Regards again, Peter

[jpage]

Peter, 

       Those handles do bear some resemblance to Chrysler products but I'm not familiar with export or in country built cars. They look alot like my early (Dec. 1935) built Dodge handles with the single spear in the center, but the curved ends throw me. The early ones had cast escutcheons but they were hollow backed and not solid like yours. The later ones are stamped as in the photos. The handles do need to be broken down so the plater can properly repair all the metal and I think that the chemicals and process may ruin the springs. If you can confirm that those are the original type hardware, any good plater should be able to make them look new again.  Your parts look to be in better shape than mine were. I would, however, make sure that there are no cracks in the ones you use as they would be hard to repair with any strength. As an alternative to a pin to retain the spring, you may cut small grooves at the corners of the handle shafts where the upsets are and use a small snap ring as a retainer. I don't know what plating costs in your country but in America it's rather expensive because of all the environmental restrictions. Let me know what you find out. It's interesting to see all the differences between American built cars , both  for the domestic market and for export as opposed to those actually built in foreign factories.

[wangwilko]

John, I looked at 1936 Hudson handles and they may have used them as they look very similar.

[jpage]

If you have enough of the current parts, if they are in good shape and you are not concerned about authenticity, just repair the parts you have. If not, I'm sure you can find what you need on this forum, I may have a couple of leads for you here in the states. Good hunting!

 

[wangwilko]

Thanks John, hope to cross paths again.

Peter, Auz