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SP250 interior door handles

Vortex O'Plinth
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SP250 interior door handles

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

Image

Many - probably most - SP owners will be familiar with the classic failure of the boss of the interior door handle....

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Over the years, repeated pulling on the handle to close the door - often needing considerable force - has caused the handle to flex on the square drive shaft, eventually causing fracture of the boss of the brittle Mazak casting.
An almost identical handle is fitted to the Triumph Herald/Vitesse but with a larger diameter boss, which means it's more robust than the SP version...

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Triumph type on the left, SP type on the right.

This boss won't fit the SP escutcheon and the Triumphs don't use chrome escutcheons, so these handles haven't been a viable direct replacement.

After a prolonged gestation, a new batch of SP handles has been made and these are currently available from both David Manners and Barry Thorne. They're an excellent reproduction of the original apart from one important modification. The handle is secured to the door mechanism square drive with a short 1/8" dia. steel pin. The length of the pin equals the diameter of the handle boss and to fit it, the sprung two-part escutcheon is compressed, the handle fitted and the pin slid into place. On the original handle, as the escutcheon is released, its outermost flange traps the pin, preventing any lateral movement. In the picture below, the new handle is shown on the left, the original on the right....

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The hole for the pin in the original is drilled at the inner end of the boss, immediately adjacent to the body of the handle, whereas on the replacement the hole is drilled midway in the length of the boss. In this position, as the escutcheon is released, its flange will travel past the pin, so not restraining any movement. If the pin does move - and under conditions of vibration and usage it may well do - it can end up behind the escutcheon flange, so preventing this being compressed in the future for removal of the handle.

I've apprised both Manners and BT of this error and hopefully any future batches will be produced with the pin hole in the correct position. In the meantime, if you are going to use these handles, I suggest pre-assembling the handle , pin and escutcheon off the car to see if the pin is adequately restrained.

Image Image

Try moving the pin laterally with a pair of pliers; in this case, the end of the escutcheon flange just overlapped the pin - but only by a few thou. If any protrusion is noted in the areas arrowed, then fitting the handle to the car may well result in a permanent fixture - unless you're prepared to destroy the escutcheon!

Even with this error corrected, the new handles will be just as frangible as the originals. Rather than reproducing the original, a better solution might have been to get new escutcheons manufactured, able to accept the more robust TR type handle.
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

silverdart
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by silverdart »

Nick,
Perhaps you could drill a new cross hole at 90deg., closer to the shoulder, to solve the problem?

Dave.

simonp
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by simonp »

Whilst we are on handles - has anyone managed to source a replacement for the window winder with the correct white knob rather than black which I know is available. I know the white knob on mine has been living on borrowed time for many years.

SimonP
Daimler SP 250 - "To feel its eager response as you open up is to know a new motoring adventure"(Sales brochure) The adventure continues!

Vortex O'Plinth
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

silverdart wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:11 am Nick,
Perhaps you could drill a new cross hole at 90deg., closer to the shoulder, to solve the problem?

Dave.
Sorry Dave, the pictures don't make it clear, but both the original handles and the replacements do in fact already have two holes drilled at 90º to permit two possible orientations of the handle; in the case of the new handles, both holes are halfway along the boss.

What's even more annoying about this error is that it both reduces the length of engagement of the drive shaft with the handle and further weakens the area of the boss already prone to cracking. The handle now protrudes slightly further from the door and thus reduces the escutcheon spring force which in turn reduces the engagement of the escutcheon teeth with the door card.

What could have been an improvement over the original has turned out to be a retrogression - very annoying.
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

Vortex O'Plinth
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

simonp wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:26 am Whilst we are on handles - has anyone managed to source a replacement for the window winder with the correct white knob rather than black which I know is available. I know the white knob on mine has been living on borrowed time for many years.

SimonP
BT also has new winders, although I haven't seen these. Presumably they feature the correct white knob - and also the incorrect pin hole drilling?
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

Vortex O'Plinth
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

Update - I've just had a note from Barry saying he is returning his stock to the supplier since the holes have been incorrectly drilled in all the handles. Hopefully correct replacements will be be available soon.
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

Dragon
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Location: Goodrich,between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth, UK.

Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by Dragon »

Hi Nick,
I have a Triumph Herald as well as my SP, and the Herald's doors are much heavier than the SP's. OK, the Herald doors have pull-handles for shutting them, but they are not always used, with predictable results. When looking for a replacement interior latch handle in an autojumble this Spring, I came across one with the boss cracked, so bought it cheaply. When I examined it at home, I found it was considerably heavier than the 'normal' ones, and the boss was only drilled through once. I think it probably is brass, not Mazak. I am aware that the 1950s Rover P4 series cars were made to high standards and have the same exterior door handles as the SP, so I wonder if this brass interior handle might be from one of them?
Wilf,
SP250 104008, Herefordshire.

Bud
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by Bud »

I got a pair of TR-6 style pulls and have had them in the car since the interior has been completed and this has put all the strain on closing the door away from the offending handle design, and the chrome styling matches close enough to be stock looking.
Hope it stays dry here for UK Car Day by the River tomorrow.

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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by John-B »

I just use the top of the window to close the door, it's supported by a chromium plated trim and the window hasn't broken yet!

sp250c-dart
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Re: SP250 interior door handles

Post by sp250c-dart »

WP_20170807_12_23_32_Pro.jpg
The new window winder that I recently received from Barry is shown alongside my original. Although the hole is not drilled in the original place, just enough of the fin is covered to stop it moving.

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