Going to try and make some stainless steel handles.

 

yes please. good handles are getting harder to come by

 

Making replacement handle/hinges with installation hardware so the overall door handle assembly could be repaired, you'd be providing a GREAT service.

 

I am totally with you on that..

Pairs for like $80 plus shipping.

Yet with the unknown moment in which they will snap on you.

I already met and spoke to a guy who might redesign the legs on the handle.

 

subscribed

 

I actually managed to make a resin handle with metal within it to give it some strength.
I have a video up on you tube from that. It managed to hold for about a year and 8 months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSgbmjB_gOk

Nevertheless i decided to go stainless steel instead.

 

+1 for interested!

 

Interested!

 

That price on top is what i am seeing handles go for on EBAY.
It does not reflect what the stainless will cost.

I am going to find a way to get good prices when getting them made.

 

damn it... I sold a pair for like $40... if that. With the key. Maybe I'm just nice though.

 

Yes!

Damn it, I just threw out a broken handle .

 

I'm going to play devil's advocate for just one moment here...

Has anyone who has been through multiple sets of used door handles ever bothered to buy a new pair from Mazda instead? Yes, they are pricey. But you are replacing your 20+ year old handles with other handles that are likely to be 20+ years old. What do you expect?

Now, that being said, if the OP can produce a part that will stand the test of time and not break, then by all means do so. Innovation, tinkering and working for better solutions is certainly an admirable goal.

 

On the other hand, how many does Mazda have left? I'd be willing to buy 10 sets of these just have them on hand for a long while

 

I'd guess that since Mazdatrix still lists them on their site, supplies are probably pretty good for the time being. However, I hope I don't create a run on them. I still haven't ordered mine!

Things are starting to run out though. I just ordered the last S5 wiper **** in North America earlier this week.

 

Eh, I've noticed Mazdatrix still lists some things on their site that are now listed as NLA according to Mazda

 

Hmm, I've never run into that problem. I usually just order my stuff straight from my local Mazda dealer anyway. I get it quick and I don't have to pay shipping from California. But enough of my thread hijack...

 

Still $180each for those handles that we all know are cast from impure metal.
The vast majority of Fc3s owners try and save money anyway they can. Most of the time we just can't get the car to be how we want it to be; because other issues hold us back from those goals. If you think about it a lot of things in our cars that should have been better designed and made to last longer.

Still some folks are lucky that they got a good batch of handles. Other times when they got a bad cast. Crappy contaminated metal was used. I spoke to a guy who's handle broke in 2 years after he bought the car. But then again use and abuse matters alot.

 

Is the "impure metal" theory confirmed or just speculation?

It's of no matter anyway, the FC doorhandle is such a poor combination of design>material that you don't need material impurity to explain failure. A perfectly pure, perfectly cast piece is going to fail exactly the same way because it shouldn't be cast in the first place and if it was, the handle and lever arms should have a replaceable pivot point. At least then you could replace just the part that breaks and not the whole assembly.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. I have went through at least 4 handles over the 5 years I have owned my car. Just last year I decided to buy new handle assemblies which isn't all that expensive from Malloy Mazda in VA. Plus they come painted from Mazda. I'm sure the new handles will last much longer than the car will.

 

I Stock Piled about 5 pairs when doing my restoration. My biggest issue was the warping of the handle which causes the handle to rub when being pulled up. I got some of my business cards and stuffed them in the gap. You have to leave it in there for a few days to straighten out the handle. This actually worked for a year or so on the passenger side, and the drivers side is still going strong after two years.

 

Definitely like you said its the design. They all break the same way. Another thing that really doesn't help matters is when that outside trim seal fails and water leaks in.
Oxidation happens,, especially were the paint has rubbed off when the handle is used.
Which tends to be exactly were the crack occurs.

 

I took the handles to the fabricator today..
And yes its confirmed they are cast from cheap pot metal .
That coupled with poor design is what causes the stress crack.

So i took some resin and beefed up the areas were the handles crack at.
When i say widened i mean instead of the part being skinny, it will be just a tad wider.
That way the fabricator can replicate the part with that improvement in mind.

Ill know whats up in the next couple of days.

 

I have Known these handles break for a long time. So far Mine hasnt. But i Choose to open the door carfully By pulling up just enough to unlatch it then Open the door with my other hand. I refuse to put all that pressure on the handle to open the door. But what really gets to me is when i give people rides they Slam my door like its a camaro door. You ever have that happen? its no fun

 

I love this thread. We need more like it dedicated to providing a perminent solution to inherent weak points of the FC.

500 HP FC's don't impress me anymore. Show me a clean, fully functional, EVERYTHING working FC in near stock form and I will be impressed. Is the body and paint perfect? Are all the electronics working perfectly? Does the sunroof work on it's own? Does it start every time and idle perfectly? Does the AC work perfectly? Is the ABS still intact and fully functional? Does the Oil Metering System work? I hate premixing. Fully recovered S5 TII seats impress me. Bolting on wheels with streched tires doesn't. Maybe I'm getting old but "clean" to one person is a joke to another.

Anyways, again, love this thread.

 

I could not have said it any better. Its not that your getting "old"; but wiser.
Everyone here knows that we can get ridiculous power out of them.
Meanwhile the sunroof is dead, body computer is shot etc.

And like you said there definitely should be more threads like these. I am sure there's plenty of users in these forums who probably have a great idea or fix that at least merits attention.

"Necessity is the mother of creation." I had to get in through the rear of the car. LMAO