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Cutlass Coupe Door Handle Questions...


Galaxie500XL

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I know we've covered this a million times...just a couple of quick questions.

 

I just replaced, for the second time, the driver's door handle on my Cutlass. It works great, but the door handle isn't sitting flush with the housing, it leans "out" slightly, as if the door was being partially pulled open. Would turning the adjustment on the rod down a turn or two, effectively making the rod a bit shorter, pull the top of the door handle "in", so it sits more flush?

 

Also, was Googling the door handle P/N, 20560527...found someone that had recently had a door handle for a Beretta for sale...and he listed the SAME part # that's used for Cutlass Coupes...are they actually the same? Because I seem to remember the Beretta had a narrower, shorter door handle than the W bodies..

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Sounds like the handle has already been bent from use. You would need to take

the handle off, hold the linkage side of it "open" (with handle side away from housing)

and force the handle back towards the housing to essentially "bend" the top of the

handle back in.

It's a pain in the ass but can be done.

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That makes sense...I'm afraid I'll weaken/break it doing that...

 

I may wait until I find another good door handle, just in case. A slightly misaligned door handle that works is better than one that looks perfect, and doesn't...

 

Sounds like the handle has already been bent from use. You would need to take

the handle off, hold the linkage side of it "open" (with handle side away from housing)

and force the handle back towards the housing to essentially "bend" the top of the

handle back in.

It's a pain in the ass but can be done.

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I found a junkyard handle that worked...not quite as pretty as they handle that broke, but at least I can open the driver's door from the outside now..

 

I am sure Cutlass handles are for Cutty's only. What kind of handle did you get? Aftermarket handles aren't that good of quality. A used factory handle may already be bent.
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GM universal part unfortunately, ive got a regal handle on the passenger side and a GP handle on the other. Did find one of a berreta in the yard but the regal was in better condition. Better question would be which doors swap over so i can get rid of these damn things

 

They still have a few CSs with decent front ends over there in the yards? Ran into some "legal" trouble and it took my CS restoration cash from me. Im working on getting pics in my old thread so i can share the pain:lol:

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That's a shame, I saw several Cutlass Coupes in my junkyard run through Atlanta, and Columbia, South Carolina this week...had I known, I could have gotten you almost everything you need.

 

I only remember two coupes my last Knoxville Pull-A-Part run...one was red, the other blue...but I go regularly. I remember you need the headlight housing, but what else did you need? I can probably find it...I'll be going back to Georgia in about 2 weeks.

 

Speaking of which, how well did the Regal and GP handle work on your car? I'm assuming they work, but don't fit quite right?

 

GM universal part unfortunately, ive got a regal handle on the passenger side and a GP handle on the other. Did find one of a berreta in the yard but the regal was in better condition. Better question would be which doors swap over so i can get rid of these damn things

 

They still have a few CSs with decent front ends over there in the yards? Ran into some "legal" trouble and it took my CS restoration cash from me. Im working on getting pics in my old thread so i can share the pain:lol:

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the actual handle parts did sort of stick out a little, but are identical from what i can tell from the AZ replacements. Ive got that tiny little threaded thing at the very tip of the rod and i rounded off the part that makes contact. SOB i had my camera down there and everything and for got to take some pics, shes all locked back up in a local storage unit now to keep these damn kids off of it.

 

Going to be looking for both front 1/4 panels, hood, header and passenger side outer turn signal, only thing is everytime i get a few hundred saved something else comes up and i cannot afford it so i`d hate for you to have the parts and me not have the money. I bumped my old thread with a link to my FB account if you or anyone else hear want to see a few pics. of course anyone here feel free to send friend request.

 

Tomorrow after this weather front moves thru i`ll go get her out again and get some pics of the door handles.

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No, that doesn't make sense. GP coupe handles don't fit a CS and vice versa. It's not even a remotely close fit. I think GP and Regal have the same handles, but not the CS and I don't know about Luminas.

 

I've had used handles with the top tipped out and it was obvious it had warped over time because there was no way the top could touch its rubber stop without the bottom being pushed in too far. I tried bending with force, but that only resulted in the door handle snapping. The only way I found that works is to use a screwdriver wedged into the right location so the bottom is flush, then use a torch to heat up the lever part of the handle till the top is flush and rests on the rubber stopper. This worked fine, but obviously the handle needs to be off the car to do it.

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  • 1 year later...

I've used Grand Prix and Regal handles before without any problems. The only difference I saw was not all of them had one of the little screw holes at the bottom for the trim. The only other issue I've had with ebay ones is the pin that holds the handle itself to the assembly was pointed and interfered. I just removed the pin, ground down the tip, and reinstalled it and not had any issues at all.

 

The ONLY handle I've not been able to get to work is the Lumina one. Its physically longer. All others I've been able to use no issues. In fact, when my 1994 Convertible was totaled, I pulled the door handles off of it to use on my 1992 Grand Prix. No issues at all, but then again, I'm an asshole and stuff tends to just WORK for me.

 

Here is a pic of the Cutlass and Lumina handle side by side. The Lumina one is on the car still, the Cutlass is the one I'm holding up.

 

compareluminacutlass.jpg

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wow! very different. it can't mean the Luminas have more headroom tho, cuz my hair grazes the headliner even with the seat tilted back.

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They don't. The Lumina windows dip below the beltline while the other cars the windows stop at the beltline. It was a Chevy thing back in the late 80s, early 90s. You see it on Beretta/Corsica, 91+ Caprice, Cavalier, and Silverado as well.

Edited by GnatGoSplat
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Come to think about it, the Lumina does seem to have longer windows than the Grand Prix. I never noticed that though until now.

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