67 outside door handles - Joe Lucia?

[Joe R.]

I have a part number question that I hope Joe Lucia (or someone on the board) can clarify.

The outside door handles used from late 64 through 67 have a unique profile in the grip area that judges typically look for. The surface that faces down and out is concave, and where it meets the surface that is parallel to the door, there is a fairly sharp edge.

I am interested to know whether handles with this characteristic profile were ever available as service parts, and if so, under what part number.

My 1967 AIM shows a 3854685-6 door handle *assembly* that probably includes the push button and spring. From what I can tell, these specific part numbers were never available in service. A 1971 parts book I have shows a 5719142-3 handle *housing* that apparently does not contain the push button. Thus, it is unclear whether this housing is the same one that was used in the production handle assembly.

Paul Herd's Corvette Parts Interchange Manual lists the 3854685-6 part numbers that appear in the AIM, and states that they were also used on 66-67 Chevy II and 69-70 full size cars. However, I have looked at some 67 Chevy II handles that appeared to be original but did not have the same profile as the Corvette parts.

Sorry for all the above detail, but it leads me to my basic question: Were there any service replacement handles that matched the original, factory installed Corvette profile?

For example, I occasionally see NOS 5719142-3 handles advertised for sale, but without personally inspecting them I do not know whether they match the original Corvette profile or are simply a functional substitution that GM used for service replacements.

I would appreciate any insight into the part numbers for service replacement handles that match the original factory installed profile (if any such service replacements were ever available).

[Joe L.]

Re: 67 outside door handles - Joe Lucia?

Joe-----

First of all, there were TWO sets of handles---the 63-64 and the 65-67. Each of these was used on other car models besides Corvette. In fact, they were used on both front and rear doors of some other models. They were never used on rear doors of Corvettes, though.

I can't say that I know a lot about these, particular, handles. However, I have made some observations that may be relevent here. If you note, the handles shown in the AIM are descibed as handle ASSEMBLIES. In the P&A Catalog, there is no mention of them being assemblies---it just specifies "handle". This may mean that the handles supplied to the assembly line were complete units (i.e with button, springs, etc.) whereas the handles supplied in SERVICE were just the bare handle with no other included parts. I don't know this, for sure, since I've never collected any of these mid-year handles. Whether or not this is the difference between PRODUCTION and SERVICE handles, I suspect that there is some difference between the way in which the handles were supplied to PRODUCTION and SERVICE and that is the reason for the difference in part numbers. I would be very surprised if the actual castings used for PRODUCTION and SERVICE were any different. At least, any different for a PRODUCTION or SERVICE handle manufactured DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. It's VERY possible that changes occured over the years. There may have been MANY sets of tooling for these parts. Since the handles were used for other vehicles, too, I suspect that these were once a very high volume item. Differences from one set of tooling to the next, wear on the tooling over time, and replacement tooling may all or any have been the reasons for slight differences in the parts.

Another item of note: the part number for the handle ASSEMBLIES shown in the AIM is a Chevrolet part number. The part number for the handle shown in the P&A Catalogs is NOT a Chevrolet part number. It looks like a Fisher Body part number to me. That provides even more support to the notion that the handle assemblies supplied to PRODUCTION were made up from a Fisher Body part (the handle itself) combined with other parts to make up a Chevrolet-specific part.

However, I can tell you that the handle assmbly part numbers shown in the AIM were never a SERVICE-available item. So, if you look for a set of NOS handles under those part numbers, you'll be looking for a long while. Of course, with eBay, all things are possible. Things that never were become reality.

[Grant M.]

Re: 67 outside door handles - Joe Lucia?

Joe,

I can probably address the "handle" or "assembly" issue regarding GM service parts. My '65 came with a lot of new GM "service" parts when I bought it in 1987. The parts had been acquired a few years prior to that. Two door handles were included, and these had the spring and the push button, but no machine screws, backing plate or gasket.

grant

[Joe R.]

Re: 67 outside door handles - Joe Lucia?

Hi Joe:

Thanks for your thoughts on this mystery. It seems pretty clear that the 3854685-6 parts shown in the AIM are ASSEMBLIES because there is no separate reference to the button parts. I can verify that the 5719142-3 parts that appear in the service parts book are just the handle casting, because I have seen the NOS parts advertised a few times.

So, I guess we just don't know whether the 5719142-3 parts have the same unique profile as the production handles. Maybe I'll get a chance to personally inspect some of these at Carlisle or some other place.

From what I have seen, it does appear that GM made handles that were functionally equivalent but had a different profile in the grip area. This is why I was uncertain about what I might find if I purchased a set of 5719142-3 handles sight-unseen.

[Joe R.]

Re: 67 outside door handles - Joe Lucia?

Hi Grant:

That's interesting, because I don't see a handle assembly in the service book I have. Do you know what the part numbers were for those assemblies?