Tricks for attaching door pulls on BJ8??

[crya]

Hey all,
I'm just doing some first aid on my healey before one day it goes in for resto. In pulling the door panels to do some windo work, I discovered that the door pull won't stay attached to the door sheet metal because somehow the holes have been damaged to the point that the screw just spins. Now I suppose I could try to just use a bigger screw to attach but not sure a bigger srew will fit through the hole in the door pull. Anybody have any tricks for fixing the hole? Would I tap and die the thing?

Help.
Thanks.

 

[AUSMHLY]

The kiss approach would be to use a larger diameter screw, but one that has the same size phillips head. You should be able to find those specialty screws at your local car upholstery/top shop.

You could rivet another thin piece of sheet metal (behind or in front of the door panel) over the holes and drill new holes.

Others will chime in with other/better ideas.
Cheers,
Roger

 

[Keoke]

Yep! if it is going in for resto let the resto people fix the problem. What do you think of that??.__Keoke- :laugh:

 

[GregW]

You might try gluing a couple speed nuts behind the enlarged holes.

 

[Hangtown Healey]

The existing metal around the hole didn't just dissapear. It is still there. Try tapping the metal around the hole flat again if you can get a tool in there. Maybe a air hammer with a bucking bar might close up the hole enough.

 

[crya]

All great info. Thanks guys, I'll try some of the above suggestions. Can't wait to let resto people fix it, that is many, many years down the road.

 

[Keoke]

Yep! if it is going in for resto let the resto people fix the problem. What do you think of that??.__Keoke- :laugh:

Well I misread your post sorry. However,any screw with a maximum diameter of 3/16" will go through the hole in the door handle. Just be care full and keep the length short or you will damage the window glass. A larger screw is the method most generally used in these cases--Keoke

 

[Genos2]

You could always pop-rivet another piece of metal behind holes,slightly larger,perhaps thicker, drill pilot hole & reattach.No one would know it was there but you. cheers Genos2

 

[AUSMHLY]

You could always pop-rivet another piece of metal behind holes,slightly larger,perhaps thicker, drill pilot hole & reattach.No one would know it was there but you. cheers Genos2

Genos2, I like the way you think!
Were you looking over my shoulder when I wrote that answer at test time, lol.

Cheers,
Roger