Great tip, thank you very much for that. 15 years ago I bought a '66 gt fastback and the first thing that broke was the inner door lock retainer on the driver's side. Yesterday my 2nd dream come true... II bought an top condition 88 gt fox convertible. There very hard to find here in germany. As soon as I parked the car safely in my garage, the door handle breaks off on the driver's side... Guess that's my life😄. I will replace both sides with the aftermarket metal ones using your method. Thanks again for your advice. Cheers from germany 👋🙂
Original Owner of a 93 5.0 LX. Never had a problem with the door handles, (They were a little faded appearance wise) until about 3 years ago when I replaced the door gaskets. Made the passenger door a little snug, so a little more force was needed lifting on the handle to open the door. After about a year the handle broke where the rod attaches. :( Replaced them and used the rivets, with that same rivet gun. The gun bounced on the first rivet when it broke free. But I was lucky and it was barely noticeable, and I was more careful on the other three. Think I will try the bolt and nut next time. But the old plastic ones lasted almost 30 years, so I don't expect the replacement aluminum ones will be a problem anytime soon. :D
The handles were fine on this car except faded and oversprayed, and everything else got replaced or painted so they looked really out of place. The button heads look virtually identical to rivets and have no risk to your paint, so I think they are a very good option.
LMR has the correct rivets too if you want to go that way. Button Heads are really a risk free install though and you have to get very close to realize that they aren’t rivets.
This is the best advice.. I ran out and bought a set of bolts and nuts he used right after watching this video. Looks clean. I have skipped the paint many a times and Somtimes the rivet is so tough it pulls the body panel inward behind the handle.
Most of the time the rivets just drill out, so this was a bit of a worst case scenario. Usually with the button heads it’s a pretty straightforward job. The handles on this car were weathered and oversprayed but not actually broken, however it is pretty common to have a broken one on these cars too. Thanks for watching!
@@tecmotiondyno Gotcha! One of the first things my Foxbody buddy asked me when I bought my car was “do the door handles work?” Haha. I’m very gentle with mine but if I ever decide to paint the car, something will have to happen with them because they aren’t all that nice either. ✌️😎
@@jayroller7054 if you put your thumb on the center of the handle and lift in the middle they will stay together. If you roughly lift on one end, they break all the time!
@@jayroller7054 maybe I should do a short on how to open a Fox Mustang door! With shorts it seems like you can put all kinds of effort into one and get no viewers and you can do some 10 minutes of effort throw-away like that and everyone watches. 🤷♂️😂
owning 9 of these cars over time a few handles were loose or missing ..i tried the hand rivet gun a few times but that didn't work good at all ..glad my cars were always projects as that big rivet gun when it pops its like a hand cannon that thing is popping and its going to scrape or dent something !!!!
For sure. You get away with it sometimes but when you don’t you are sorry. The button heads take all the stress out, and they look virtually the same as rivets until you get within 6 inches.
This car is a bone stock unit, so I felt like a visible modification like that, while interesting, wasn’t in keeping with the character of the project.
Great tip, thank you very much for that. 15 years ago I bought a '66 gt fastback and the first thing that broke was the inner door lock retainer on the driver's side. Yesterday my 2nd dream come true... II bought an top condition 88 gt fox convertible. There very hard to find here in germany. As soon as I parked the car safely in my garage, the door handle breaks off on the driver's side... Guess that's my life😄.
I will replace both sides with the aftermarket metal ones using your method. Thanks again for your advice.
Cheers from germany 👋🙂
Original Owner of a 93 5.0 LX. Never had a problem with the door handles, (They were a little faded appearance wise) until about 3 years ago when I replaced the door gaskets. Made the passenger door a little snug, so a little more force was needed lifting on the handle to open the door. After about a year the handle broke where the rod attaches. :(
Replaced them and used the rivets, with that same rivet gun. The gun bounced on the first rivet when it broke free. But I was lucky and it was barely noticeable, and I was more careful on the other three.
Think I will try the bolt and nut next time. But the old plastic ones lasted almost 30 years, so I don't expect the replacement aluminum ones will be a problem anytime soon. :D
The handles were fine on this car except faded and oversprayed, and everything else got replaced or painted so they looked really out of place. The button heads look virtually identical to rivets and have no risk to your paint, so I think they are a very good option.
Lot of help, thanks!
Those button heads simplify the job so much!
NPD has the correct rivets. Just tape the door so your riveter doesn’t jump.
LMR has the correct rivets too if you want to go that way. Button Heads are really a risk free install though and you have to get very close to realize that they aren’t rivets.
This is the best advice..
I ran out and bought a set of bolts and nuts he used right after watching this video.
Looks clean.
I have skipped the paint many a times and Somtimes the rivet is so tough it pulls the body panel inward behind the handle.
For sure. That rivet is a real hit and miss affair, and the button heads look almost the same as the rivet visually, with no risk.
Looks like a pain! I hope mine never break! Thank you for the video! 🏁🏆😎
Most of the time the rivets just drill out, so this was a bit of a worst case scenario. Usually with the button heads it’s a pretty straightforward job. The handles on this car were weathered and oversprayed but not actually broken, however it is pretty common to have a broken one on these cars too. Thanks for watching!
@@tecmotiondyno Gotcha! One of the first things my Foxbody buddy asked me when I bought my car was “do the door handles work?” Haha. I’m very gentle with mine but if I ever decide to paint the car, something will have to happen with them because they aren’t all that nice either. ✌️😎
@@jayroller7054 if you put your thumb on the center of the handle and lift in the middle they will stay together. If you roughly lift on one end, they break all the time!
@@tecmotiondyno Ok, thank you for the tip! I treat it like it’s made from egg shells lol 😂
@@jayroller7054 maybe I should do a short on how to open a Fox Mustang door! With shorts it seems like you can put all kinds of effort into one and get no viewers and you can do some 10 minutes of effort throw-away like that and everyone watches. 🤷♂️😂
Fantastic method. I’m thinking about replacing my door handles. If I do I’m definitely using these button heads.
I think they are the way to go, though as others have pointed out the correct rivets are available if that’s what you really want.
Thank you for the video
You are welcome. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing that tip!!
It makes the job a lot cleaner and less risky for sure. Thanks for watching!
owning 9 of these cars over time a few handles were loose or missing ..i tried the hand rivet gun a few times but that didn't work good at all ..glad my cars were always projects as that big rivet gun when it pops its like a hand cannon that thing is popping and its going to scrape or dent something !!!!
For sure. You get away with it sometimes but when you don’t you are sorry. The button heads take all the stress out, and they look virtually the same as rivets until you get within 6 inches.
Great Vid Matthew! Good info
Thanks! I hope the winter is treating you well!
@tecmotion may i ask you how long the buttonhead screws you used are for safe Window operation.
Thickness SAE 1/4" or M6mm?
Thank you and cheers
I used 1/4-20 x 3/4” long button heads.
@@tecmotiondyno thanks a lot for your support... Cheers
Why not try the new flush type? Good vid as always
This car is a bone stock unit, so I felt like a visible modification like that, while interesting, wasn’t in keeping with the character of the project.
How long is the bolt?
3/4”