I'm getting real tired of the door panels being off, as a result the car looks pretty crappy inside and my wife isn't all that interested in riding in it that way. (My five-year-old son doesn't much care.) They've been off for more than two weeks and the only thing keeping them off now is the missing door lock knob. It looks like another knob assembly will run at least $70, I think it's time to start fabricating.
I went to the car and liberated the good locking handle to serve as a pattern. I then got out a scrap of thick-wall 3" muffler pipe and cut out a strip, extra long and wide, to become the handle. The material is thinner than the plastic handle, but it's a lot stronger! The curve of the pipe gives an approximation of the shaped plastic handle. I got a piece of thick strapping, extra long, and welded it to the inside of the handle to make the lever part. It made a nice big T. The strap wasn't quite thick enough so I ran a bead across one side the length of the lever then ground it more-or-less flat. The extra length of strap makes a nice handle for use while working up the piece. I drilled the two holes in the lever, then started grinding away the excess strap to shape the lever. Once that was approximately right I started shaping the handle part, grinding off the excess, etc. I went slow, and held it up often to compare with the pattern by eye. Once it was the right size I started shaping the edges and taking off the sharp and rough patches. The handle didn't end up an exact match to the original, but I believe it is good enough. I'm quite pleased. I then went to the car and liberated the bad locking handle to see if it fit. I needed to do a bit more grinding on the lever part to get it to fit into the handle assembly and have the correct range of motion. With that done I painted it with primer and then black paint. I used the shop oven at 200 degrees F to speed drying. I also made sure the handle fit through the trim piece. I then put the handles back together and into the car. Finally! It looks good, and works great. All that's left is to put the doors back together. They need new plastic moisture barriers. Oh, and I also need to test the keyless actuator to make sure it's OK. However, there's no time to do any of that today. -- Jim _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
