Topic: Any Value to Original Window Cranks & Door Handles?

[drummingrocks]

Out of the recent parts stash I bought the other day, there's a surprising number of original '65-66 window cranks, interior door handles, and exterior door handles.  Some of it would shine up decently for a driver, but nearly all of it would need to be rechromed for a show car.

Is there any value in these pieces?  I probably have about 40 pieces all together, all of it '65-66, and all of it OEM Ford with the original numbers.  I know the cost of replating would be prohibitive.  If there's no value there, I was going to throw them in with the other scrap metal and junk them.

I also have several '65-66 gas caps and standard steering wheel horn buttons.  Again, they're all OEM, but most would need to be replated.  Overall, I'd say that all of the items would need to be plated, but they're not so far gone that they're not a good candidate for replating (if that makes sense).

As I work through these miscellaneous parts, I'm just trying to work out what to toss and what to keep. 

[jwc66k]

Out of the recent parts stash I bought the other day, ...  and exterior door handles. 
Is there any value in these pieces?  I probably have about 40 pieces all together, all of it '65-66, and all of it OEM Ford with the original numbers.  I know the cost of replating would be prohibitive. 

You can find NOS 64-66 exterior door handle on e-bay sometimes, they may have a different casting number in the grip part but the are legitimate. What they are not is complete. They are just the bare handle. When I got cost estimates for the handle to be chromed, the cost was way too high. From your stash, I would disassemble the exterior handle and keep the button, latching mechanism (the part the button moves), retaining pins and screw. The reproduction buttons do not have the two guide "prongs" and wobble in the handle housing. The tips of the button is usually worn but they can be chromed with a bit of masking on the long shaft. What I've seen of the reproduction latching mechanism is that they are made from cheap metal and sometimes don't work when assembled. That assembly, all five pieces (fixed part, moving part, two pins and screw), can be "cleaned" and gold zinc plated.
The rest of your stash would need to be evaluated individually for reconditioning and don't hesitate to toss borderline pieces.
Jim

[drummingrocks]

You can find NOS 64-66 exterior door handle on e-bay sometimes, they may have a different casting number in the grip part but the are legitimate. What they are not is complete. They are just the bare handle. When I got cost estimates for the handle to be chromed, the cost was way too high. From your stash, I would disassemble the exterior handle and keep the button, latching mechanism (the part the button moves), retaining pins and screw. The reproduction buttons do not have the two guide "prongs" and wobble in the handle housing. The tips of the button is usually worn but they can be chromed with a bit of masking on the long shaft. What I've seen of the reproduction latching mechanism is that they are made from cheap metal and sometimes don't work when assembled. That assembly, all five pieces (fixed part, moving part, two pins and screw), can be "cleaned" and gold zinc plated.
The rest of your stash would need to be evaluated individually for reconditioning and don't hesitate to toss borderline pieces.
Jim

Thanks, Jim.  When I first started going through everything, I was doing as you said, basically stripping the used handles and keeping all of the good stuff, then junking the rest.  Thanks for the heads-up about the reproduction's missing "guide prongs."

[tvor]

For the window cranks, I would not recommend rechroming them.  I took two of mine in to the local chrome shop.  They came back looking beautiful however, because of the close tolerance between the knob that rotates and the body of the crank, the chrome job ended up fusing the two parts together (hope that description makes sense). I checked out my other two cranks to see if I could remove the knob and chrome each part separately, but that didn't look like an option either.
I ended up buying repops for all four 

[drummingrocks]

For the window cranks, I would not recommend rechroming them.  I took two of mine in to the local chrome shop.  They came back looking beautiful however, because of the close tolerance between the knob that rotates and the body of the crank, the chrome job ended up fusing the two parts together (hope that description makes sense). I checked out my other two cranks to see if I could remove the knob and chrome each part separately, but that didn't look like an option either.
I ended up buying repops for all four 

Thanks, that makes sense.  I can't see any way of removing the knob from the crank handle either.

[CharlesTurner]

Re-chroming works best on parts with minimal detail.  Window/Door cranks are not good candidates in this respect.

[drummingrocks]

Re-chroming works best on parts with minimal detail.  Window/Door cranks are not good candidates in this respect.

Right, that makes sense.  Lots of little details.  I'll save the few that are worth saving and scrap the rest.  Thanks!

[CharlesTurner]

Depending on condition, might be worth it to put them all on a single ebay auction.  Someone might not be as fussy over condition and just want OEM parts.

[drummingrocks]

Depending on condition, might be worth it to put them all on a single ebay auction.  Someone might not be as fussy over condition and just want OEM parts.

Good point.  I may have to give that a shot (though I'll admit, all of the eBay horror stories make me really nervous about selling on there).  Seems like eBay always sides with the buyer, at the expense of the seller if need be.