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How to Install ’69 Pontiac Grand Prix Door Handles in a ’56 Ford F-100

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Warren Boughn

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Before the advent of the “smoothie look,” people were slicking down the lines of their cars and trucks in numerous ways, and shaving door handles was one of the more popular mods. Today the trend is to fit later-model door handles rather than no door handles at all. This still provides a simple way to clean up your vehicle with very little effort, yet retains the convenience of manually opening the door. If you have the patience, talent and imagination, you can borrow the parts from a donor car or truck and fit them to your own project, thereby achieving a cool, smooth look that will be unique to your vehicle.

Not all people like to worry about electrical entry system malfunctions or dead batteries, forcing one to resort to a hidden mechanical release to get into a parked vehicle. Many would rather retain the 100-percent mechanical advantage, thus providing a certain peace of mind.

We’ve come across a nice door handle modification, which includes the installation of 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix outside door handles on ’53-’56 Ford F-100s. The installation is a straightforward, clean and simple swap. You retain the outside door locks and inside door handles, as they do not interfere with the new Grand Prix handles. How cool is that?

The only thing you need to modify is the door strikers, which is very minor, and you’ll have to fill in the old door handle holes. Follow along as we watch the folks at Precision Street Rods & Machines show us how it was done in the good old days. The process takes less than a day to perform, minus the paintwork, of course, making this a modification that almost anyone can do.

Here’s a look at the stock F-100 door handle and lock. As you can clearly see, the handle protrudes from the door quite a bit.

First we removed the outside door handles. There are two mounting points that secure each handle to the door, one inside the door and the other at the door’s edge by the rubber seal.

With the handle gone, we can see the latch assembly and how it functions. This is the linkage arm that the door handle plunger pushes against to open the door. The Pontiac door handle works on the same principle. That’s what makes it a logical choice.

Here’s a look at the ’69 Pontiac Grand Prix door handle we’re going to be installing.

Before we install the new door handles, we’re going to fill in the old handle holes. This process starts by grinding the metal surfaces clean.

We made a filler plug for the larger door handle hole. A magnet was used to temporarily hold it in place while we tack welded the plug to the door.

The magnet was removed and the welding began. We cooled the welds with water to cut down on the warping.

The welds were then ground smooth.

These are the door handle mounting buckets. The top bucket is what they looked like before we modified them to fit the F-100 doors. Basically the angle was removed from the one end and made straight.

This is how the door handle and bucket join together. There is a lip on the outside handle to prevent it from falling through the door. This sandwiches the door when the bucket is installed from the rear with two 1/4-inch bolts.

The door handle location was marked on the door with masking tape. The door handle opening measures 3/4-inch high by 8-1/2 inches long. We came in 1-5/8 inches from the door’s edge and again at 10-1/8 inches for our vertical cut lines. We measured up from the top of the key lock hole 3-5/8 inches and again at 4-3/8 inches for our horizontal cut lines.

We drilled a 1/2-inch hole at either end of the door handle template so our pneumatic saw blade had a starting and a stopping point.