Did a search and didn't see anything, but perhaps I didn't do the search right.

Specifically interested in fitment and how close they are to factory NOS...as well as any design improvements? Mine work okay, but the chrome is tired and the thought of rechroming fatigued metal is unappealing. NOS means a search, while I wonder about the quality of later factory parts given what we've seen. The 914rubber pieces could be a nice alternative, but I'd love some pics and feedback from those who bought them.

Thanks in advance!

pete

Pete,
Matt Whitesell has just about everything they sell on his car. Plus he drives the snot out of it so if there are failure issues, he’d experience them like a customer. If he or Mark don’t respond, PM me and I’ll give you their phone numbers. Rechroming works great but make sure the understand not to rechrome the articulating surfaces or the parts will be junk.

Hi Pete,
That is a part we stock, not one that we make. They are a good reproduction part that is way less hassle than trying to re chome original parts. We have sold quite a few and I am not aware of anyone having any issues with them.
Cheers,
Matt

Just my 2 cents. Reproductions are not good quality. Chrome is POOR and the lock barrels are not correct requiring modifications.

Hi Pete. Just a thought. Maybe rechrome a few old sets to get the economy and extra sets if you break. 3 lefts and a 2 rights?

Had issues with the lock barrel on one i picked up from Sierra Madre as well (guessing they are the same supplier). Noticeable difference in quality from OEM.

@horizontally-opposed


Pete,
I sold one set of the aftermarket outside door handles while I was with Pelican and the customer had to modify them to fit. The section for the lock cylinder was too long.
As @914sixer pointed out the aftermarket ones do not have a good rap. But some of the new genuine Porsche parts are not so great either.
Replating them is tricky. A local shop wanted $100 per handle with no guaranteed as they were pot metal.
I would be more inclined to find a good speciality chrome plater for restoring vintage parts. Hemmings has a lot of listings.
Bruce
Bruce

Ogden Chrome charged me about $100 and shipping was free. Again, be sure to emphasize, nothing chromed below the face of the handle. Those dimensions mustn’t change...

Well,

If the consensus is that they are crap perhaps we need to make them?

First and foremost: Thanks for all of the parts you make for these cars.

I was on your site and looking through things and you have added so much to the ability of enthusiasts to own and actually use the 914 some 50 years after it appeared. There are a lot of parts. One thing that would be nice to know is when a part is something you've made, as I know you're just as skeptical of some of the reproductions out there as many of us are.

There are some "hard parts" for the 914 that are NLA but high use/wear, which makes redoing original parts less attractive. Front bumpers are one, door handles are another. Both seem like fairly complex pieces. I'll look into Ogden chrome, but I doubt I am alone in a willingness to buy a pair of really good NEW repros to put in a box for later since the originals are just pot metal.

In the meantime, thanks again for what you do for this community. So good to see you making a good go of it!

Yeah as more Chinese stuff enters the market it's a matter of educating the differences. I'm actually unsure of the origin of the handles but I know brand U dosen't list them so I sell them. I don't mind helping other parts providers is the quality is "acceptable" but there are some I will not sell.

Yes a fairly complicated part, but could be worth another look. I did have a few ideas on how they could even be improved without being cosmetically different that OEM.

Mark

Wasn’t there someone looking into doing these in stainless steel sometime back?

I was the one, until these came out. We can do stainless, but it's with the new ones so inexpensive it didn't seem like a path that would pan out in either. I do think we could do these in stainless but not sure if they pencil out.

10 years ago, I looked at doing these in brass in lost wax process in China. That would have taken care of the problem of these breaking. Price point was too high for most of the people here.

Bob B

I would love to see a quality part .. Stainless is an interesting idea..

IMHO, This is one of those "must have" items. I regularly see nice used handles going for $200. If someone was offering a pair of quality replacement handles in the $700-800 range they'd sell. Maybe more?

Hey Bob. You talked to me back then about giving you some on the good ones I have.

Remember people the bodies can be repaired. I've repaired a few dozen over the years. But if you break the flapper handle section you're screwed.

I remember,

The business of making 914 parts is a fine line between art, and hobby versus a, well, a profitable true business. The majority of people want the lowest cost part.

In the past 914 guys have been very cheap.

Bob B

I have a pile of broken ones, most of which its the flapper portion that is broken.

I personally believe the new threshold currently is 200-300 each but that is still allot.. Can the current repos just be modified and rechromed economically?

"If someone was offering a pair of quality replacement handles in the $700-800 range they'd sell. Maybe more?"

Maybe but there sure would be easier ways for someone to make money before investing 10's of thousands into that project.

I think a good place to start is a flapper repair kit. It solves a problem and is a step toward makin a complete unit.

I’ll post up more as this comes together.

Mark

I think your right. The lock/main body can be repaired.

Click to view attachment

This makes perfect sense—saving existing but currently unusable factory handles and skipping a lot of tooling. Or so it would seem...

Good idea.



When you say it can be repaired, are you talking about the round pivot holes of the main body? Or something else?

To the best of our knowledge, the aftermarket handles sold by AA, SM, Pelican, etc. all come from the same factory overseas. We looked at a pair a few years ago, but were unimpressed and decided against adding them to our catalog.

You base your decisions on quality? Oh ,come on.

^ Lol, yes actually. What other reason could it have possibly been?

Where can i buy these rubber door handles?

The picture shows how I repair the crappy little mounting tab that breaks off.

..

They are here


https://900designs-container.zoeysite.com/p...for-porsche-914

https://900designs-container.zoeysite.com/d...for-porsche-914
And ours come with the 914Rubber cam and gaskets

See above

[/quote]
..
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Why are you confused? Here is a pic of a broken mounting tab.


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Get it?

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Now it fixed..

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My doors get a lot of use and I've been through several door handles in the past 5 years - all flapper related failures, specifically, the "lifters" that run along both sides that operate the plastic actuator. Tired of getting a year or so out of a $40-$50, 50 yr old part, I went with one of these for $92.

I'm a fan of these handles. I like the fit and finish and found the price reasonable. Thanks to 914rubber for making these available.

As others have mentioned though, it's not a perfect fit, but I didn't find the required modification too bad.

In all the pictures below, the OEM handle is photographed 1st, with the aftermarket handle 2nd. The lock cylinder didn't fit quite as flush in the aftermarket handle. It was pretty close though, so I didn't worry about it:

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Click to view attachment

On to the lock cylinder. It is indeed too long. When you install the lock and tighten the screw on the end of the lock actuator, it binds and wont allow you to turn the key in the lock. I took some measurements and found this recess in the aftermarket lock to be about .012 deeper than the OEM lock:

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I worked the edge down on a flat surface with some emory cloth. In a few minutes, I was where I needed to be:

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Installation was smooth after that. When my passenger side handle breaks, I will probably go this route again.

Thinking on this after just rereading this, I think someone should make just the flapper part from a loss wax prosses casting in brass. You can work out the perfect size and the tooling would be very easy using the original part. It will take someone gifted in casting and then finishing of the brass parts to work out the increase in size for shrinkage

So much stronger that the original part.


Bob B

Brass is too soft. We are working on these.

I just got done with 2 rekeys. One six, and a 75-4. Both customers supplied me with new handles. One set came from Porsche, the other were repops. The differences were huge! The repops finish was poorly done, with blemishes, and flaws. Oems were flawless. Repops clearances were terrible. Required a couple of hours of hand fitting for the cylinders to even fit in the hole. The actuator tabs were too big around and too long. The hole for the rear of the cylinder was too small. Don't know where they came from.

It’s important to keep everything on the latch mechanism and door clean and lubed. Most of the reason the flapper on the latch is broken is excessive pressure from pulling on the latch. This is true of all the locks on the car. I’ve taken apart ~30 locks and everyone is gummed up with 50 years of grit and old grease. Unless it operates smoothly and with light pressure, you will break the lock, the latch or the linkage.

I agree, the ones from Sierra Madre and from Parts Heaven both leave something to be desired to say the least. We had made repair parts years ago (base and flap) and although they fit perfectly few wanted to go through the motions of putting them together and drilling out the rivet from their old latch. We still have about a thousand heavily chromed and reinforced bases here.
The door latch is a highly visible and design point of the 914 PLUS a frequently used and very important part, so springing for new factory avoids a lot of hassle