Anyone else had issues with the fit of the reproduction door pull end escutcheons for A bodies? Mine look great, but are loose when installed. One of them was really bad so I tried bending the inside spring steel over a little to make it stay on and ths tab just broke in half. Is there a trick to installing these or is this just a crappy repro?

 

Anyone on this? I must have some really rare problems....

 

What's a door pull escutscheons?

 

The chrome pieces over the ends of the pull strap.

 

Is the spring clip loose on the part itself? I find the originals sometimes are. I worked in some jb weld to secure them better. But with repros, anything is possible. In fact i am surprised they actually fit on and stayed on...

 

I bought one from Fusick last year, and it fit good.

 

Oh, those are for supreme models, we cutlass 's'. people don't have to worry bout em'

 

The spring is actually held on pretty well to the cover of the repro.

My originals are badly pitted and unusable. I havent seen any originals much better than mine, so I bought the repros - which on the outside visible surface look awesome. It seems the gauge of the spring steel is thinner (and more brittle) than the originals so once you push them on, the clip spreads out around the pot metal handle end and then doesnt spring back and hold the escutcheon tight. I guess I'll try some kind of thick two sided tape to act as void fill and take up the slop

 

Lucky guy - those door pulls are a PITA what with how bad those usually are due to wear, no one reproducing them (that I know of), how hard they seem to be to recover, and how easily the theads strip out of the pot metal ends.

 

I prolly have a complete door pull assembly with really decent trims. You want me to look and see or are you ok with what you have? I'm in the same boat as Tony - I have a Cutlass S.

BTW, I understand those door pulls aren't really supposed to be used functionally. They are there for looks which is why they end up stripping out the pot metal ends. You're supposed to use the door armrest pad/pull. Us Cutlass S guys just roll down the windders and pull the door closed behind us. Much easier!!

 

Why even roll down the window when you can jump in dukes of hazard style!

As a matter of fact, I've tried it, it SO not as easy as it looks, maybe the chargers had bigger windows.

 

Tony, it would be much easier and exciting to do the Dukes jump if 'Miss Daisy' was already sitting in there. The Charger had a wider door top, but also had that vent window that would make the jump in there a little trickier. Personally I think they hired contortionist stunt double to do that entry...

 

On a side note, JB Weld is great.

I had a pinhole in my gas tank a year ago, JB weld is the only thing that would hold! (i tried all that gas tank repair putty with no avail)

So i jacked my car up on the passenger side so all the gas sloshed to one side while i repaired the pinhole.

 

Dont know how it stays in place, whether snap in clips, snap-in pins, or screws, as some do. Show a picture. Repro has nothing to do with install, unless it is totally off. Have never seen a repro that bad. If it has two small studs, you can use backside clips to secure. I would not advise using any type of adhesive. You may have to change the interior in the future. In that respect, it will never be removed without breaking the escutcheon.

 

The clips are held on only by spring clips on the back of the cover. The pull is held to the door panel with a small tin plate and 2 small screws. In other words, it was never intended to be used as an actual pull. This piece of trim is commonly missing. For the Cutlass lineup it was only offered on the Cutlass Supreme models. I have a set of pulls and caps in the shed that are in decent condition. It's raining out right now so the best I can do for a pic is what's on the web.
This is the anatomy of the pulls:
IMAG0274.jpg

This is what the caps for the end look like. They have 2 spring clips on the backside to attach to the metal on the pull:

 

My pull straps are nearly identical, 86' Cutlass. Even though they may have not be meant to be used to "close" the door mostly, many use this method. However I use the armrest. I am familiar with those escutcheons. My escutcheons have two end snap clips (wood grain) and are totally secure. The straps are held in place with screws, as this photo also shows some 'screw' holes for fastening.
However, I believe the issue remains with the escutcheon. If it has springs, (unknown to me), it would be difficult, not impossible to secure tightly. I would have to see the backside, as to the springs. Coils can be worked where they would be more secure. If you can send a pic of the backside so that I may see the type spring.

 

There is a 2nd design GM pull strap escutchion
It is made of plastic and has no clips
GM #9676437

 

I do not see any type of 'springs' you refer to. It appears that the escutcheon snaps to the face of the pull strap. On the pull strap, it appears that there are small studs which snap into the backside of the escutcheon. That is what appears to be the issue. The pictures really do not portray clearly the "end" face of the pull strap, nor do the pictures show clearly the backside of the escutcheon; whether there are springs, or merely a snap. Where are these 'springs' you refer to?
If they do "snap", I might have a solution. If there are springs, show them, for I do not see any.

 

Part Two: If the 'springs' are right and left of the center hole on the backside of the escutcheon, what is the hole in the middle for? Are the escutcheons plastic? If they are plastic, you may be able to use 'epoxy' to remake the stud. It is difficult to tell exactly how the springs snap in place. I can only guess that they are seated in some type stud from the picture. The photos should have been in bright light, not dark; whereas it makes it difficult to determine placement. Clarify your issue further. Specify if you have plastic or metal escutcheons. Also denote what exactly is on the backside of the escutcheon, whether studs or ?

 

The stock original metal OEM escutchion pull strap covers don't actually
have a attaching "spring" that holds it in place. It is more like a 4 fingered
metal CLAW that grips/clips over the metal plate on the pull strap.

(I prob. should pull one of mine off and post a pic of the back side and show the
"spring"/claw.

My 72 Pontiac and 72 Cadillac use the exact same escutchion and pull handle
assembly.

The 2nd design escutchion I have pictured in post #17 is plastic and slips over the metal end of the pull strap.

 

The "Escutcheon" is not the end of the pull strap. The "escutcheon" is the 'plastic' which snaps over the strap end. What broke, the "claw" or the backside of the escutcheon? You state the escutcheon is plastic, yet you mention that the claw is metal. This does not seem right. If the escutcheon is plastic, are you saying the "claw" is attached to the escutcheon or the end plate of the strap. Clarify these issues.

 

Actually in this case the escutcheon is made of metal. I went out to the shed and got my pull straps/mounting plate/escutcheons so we could try to clear this up.

So here's what happens.
The door pull itself is a stitched naugahyde over top of a metal subframe that gives it the bow. That subframe also has the metal attachment used to hold the escutcheon. In addition there is a metal backing plate that goes 'behind' the door panel to act as reinforcing. It is held in place by 2 screws on each end of the door pull (they go in from the back side). The door pull is then mounted by a screw that goes through the pull strap mount plate to the inner door metal.

The escutcheons actually have 5 metal spring clasps to hold it in place - 1 at the end, 2 on the top, 2 on the bottom. The escutcheon I have pictured here is metal (OEM) and is part number 7799435. This little piece is actually fairly heavy for its size.

Here's the door pull (as would be seen in car ) without the escutcheons


This is the reinforcement that runs full length of the door pull, but on the back of the door panel. 2 screws to hold each end in place



Here you can see the 2 layers of metal. One for the door pull; one for the reinforcement. Note: the metal holding the escutcheon is attached to the inner door pull metal.


The 2 screws holding the reinforcement to each side of the center hole. The center hole is what attaches the door strap assembly to the inner door metal skin.


And this is the little thing that was causing so many questions about how it's fastened. Retaining spring clips. This allows it to be popped off for mtce when the door panel must be removed, or the door pull retaining screw works loose.



Hopefully this answers some questions. I find it's sometimes better to tell a story with pictures. A great tip from watching the Lady threads....Thanks to my dark master Obi Wan ke Robbi!

 

O.K., I can identify the issue clearly now. If the clips snapped on the backside of the escutcheon, "just solder them". When you continually remove the escutcheons from the strap, the 'snap clips' weaken and are prone to break. You must have removed these quite a few times. If you did not, these 'metal' "claws" would not snap. The "claws" are somewhat flexible, so in this respect, removing them often (escutcheon) will eventually snap a claw, or two. Tell me, how many so-called "claws" did you snap?
I understand full well the placement of the straps. There was no need to elaborate on that at all. In any event, reply back.

 

Gee Allan, thanks!

 

You're welcome. The purpose of my pictorial was for those who haven't had the experience working with pull straps. Keep in mind my pull straps and escutcheons are prolly the early editions and may not be the same for the G body cars. I have no experience with the 80's pull straps or the plastic escutcheons, that would be your area of expertise I think.

 

Well, did anyone whom posted this thread find a solution?