DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Good god it’s been ages! - probably time for an update….

Not done a lot over this winter - no big jobs - just realigning the rear bumper and doing some more work on aligning the horn grills.

More recently though I decided to sort out the trigger on the drivers door handle.

About 6 or more years ago, on the day I was going to leave for CLM, the trigger on the drivers door handle snapped. After swearing a bit I stripped the old handle and replaced it with one from another handle I’d bought for spares. It wasn’t in great condition but it was solid.

Last summer when Nige came to try and help me with my engine woes I noticed he’d painted the trigger on his handle orange and I thought it looked great, so I thought that would be a good idea for my trigger

So first got the handle off



And here is the offending trigger


Looks pretty crap doesn’t it? The pin is the pin that opens the door - again looking a bit sorry for itself

For Christmas I bought myself (Oh you shouldn’t have!) a sandblast cabinet. I then upgraded it and made it work pretty well really.

It’s great for cleaning stuff up. I blasted the trigger. Looks a bit pitted so I sanded it down as well



Et voila!



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I was pleased with this but wanted to get the rest of the mechanism working properly now

For the pin I chemically blacked it and also cleaned up the spring




I also had a look at the lock barrel tumblers/pins. Mine were all seized in place and not moving - giving no security at all.


I worked on them one by one, plenty of WD40 and then tapping them out from the other side



And then sanding smooth and cleaning them up so they moved smoothly in the slot. I cleaned up the springs and replaced a couple as well.

This was actually really satisfying to do - there was very little wrong with the lock - it was just gunked up. It now works properly

And here is the handle in place


I’m chuffed with it. Irritatingly after fitting it I found it as scraping on the handle itself and it took some paint off, so I had to strip it all down again and re-sand and re-paint it. The second time it went OK though


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While putting the door back together I noticed a creaking noise when winding the window up. “I’ll adjust that and sort it out” I thought.

Well I tried a bit of adjustment. the creak was still there but not I had a really loud squeak as well.

Looking inside the door I could see that there is a bracket that should anchor the bottom of the window runner to the door shell - mine was rusted and bent inwards. Also I took a video of the window going down - at the bottom of it’s run the whole mechanism jerked to one side because it wasn’t anchored properly



It should sit just behind this hole


I replaced the winder motor a few years ago and remembers what a bitch of a job that was to do, but I thought I need to get this sorted so I started removing the whole window mechanism.

It was easier this time - mainly because of the car lift which meant it was always at a pleasant working height.

Having got it all out, a few bits weren’t looking great.



I think the spring was where the creaking noise was coming from as it was looking a bit rusty.

I then drilled out the pin that the spring sits on to find the hole it goes through was now oval


I found a thick washer of just the right dimensions and welded it into place



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I then looked at the cogs on the winder


The one near the end had been ground down. I welded a blob onto it and then filed it back into shape (not a great photo but it’s the 8th from the end)



Full disclosure on this - in spite of me pointing at the damaged cog with my finger, when I went to weld it I managed to weld the one next to it. Then I got the right one - just meant more filing.

With the spring I soaked it in rust removal solution, then sandblasted it, then chemical blacked it (which finished with a soaking in oil) I tested it on the bench and although better it still creaked a bit, so I ended up repeating the whole process, finishing off with spraying silicone grease into it


Actuallly I think that photo is after the first go - I smeared grey grease onto it. the silicone grease is better here because the spray gets it right into every crack


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I then looked at the bent bracket that started me on this diversion.
I was able to bend it back into the right place



So it was sitting in the right place as viewed from the front


However there is a second skiing to this part of the door and the bracket should sit against that second skin. You then put a bolt through the hole int he second skin, and that anchors the bottom of the window runner.

On mine the second skin had corroded away and the washer that was welded to it had broken off


The bit next to it was my hare brained idea of how I was going to re-fix it to the door frame. The idea was a non-starter.

I had a week-end away thinking about it and realised that I needed to grab the built by the horns and cut that part of the door out so I could get at the second skin, repair it and then put it all back together.

So that’s what I did - marking up



Hole cut out - here you can see the offending bracket



And this is the back of the second skin



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I was able to weld the washer back on


And weld it all back into place


Didn’t bother grinding the welds flush as it won’t be seen. I painted it all up (inside and out) but forgot to take pictures

Whilst I had access I cleaned up the rusty bracket


I love this sandblaster


Again I painted it up but again I forgot to take pictures.

Tarted up the mechanism


And put it all back together. After a couple of irritating moments when I plugged the switches in wrongly it all went back together OK and worked well. Now with no odd sounds and also the knowledge that the winder mechanism is secured properly once more


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Nice work and the handle looks great Mark. So does the mechanism, but nobody will see it!

I know where to bring my rusty old crap now!


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One of those '5 minute jobs' that soon escalates !

- but very satisfying when you solve the problem & everything ends up working as it should ...

Good work Mark.

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Thanks guys - yes from a slight grinding noise that was quite a mission creep.

Yes Wayne if you need anything blasting give me a shout

I also started to drive the car daily again this week. Took it out for its first spin on Monday.

Initially I was underwhelmed - the steering felt a bit jittery and the engine lacked grunt. Partly this is because I’ve got used to the 420bhp of the GT4, but partly it just needed to loosen up. The steering settled down and the engine smoothed out. The final piece on the jigsaw was me driving it properly - using more of the revs and balancing the car in the corners

By the end of the test drive it was starting to feel good and on a few of my commutes this week it has been magnificent! Really coming alive and pulling nicely. It made me feel alive too - quite addictive. It’s nice to feel I’m driving the car nears its limits - using most of what it’s got. In the GT4 I never get near its limits and it feels like I’m the one holding it back. In the 911 it feels like more of a partnership

The AC has also worked brilliantly when things got quite warm on Thursday.

This thread will celebrate its 20th Birthday this year! Great to see

Love reading your adventures Mark…..

The painted door handle trigger looks V cool.


Karl

Thanks guys

They do look good

I’m with you on the old cars being more fun / interesting to drive