69 Miller Meteor rear door handle.

[Joe Rackov]

Anyhow, a friend's 69 MM rear door will not open from the outside, inside only. Compared to his 68 the release button is much more loose, actually flops around. He said he heard a noise while opening it and after that it will only open from inside.

I'm waiting for a warmer day to disassemble it, I'm assuming the pushrod has separated from the button. If for some reason I am unable to repair this, is the rear handle the same as the right side front and rear doors? Unfortunately I have no Cadillac door handles, only Chevrolet and Pontiac ones of that vintage with the oval buttons, not square like Cadillac had, so if they are a regular GM part I will have to start hunting one down.

 

[Paul Steinberg]

Normally, there is a shaft that pushes against the door lock mechanism that operates the release mechanism. Since the rear door was manufactured by Miller Meteor, and they used both a lock mechanism and a door handle that was supplied by GM, they had to find a way to merge these parts into the door that they built. They accomplished this by brazing a 3/4" x 1" piece of steel to the shaft at the back side of the handle. This piece of steel contacts the release mechanism, which is located lower on the door side panel. It is my guess that this part has rusted off, since it was made of 19 gauge sheet metal.
I know about this, since this is how my rear door handle was made on my 1969 Miller Meteor ambulance. Possibly Ed Renstrom will have a picture of it from when he painted my car.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

Should be on on the drop shots site. I'll look when i fire up the computer.

 

[Joe Rackov]

Thank you to both Paul and Ed for your responses.

I'm waiting for the weather to break and a little warm up before I begin this project.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

here is a picture first is a 68 MM rear door latch then the 69 and the 69 rear handle

 

[Joe Rackov]

Ed,

Thank you for the photos.

The pushbutton in the handle flops around on the 69 unlike the 68 and looking at the handle and the guide for the button pushrod I'm now wondering if that guide has separated from the handle or the pushrod has separated from the button. That could account for the button's movement and it not actuating the lock.

Looking at the lock itself, it appears that the zinc plated latch assembly is factory while the two black painted/rusting pieces of flat stock with the machine screws together with the piece of metal at the left upper corner of the lock were added by the body builder (MM) to allow it to work.

Gives me some ideas now what I may run into when I get into the fix. But at this point with looking at the photos I'm leaning toward the handle as being the failed part.

 

[Joe Rackov]

I just found a photo on Google of a door handle on a DeVille, by comparing to your photo Ed I now see the piece that Paul spoke of that was added to the factory handle.

Thanks again.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

They were really inventive when you look close at the rear handle you see were they took the curve out to get it to lay flat. The cast pot offset is has likely fallen off the plunger. The center doors on that one have been way modified also.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

just because I have it here is a pictures of the center doore outside remote

 

[Joe Rackov]

here is a picture first is a 68 MM rear door latch then the 69 and the 69 rear handle

Well, finally got into the door tonight. The rod separated from the button. The wing was still brazed to the rod very securely I might add. And very impressed how clean and rust free this coach is. From the appearance of it I am the first person to open the access panel since 1969.

I reinserted the rod in the button for now. As it is reasonably tight I think I car get away with using green Loctite, the same one I used to retain a bearing in the primary housing of my '82 Harley that "walked" out of the housing. Holding since '07, pretty good stuff.

I could use JB Weld but the void it would fill is not that great so I am unsure how well that would hold it.

All and all I was pretty impressed how good the design and construction was for access to the latch components. The only screw that needed finessing with was the one on the door handle nearest the button. The hole did not line up straight with the screw head but not that far off to make it difficult.

Anyhow, thank you all for the photos and the advice, it was greatly appreciated.

 

[Joe Rackov]

I did use green Loctite on the button shaft after spraying it with brake cleaner and making sure any and all corrosion was out of the button. Tamped it in with a small ball peen hammer, good to go. Ready for another fifty years.......