New Exterior Door Handles

I begin this project on January 21st as part of an effort to make the passenger door a little easier to open.  My daughter has a really hard time pushing the button on the existing exterior handle to he the door to open.  I don't want anything to negatively impact my kids riding in the car so I decided to buy a new handle set.  

The door handle set (C7ZZ-6522404-5P) is made by Scott Drake which makes excellent reproduction parts for the Mustang.  They are a nice shiny chrome with all the hardware needed to perform the installation.

Installing the door handles is relatively easy.  They are held on with a screw which is accessible from the door latch area, a 3/8" nut inside the door (holding the narrow part of the handle to the door), and then a clip which retains the door release rod inside the car.  The job to install the passenger side took only about 20 minutes and it made a decent improvement in functionality and a large improvement in appearance.  However, my daughter was still not able to open the door without considerable effort.

I really need to adjust the hinge alignment a little to get the door setup perfect.  That would be easiest done with the fender off but I'm not ready to take this project that far yet.  The striker in the door jamb is not aligned perfectly but I've not been able to adjust it as the screws will not come out.  

I learned of a tool made by Craftsman called the hand impact driver (#CMMT14104).  You place a bit in it to match the screw which will not come loose, set it to turn in the needed direction, and then hit the back with a hammer.  The impact rotates the bit with considerable force and will break lose stuck screws.  I used it on both the passenger and driver sides.  Adjusting the striker then made it such that my daughter could open the door with no trouble.

Today, I finished up this project by installing the new door handle on the driver side of the vehicle.  This side was just as quick and easy with no trouble.  The only thing I have noticed is that the plastic pieces with the reproduction handle are just the slightest bit smaller.  This is a little evident as the previous paint job was done by just taping around these plastic bits.

I think when it comes time to paint the Mustang, I will reinstall the old door handles without the plastic pieces.  If the shop can take them off entirely that would be best.  However, if they end up needing to tape around the handles, I can then put on the plastic pieces for a much more finished appearance.