My stock door handles on the IROC are faded and nasty. I'm looking at options.

The first option is to just paint them. 2nd option is to buy new ones.

The third option is to go with something entirely different, but if I take that route, it's got to be something fairly minor that doesn't require any modifications substantial enough to require repainting the doors. Down the road when I do the car over, I'll upgrade to some flush door handles, but right now I want a quick and simple solution.

Are there any other GM door handles that are a direct swap, but maybe look a little different? I'd like to get a handle that's a bit more plain, without the slight recess like the stock ones. What did Berettas, Luminas, Monte Carlos and some of the other 90's cars come with for door handles?

 

the exact same "generic GM" handle.

they all interchange too.

 

4th gen door handles swap right onto our cars. not the recess part just the handle part that moves. and its exactly what you described above. its the same handle just without the indent. hope that helps
matt

 

That helps a bunch. Thanks.

 

That's what I've got $5 for the pair at a JY and the color matched mine so I didn't even have to paint them. Blends the side in nicely.

 

Sorry, Lumina's ...Beretta's and the like are all vertical and will not interchange.
The only thing that would be remotely close in the same years, is the S.10 and they're too close to the same to even warrant changing.


Edit:
Does anyone have pics of the 4th gen handle swap??

 

I just posted a picture of the 4thgen ones.

And by "generic GM handles" he meant every handle that came on 99% of all GM vehicles from the early 70's until the early 90's. Monte's, caprices, fbods, early cavaliers, s10's, etc. It's faily obvious which ones will work and which won't. They'll look the same exact shape/size. The only ones that I've seen that are different are the 4thgen ones that are body colored and don't have the indent.

 

go with the 4th gen handles. they seem to be easy enough to swap

 

What's involved in swapping in the 4thgen handles?

 

If they are indeed a direct swap, then you just pull off your door panel, unscrew the 2 nuts holding the handle to the door skin, then unhook the door lever from the handle. Install is the reverse of removal.

 

Do you know where you can get some new nuts?



I mean those cheapie ones with the rubber inserts. My driver side ones were torn up because it was about the fourth time taking off my handles... Dealer only item?

 

The "HELP" display at your local parts store should have a package with various sizes of those speed nuts.

 

Kevin, you sure about that? I saw online article a while back and dumb me didn't book mark it (was popular hotroding, or hotrod or something), but they did some body work on a camaro and one of the things they did was swap in S-10 handles. The handles they had were completely flush with the body and its something I was thinking of doing.

maybe depends on the year of the s-10. They had few crappy, small pictures, but from what I could tell, it looked relatively good. They said those were "generic" GM truck door handles.

 

2nd gen S10s had the flush handles. When I do a major overhaul on the car, those or something similar is what I'm planning to go with.

 

Yep, 94 on up they had the recessed handles as part of the body change. Different than the full size pickup, no handle is "generic" any more.
Jim had specifically asked for something different...The prior s.10 had virtually the same handle, and in my opinion not worth the swap.
He had also specifically asked about Beretta's, Luminas etc...
That's why I responed to the earlier post.

 

I had asked about those cars just because I wasn't sure what sort of handles they used. I'd forgotten that the handles were up in the door post.

My favorite door handles are the ones on my Corvette. They sit completely flush and without a trim ring like the S10s have. It's definately the cleanest, but since they sit in a fiberglass door, molding the cup into my doors could get tricky.