OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLES

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Longroof79

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Oct 14, 2008
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Bruce,
I guess you can still purchase them from Dorman's HELP aisle. They're probably made offshore, much like many parts today.
 

TURNA

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
Jul 24, 2009
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I had a set of the HELP ones on my shelf for years, just installed them on the Cutlass when I painted it.

They are great.
 
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Injectedcutty

G body LS mafia
Nov 24, 2014
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Louisville, KY
I got mine from Rockauto for around $4 per handle. They came in Goodmark bags. I ordered mine for a GN so that I could get black to match my trim, then I snazzied them up some.
20170512_205716.jpg
 
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Streetbu

Know it all, that doesn't
Supporting Member
May 22, 2011
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Don't get any handles except GM. The aftermarket are all Chinese and suck...
 
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BOXCARS

Master Mechanic
Apr 29, 2017
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I've purchased new handles, in black, for my GN, and chrome for my El Camino, 10 years ago, from ebay, I'm quite sure they were made in China. I've had absolutely no issues with them. I just removed one of the doors from my El Camino to refinish it, had some minor paint lifting, and just removed the door handle. All the plating/anodizing inside the door and out was intact. The chinese stuff doesn't suck. The people who filled their pockets by sending the bulk of North American manufacturing to China and Mexico SUCK!
 
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69hurstolds

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Jan 2, 2006
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I've purchased new handles, in black, for my GN, and chrome for my El Camino, 10 years ago, from ebay, I'm quite sure they were made in China. I've had absolutely no issues with them. I just removed one of the doors from my El Camino to refinish it, had some minor paint lifting, and just removed the door handle. All the plating/anodizing inside the door and out was intact. The chinese stuff doesn't suck. The people who filled their pockets by sending the bulk of North American manufacturing to China and Mexico SUCK!
Good for you. Keep those parts because that's not the norm. It's all about the quality going into the part, regardless of who makes it.

If the handles stay indoors in climate controlled space, the Chinesium parts will usually fare far longer than if they're out in the weather. GM specs them out to withstand X time under salt spray, X time under heat/cold and other non-destructive testing. Those specs are met when they have a contract with GM to supply such parts. With the Chinesium stuff, they basically simply copy the parts, and dunk them in cheap chroming, pay the workers $0.50 per day or whatever, and off they go. Quantity, not quality. The weather seems to be the biggest issue with the Chinesium handles pitting and looking like crap soon after they're put in use. I'm sure there are stories of a Chinesium handle lasting for years and looking perfect, but that's the exception, not the rule in my experience with aftermarket, chromed pot metal. If I had a daily driver, I wouldn't care too much about it. I mean, the originals lasted 30+ years...and most were made out of Canadium. :)

Chinesium isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes, that's all that's available. And for the price, you can replace them 3 or 4 times before hitting the going price point for genuine GM handles. I have broken Chinesium replacements before while in use. The generally do NOT hold up as well as GM handles in the long run. Now I won't use anything else but GM door handles.
 

PBGBodyFan

G-Body Guru
Mar 3, 2009
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I was hoping to find GM handles for less than an arm or a leg but for the price have the "chinesium" black handles waiting to go on, in part due to the GM handles bending over the years(driver side anyway). Most drivers side handles, at least the black ones I come across in cars that were driven, are bent somewhat. Even an original/GM part isn't always the best quality(see, Monte/Malibu/El Camino console lids). I still might keep my eye out for GM ones if a reasonable cost, the aftermarket ones are designed differently when I looked at the backside, not a direct copy and might help lead to not being bent as easily over time. Then again maybe something else will break first :D .
 

BOXCARS

Master Mechanic
Apr 29, 2017
337
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I've been purchasing many parts, tools, articles of clothing, and gadgets over the past few years, headlights, assorted LED bulbs and lights, starters, alternators, radiators, spray guns, hats, shoes, jackets, all made in China. Now it's not that I prefer buying Chinese made articles over anyone else's, it's just that, that is all there is -- easy to find and less expensive, and better value. I'm very pleased I have a Harbor Freight outlet not 5 minutes away, although I've been buying their chinese made merchandise for decades. Of course, I expect junk, because of all the expert advice that I read, here and there, but amazingly, that almost never seems to be the case. And not being wealthy, I'm not about to spend 3 times as much, or more, in order to "buy American", also understanding that most, if not all, of my fellow Americans find supreme delight in gouging their fellow citizens.
 
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