Removing inside handles / 61 Valiant

[furyfrank]

I have a 61 valiant and have to work on the door lock, but these handles are the old style with clips, so do you need a special tool to remove them ?

 

[OldVole]

I have done this using a small pry bar - the kind that looks like a screwdriver with a bent tip- and putty knife under it to protect the door panel. Just need to push the top end of the clip out away from door a bit so handle slides off shaft. Can be a PITA.

 

[slantsixdan]

The '60-'62 door handles and window cranks are a real damnuisance to deal with. The factory tool was a sort of specialty pliers, much nicer than the flat-strip-of-metal types you can get now. If you use two hands to push the door trim panel on either side of the handle, you can see where the clip is, which makes it easier to orientate the tool to remove it. They really did have a better idea in '63, retaining these parts with a single central screw each.

 

[pishta]

Could you pop them out with a piece of cloth like a belt? Tighten it up and run it behind the handle and work the clip off?