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MG MG Y Type - Droopy door handles, and how to fix them

Mr B Mellem (sorry, no first name) shows us that great picture of his Y in the snows of the winter of 1963 (the Snow thread), and it reminded me of a problem that's affected my and presumably other Y's over the years. I refer of course to the dreaded Curse of the Droopy Door Handles.

The problem is that, as the 1963 photo shows, the rear door handles do not return to the fully horizontal position even with the door properly closed and the latch fully engaged. I wondered for some time after my car was rebuilt whether this was due to some fault in the reassembly of the handle and its mountings by the people who did the rechroming. I thought
possibly the return stop had been damaged in the cleaning up and plating process, but seeing a car in its (presumably) original state suggests that this is a problem that existed much earlier.

Has anyone else any experience of the Curse? Or any ideas on how to cure it?


Tim Griggs

You are correct in your observation that the door handles droop on my old bus but in the case of that 1963 picture it was more likely that the door wasn't closed properly. Since the boot lid had frozen solid the spade, blocks and jack etc were stored on the rear floor. If you look at the door handle droop from another aspect the angle is more ergonomically suitable for the human wrist. I am much in favour of this patina on old relics.
Bryan Mellem

Thanks Bryan. The problem I have exists even when the door is closed properly, and I'm curious as to why. Does anyone have a suggestion?


Tim Griggs

My Yb is the same - its down in my opinion to generalised wear in the mechanism that operates the door catch (in the door itself) - I have a spare door lock somewhere and will have a look.
David Mullen

Administer ze kooled Heinikein as it reaches the parts other beers cannot!:-)

Sorry I cannot be more constructive but hope someone can!

Paul
Paul Barrow

Tim, Dave Mullen is correct when he says that it is generalised wear in the door mechanism. What I did to solve the problem was to remove the door handles and place the square drive section in a vice and rotate it slightly. This does not solve the wear problem, but for the last five years my door handles have been horizontal.
Thus no more brewers droop!
Mel Fry
Y5103
M.H. Fry

Mel, that is a good idea. May I add that to the list of Hints and Tips on the Y Website at www.mgytypes.org?

Paul Barrow
webmast @ mgytypes.org
Paul Barrow

Hi Paul, Yes, please add to the Hints & Tips, also add that when placing the square drive into the vice, do not use the handle to rotate the square drive. Use an adjustable spanner to rotate the drive. Make sure you rotate in the correct direction, or your handle will droop even further.
Mel
M.H. Fry

That is a good point there Mel about getting the direction right!

Paul
Paul Barrow

Fantastic, Mel: thanks for the idea. I take the point about not using the door handle itself to do the rotation - die castings were never made to take the stress.
I look forward to proudly displaying non-droopy handles at the Spring Run! Photos to follow....
Tim Griggs

This thread was discussed between 12/02/2009 and 04/03/2009

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