3rd Gen Door "Factory" Body colored Door handles.
09-08-2008, 09:11 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
3rd Gen "Factory" Body colored Door handles.
Ok, so I know nobody but me would ever do this but here goes...
I have always hated those cheap black plastic door handles on the 3rd Gens and I have been looking for a way to
get rid of them since I bought the truck.
I don't like the peel & stick chrome covers. I actually bought the Putco billet handle replacements a while ago
but I didn't like the chrome look. I looked at several trucks that had them painted body color but the paint
doesn't hold up and gets chipped easily.
Even on the fully loaded Dodge Laramie's, body color handles are not available from Dodge.
So one day I noticed that similar door handles are made in body color on the high end 99-04 Limited Grand Cherokee's.
I bought a chewed up Cherokee front and rear door handle at a local wrecker. And then the fun started. These handles
are the same size externally but are not a direct swap at all. For the fronts, you have to swap the handle h/w
from the old handles to the new ones and then reshape the door pocket behind the handle to make them fit.
On the rear ones , one of the door handle studs don't line up. I'm going to have to carefully TIG in a small piece
of sheetmetal, drill it for the stud. Then reshape the pocket.
Once I figured it out it could be done, I found a VIN number of a 04 Silver Limited Grand Cherokee & ordered all 4 from the dealer.
Very pricey at $100 each. These are colored matched and silver all the way thru. The Cherokee door handles also include a rubber gasket between the handle & the sheet metal that the original door handles do not.
They turned out great in my opinion. They look factory and no one can tell why the truck looks so clean. We did have to carefully TIG is a small sheet metal patch for the rear door handles to accomodate the different spacing of one stud but no problems nor damage to the paint.
Alot of work, no one else would do this but I am different & I really like these kinds of mods. Next step is to get the vertical door B-pillars painted black.
Pics:
...Joe
I have always hated those cheap black plastic door handles on the 3rd Gens and I have been looking for a way to
get rid of them since I bought the truck.
I don't like the peel & stick chrome covers. I actually bought the Putco billet handle replacements a while ago
but I didn't like the chrome look. I looked at several trucks that had them painted body color but the paint
doesn't hold up and gets chipped easily.
Even on the fully loaded Dodge Laramie's, body color handles are not available from Dodge.
So one day I noticed that similar door handles are made in body color on the high end 99-04 Limited Grand Cherokee's.
I bought a chewed up Cherokee front and rear door handle at a local wrecker. And then the fun started. These handles
are the same size externally but are not a direct swap at all. For the fronts, you have to swap the handle h/w
from the old handles to the new ones and then reshape the door pocket behind the handle to make them fit.
On the rear ones , one of the door handle studs don't line up. I'm going to have to carefully TIG in a small piece
of sheetmetal, drill it for the stud. Then reshape the pocket.
Once I figured it out it could be done, I found a VIN number of a 04 Silver Limited Grand Cherokee & ordered all 4 from the dealer.
Very pricey at $100 each. These are colored matched and silver all the way thru. The Cherokee door handles also include a rubber gasket between the handle & the sheet metal that the original door handles do not.
They turned out great in my opinion. They look factory and no one can tell why the truck looks so clean. We did have to carefully TIG is a small sheet metal patch for the rear door handles to accomodate the different spacing of one stud but no problems nor damage to the paint.
Alot of work, no one else would do this but I am different & I really like these kinds of mods. Next step is to get the vertical door B-pillars painted black.
Pics:
...Joe
09-08-2008, 09:21 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: South West Fl
Posts: 405
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Very Nice, but couldn't you have ordered the metal door handles from Stylin trucks and painted them? They are a direct fit and come in black and stanless color.
Trending Topics
09-11-2008, 12:04 AM
#8
Registered User
Looks great, I hate the black handles on my red truck. Did you take any pics of the modification to the front door handles before installing them?
As for your black door pillars, my old Nissan Titan had stick on black trim on the b pillars. It looked good after 3 years when I sold the truck, and I'm sure it'd be easier and cheaper than black paint.
Thanks
As for your black door pillars, my old Nissan Titan had stick on black trim on the b pillars. It looked good after 3 years when I sold the truck, and I'm sure it'd be easier and cheaper than black paint.
Thanks
09-11-2008, 10:36 AM
#9
Registered User
Thread Starter
Gents, thanks for the comments...
Glocklove, you missed the whole point.
I wanted durable and factory door handles.
Painting the original black plastic door handles or aftermarket aluminum door handles was not for me.
BroncoAZ, sorry but I never take pics when I am working on anything.
I never seem to have the camera handy & then I get focused on the task at hand.
For the front door handles I had to swap the metal operning h/w from the original door handle to the new door handles which is easy.
The new Jeep door handles have a slightly different vertical base curvature to them compared to the RAM door handles.
I had to reshape the door sheet metal behind the door handles.
Very carefully with a body hammer, various dollies. I found that having a buddy holding a block of wood against the door pocket
from the inside while I carefully used a hammer from the outside worked best.
Not for the faint of heart to beat on and weld on mint sheet metal and paint.. I was very, very careful.
For your regular cab this would be very easy to do.
1st off would be to determine if the 99-04 Jeep Cherokee Limiteds came in the same red as your truck. Perhaps a call to the dealer ship?
As for the B-pillars, I have looked into black trim but can't find anything like that local. So still looking into the painting option.
...Joe
Glocklove, you missed the whole point.
I wanted durable and factory door handles.
Painting the original black plastic door handles or aftermarket aluminum door handles was not for me.
BroncoAZ, sorry but I never take pics when I am working on anything.
I never seem to have the camera handy & then I get focused on the task at hand.
For the front door handles I had to swap the metal operning h/w from the original door handle to the new door handles which is easy.
The new Jeep door handles have a slightly different vertical base curvature to them compared to the RAM door handles.
I had to reshape the door sheet metal behind the door handles.
Very carefully with a body hammer, various dollies. I found that having a buddy holding a block of wood against the door pocket
from the inside while I carefully used a hammer from the outside worked best.
Not for the faint of heart to beat on and weld on mint sheet metal and paint.. I was very, very careful.
For your regular cab this would be very easy to do.
1st off would be to determine if the 99-04 Jeep Cherokee Limiteds came in the same red as your truck. Perhaps a call to the dealer ship?
As for the B-pillars, I have looked into black trim but can't find anything like that local. So still looking into the painting option.
...Joe
09-11-2008, 04:19 PM
#10
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SUNNY Florida
Posts: 558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looks good...
I`m not sure , maybe they changed the way the make them , but they are (were?) just painted plastic (not colored all the way through)...I`ve had to re-paint many of them due to peeling. I hope you don`t have that problem.
I`m not sure , maybe they changed the way the make them , but they are (were?) just painted plastic (not colored all the way through)...I`ve had to re-paint many of them due to peeling. I hope you don`t have that problem.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Bobcat698
Performance and Accessories 2nd gen only
7
05-06-2007 08:21 AM
03DodgeHO
3rd Generation Ram - Non Drivetrain - All Years
16
04-30-2004 10:45 AM
ecgray
3rd Generation Ram - Non Drivetrain - All Years
1
06-20-2003 01:12 AM