If you were to rate the most annoying things on a Range Rover Classic at the top of that list would be the Questionable Use of Paint and Seam Sealer to Prevent Rust. I think we could all agree with that. The second item has GOT to be the Door Handles.
At some point in owning a Range Rover Classic or a Discovery 1 you will have a door handle fail. I’m not sure what specific material the door handles are made from. I’ve speculated in another post that they were made from Play-DohTM. I’m pretty sure they are made from some kind of aluminum mache’ and hope. You might as well say they were made of Unobtainium [Wikipedia] because finding a set of new/old stock (ran out decades ago) or on a rig in a breaker’s yard (aka junk yard in the USA). I haven’t seen a Range Rover in a junk yard since 2016 [Okierover.com]. The odd one may have snuck past me in that time…suffice to say they are getting rare. Spotted one in 2015 and 2011.
It was quite frankly a surprise to me that it took so long for some smart guy or girl to machine their own. I am surprised no longer. A gentleman right here in my home state of Oklahoma is making them. This is the best of all possible situations, Made in Oklahoma, Small Business, genuinely nice guy, and almost certainly better than OEM.
Chris McCune‘s [Facebook] handles are made from 6061 aluminum. I am but a simple caveman and your systems of measurements of specific metals frightens and confuses me, but when I get in my Range Rover Classic and drive to the mall through the outback, I want to open the doors with the handles and not crawl in the window like psychopath.
(Apologies to the, now deceased, genius of Phil Hartman for the paraphrase above.)
You are more likely to pull the entire handle assembly off the door, than to have one of these break like the OEM handles. He’s so confident in his design he is offering a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Basically as long as you aren’t using the handle as recovery point when you get stuck, he’ll make it right if one of his handles fail.
This is an unsponsored product recommendation. I have not been compensated in any way to promote Chris’s products. I’m just helping out a fellow Okie with his small business in this niche market.
The next time you tear your door handle remember Chris and order some handles. I would publish the price, but prices of metals change and I don’t want someone in the future who may be reading this post to get the wrong idea about what the handles cost. At the time of this post (June 2023), they are fairly priced. I’ve seen them for sale for more than this and have purchased some crappy OEM ones for this same price. Click the link above and send him a Private Message.
I looked up my previous posts on door handles, check those out too. One contains the instructions for replacing your door handles.
Thanks for Reading and Happy Rovering.