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On the Mk2 neither of the interior door handles are horizontal! The front door handles point down, the rear door handles point up.
There is a small pin which must be depressed to allow the handle to be removed.
There's a collar on the handle that you can push back (towards the door). If I remember correctly, that should reveal a pin that you can push out and the handle slides off. I'm sure it's described with pictures in the service manual and the Haynes book.
As Pete says, push the round chrome collar back towards the door card against the spring and it exposes the shaft of the door handle. There is a small tapered pin that you have to push out. Be careful where the pin goes when you push it out as it is small and drops to the floor where it has a mind of its own and will hide from you for days. Taking it apart is the easy bit. Trying to get the collar pressed back far enough to get the pin back in is the hard bit.
Depending on date of production rear door opening handle varied from vertically upwards, vertically downwards and horizontally to the rear. Yes all 3 ways.
Depending on date of production rear door opening handle varied from vertically upwards, vertically downwards and horizontally to the rear. Yes all 3 ways.
But Glyn, not on the Mk2…the rear handle always points up, vertically. Yes, you may find cars with the handles in the horizontal position or pointing down, but these are not correct and are deductible Concours faults, and they are found primarily in poorly “restored” cars.
But Glyn, not on the Mk2…the rear handle always points up, vertically. Yes, you may find cars with the handles in the horizontal position or pointing down, but these are not correct and are deductible Concours faults, and they are found primarily in poorly “restored” cars.
Not True Prof. Gregory ~ See Bulletins. The JCNA is wrong. These are supplementary sections to the build.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Jun 14, 2024 at 04:28 PM.
This is indeed the illustration from the parts catalogue but there are many items in the illustrations, this being one of them, which do not correspond to final assembly patterns. If the rear door handle were fitted as the illustration shows (that is vertically downward) then it would interfere with the armest! The factory drawings cannot be used as guides for fitment.
The front door handles point downwards, but the rear handles upwards - see Nigel Thorley - an authority, or rather THE authority on the Mk2, and owner of 14 Mk 2 cars - in his guide to restoration: Original Jaguar Mk I/Mk II, the Restorers Guide, Bay View Books, 1990, especially page 48 which shows the "CORRECT POSITIONING OF THE DOOR HANDLE". See also pages 74 and 75.
This said, there were discrepancies made on the assembly line - a perfect example of that being the orientation of the red tell-tale above the front fender marker lights; the logical and correct orientation is with the flat surface facing the driver - because this allows the driver to verify that the light is functioning (!). But many cars left the factory with the tell-tale having the flat side facing forward - useless! or as the British would say, "not fit for purpose"!
Rear door with vertical positioning of the handle, pointing upward. If pointed downward as the factory drawing shows, it would be unusable - the hand and/or the handle would interfere with the armrest!
The difference between front and rear handle orientation:
That proves nothing. Some cars had ashtrays & some not. I have the Nigel Thorley ~ bible. It contains mistakes. Remember we built well over 2000 Mk2's in SA.
That proves nothing. Some cars had ashtrays & some not. I have the Nigel Thorley ~ bible. It contains mistakes. Remember we built well over 2000 Mk2's in SA.
Glyn, every Mk 2 had ashtrays on the rear door armrests. But I do recognise that the South African-built cars may have, indeed did have, some differences from the ROW cars. Could the rear door panel/armrest be one of the differences?
Glyn, every Mk 2 had ashtrays on the rear door armrests. But I do recognise that the South African-built cars may have, indeed did have, some differences from the ROW cars. Could the rear door panel/armrest be one of the differences?
Door handles Mk2
