Don't hold any store by that Cobber, I'm just trying on some new sayings & idioms for this new regnal epoch. Having gained a reaction from one of my most recent I'm encouraged to see how some of these float.
It’s a small world, unless you have to paint it.
Even though the early bird catches the worm, it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.
Always borrow from a pessimist, they don’t expect it back.
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
The darkest hour is just before dawn, which is the best time to nick your neighbours news paper & milk.
A walk of 10,000 paces starts with a broken fan belt and a flat battery.
Never criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes, besides if he doesn’t like what you've said you’re a mile away and you have his shoes.
Never learn from the mistakes of others try and make them all yourself.
All experience is gained just after you need it.
Recognise a mistake when you make it again.
It a rare man that makes the same mistake once.
You will never forget that which you never needed to know.
Very funny...I have heard some of these before but not all.
As a follow up to my prior post I am attaching the second batch of photos relating to the second failed door handle. The plastic posts on this one lasted less than 1 hour. As you can see, it did not even crack, the entire post just snapped off at the base and the body of the post was still attached to the bolt when I removed it. The traces of blue around the post are remnants of loctite (it probably had not even the change to dry before the post broke). This part is brand new. Out of curiosity - when you tighten the standard door handle screws - what sort of tool did you use? I used a ratchet (very gently and slowly).
After giving this some thought, I decided to try putting 2 screws through the one of broken door handles. It was already broken (but painted) so I felt I had nothing to lose. Maybe I also felt too embarrassed to go back to the painter a third time. The tricky part is that the hole for the screw comes out at a very awkward spot - basically right in the center of where the handle curves downward and where the door pull has to open (hard to explain without seeing it). You need to dremel quite a bit of plastic away in order for the screw to be flush and to not block the door pull. The screw has to be countersunk (no round heads), which is why a dremel is required. I will take some pictures in the coming days and post them with a bit more explanation. It actually seems to be holding pretty well for now. With the machine screws, it actually feels quite tight and solid. We will see how long it lasts.
If I had to do it a second time (well, actually, it would be my fourth...), I would improve on my 'dremeling' to make it look less amateur (when I started, I was just focused on seeing if it was actually possible - I was not even sure it would work or if I would use it) but overall it turned out OK (if you don't look too carefully). It is an odd corner to shape 'right' (not that I am much of a PVC sculptor anyhow). I chose M6 x 25 stainless screws with allen heads - to try to match the look of the fuel filler cap. I also used a couple of small rubber grommets behind the door handle on the screw (on one side at least where there was no post left - see my earlier photo of the first broken handle) in order to give a bit of support behind the plastic (where there was no post left - without the post and after the dremel, there is not much plastic left). Also, the small rubber grommets hold onto the screw (unlike washers) which makes mounting much easier (instead of falling down into the door when you are trying to line things up). Anyhow, maybe not the solution for everybody but it answers the question that it is doable.
I am generally a fan of doing things properly with new OEM parts as the factory designed, but in this case, I felt justified in straying from originality by using a bit of my own originality. I guess I am slowing becoming a 'real' MGF / MG TF owner...