[GH85Carrera]

I took the day off without pay. Not sure how that is different than working for no pay except now I am out in the garage fixing my car instead of surfing Pelican while in my office. It will not affect the pay period at all.

I have the the door card off and the insulation. Got the old handle off and lubed up all the moving parts inside the door. I saw my handwriting on the old handle. It was replaced by me just 7 years ago. This one did not last as long. I will have to look up the mileage for back then and see how many miles it was. The old part was of course Made in China. It was just like the OEM GM part and bolted right up. The new handle that I did indeed have hanging on the wall ready for today is made in Taiwan so still China. It is a Doorman part and it is pretty poor quality control. The holes for the bolts were too small for the factory bolts. I had to fire up the drill press and drill the holes out some. Then the metal holder that bolts to the door was too wide for the position it was supposed to be in. I had to go to the vice and persuade it with some careful bending. Fortunately that part is stamped steel. Just the part one pulls on is pot metal, and chrome coated.

Of course over half of the little snaps that hold the door card in place broke. I had to dig into my ready stock of parts. Those clips always break some of them. The one big advantage of owning a car for 26 years, you know what parts to keep in stock. The disadvantage is you can't blame the previous owner for much anymore.

Back to work on the car, lunch break is over.