outer door handle not responding??

how do i go about fixing this.......

inner door andle works liek a charm on the drivers side, but the outer does nothing..... i have the inner panel off but seeing all that metal and wires inside a space that small scares me. and my shop manual does nothing to help in anyway. basicaly says "to remove outer handle, remove. reverse to install." help! i need an outer door handle!!

[Ala75Vette]

I just got through doing this on the other side of my car a couple of months ago. Major pain in the a... Bobchad has also done this sort of thing on his car. I basically took the door apart about as far as you can do it without a torch, then contorting my hand/arm in unhuman ways, accessed the nuts on the bottom side of the outer door handle to get them off & the handle out. In my case, the latching mechanism got gummed up over the years, and the extra force required on the (outer) door handle wound up bending the actuator rod from the bottom of the handle to the latching mechanism. Once I straightened it out, lubed everthing generously, tinkered a bit with the latching adjustment, I finally got it working again. Try looking in a MidAmerica or Eckler's catalog in the resto section to get a feel for the layout of the parts (or a shop/assembly manual, if you have one). You might try looking up other threads on this subject, too (there's at least one, the one I started back when...). And best of luck.....

Frank

[GTR1999]

This is a common problem with C3's so don't feel bad about it,just learn how to fix it. Usually all that needs to be done is clean and lube everything moving,unless someone else was in there to "fix" it in the past.
First get the door panel off and the rain guard(if still there) out. Then remove the linkages from the latch assembly. Look how they are setup, the rod coming down from the outside handle has a sliding clip to hold the pivot pin on. This is what you adjust for the outside handle throw. remove the 3 screw holding the latch assy in and remove it. clean it with brake cleaner or solvent and then lube it good. It should snap open when working by hand.
If you want to remove the handle you can now reach up there with the latch out more easily to get it out. Check tobe sure the "?" shaped clip is on the outside handle rod at the handle pivot. Assemble and adjust the throw with the door open,use a screw driver to latch it. DON'T close the door until you have it right or it could jam up on you. Take your time and you'll get it right.

[TWINRAY]

You can do it - keep saying it
One thing to remember - the handle is bolted on with 2 nuts. START THE "REAR NUT" - THE ONE CLOSEST TO THE REAR OF THE CAR first. If you don't do this (at least on my '69), and bolt the front nut first, you will not have any clearance to do the rear nut. After I did mine, I wasn't about to re-do the whole thing so I just have the front nut holding the handle. No big worry since the handle is recessed, it ain't goin' anywhere with just the one nut.