Need help with shaved door handles!

[anokpunk]

Hey there. I bought my car with shaved door handles, and they've stopped working. I was wondering if someone could tell me alittle about how they work and how might I fix it. I read up about there being kits for it, so, I was wondering if anyone knew what the best kit would be. Thank you

[BrokenLimits]

Just go get neww doors. There is no way to really tell what the previous RICER owner did to the car.

Some doors have Poppers which when you unlock the door pops open the door with a springed actuator.

Some of them make you roll down the window and open it from the inside.

[anokpunk]

Originally Posted by BrokenLimits

Just go get neww doors. There is no way to really tell what the previous RICER owner did to the car.

Some doors have Poppers which when you unlock the door pops open the door with a springed actuator.

Some of them make you roll down the window and open it from the inside.

Thanks but I was hoping for a more in depth explaination of how they worked (ie. how the solenoid works to open the door, how it's install) not that it pops the door open - that's sort of given cause that's how I got into my car.

[essey]

The solenoid is basically a strong electromagnet activated when current passes through it. When activated, the internal magnet is pulled into the solenoid body along with a wire cable. This cable is attached to the door handle rod. Basically, it does the same thing as lifting up a door handle. The solenoid is mounted inside the door, usually on the inside where the window is at. When mounting, you have to make sure everything clears when the window is rolled down (or you will have serious problems). Solenoids are pretty cheap off ebay, and they seem to be the only thing you need to replace. Chances are the solenoids you have right now are mounted using a bracket which will allow you to remove and replace them. Also, observe how the solenoid is attached to your door latch mechanism because you'll have to redo the entire thing. One more thing-- make sure the tension on the solenoid is tight enough so that when activated, it will actually open the latch, but not too tight that even when at rest, the door doesn't close....

[lxndr]

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I've done this! You actually need a little slack in the cable so that the solenoid has enough inertia and power behind it to pull the door release. Too much tension and the solenoid will not be strong enough to pull, too little tension and the solenoid will reach the end of it's travel before it pulls the door release. The best place for the solenoid is about 4"-6" away from the door release and directly in line with the direction of pull from the release. Although you can put the solenoid just about anywhere you want by using sliding door pulleys that can be found at any hardware store. These pulleys are about 1" in diameter, but you will need to make a cover to keep the cable from sliding off.

You also need a door popper to pop the door open after the solenoid releases the catch, otherwise the door will release but won't open. The door popper is basically a spring that sits in the door jam.

Usually these kits use a remote similar to those used with car alarms (you can even hook it up to your car alarm), but if the person who installed your system was "cheap" then there is probably a release button hidden somewhere on your car.

Autoloc makes a good kit and sells parts, but there are several other companies out there that sell parts for this conversion. Try looking on the internet or look for ads in magazines such as: Rod & Custom, Custom Rodder, Street Rod Builder and Hot Rod. This is a relatively simple conversion, usually the hardest part is filling in the door handle!

If you run into problems or need more info, let me know, I'll be glad to help!

By the way I'm not a ricer, I've done this to 1930's - '60's custom cars.