I read somewhere that a guy shaved the handles on his car and put poppers in then he made it so that you had to push a certain piece of trim to pop the doors open. He also rigged it up to where he had to turn the key in his trunk lock to be able to use the poppers and whenever he left his car, he could turn the key in the trunk lock the other way and it would cut off power to the poppers, basically doubling as a door lock. I found that ingenious but at the same time.. I would rather just have door handles.
My way there are ZERO external buttons of ANY type. No button to push, no trim to push or twist, no switch to flip, nothing. Traditional? Nope, but cleanest way to do it.
Sorry I may not have been clear I was referring to the cable release guys add in case of a dead battery not just the general power to the door issue. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I've seen a lot of early Holdens with this type of handle: Simply use a piece of round tube, make a sheet metal "button" with a rod on the end of it and a spring and weld that into where the original rod goes. Inside the door it just has a flat plate that the rod in the original handle pushes against, and when it is depressed it pops the door open. It would depend on how the handles on the Riviera work though as to whether or not this method would work. As far as locking the door goes, i would just have central locking to eliminate the lock barrel being visible. Edit: A lot of minitrucks over here use the same method, but instead of mounting it flat into the door skin they mount it vertically and as the door curves the button curves with the shape of the door, because on for example a hilux ute, when you pull the handle up a rod inside the door that is attached to the handle pushes down and thats what opens the door. If your Riviera has that style of handle, then just make a button that mounts verticle and place it in line with where the rod inside the door is, so all you have to do is weld the pipe with the button into the door, and then weld the original rod to a rod on the button so when you press the button down, it pushes the original rod and opens the door.
ok cool im just about here with my shoe box and was looking for new ways. that would be awesome! thanks dont forget to do it soon.
I did the doors on my '55 several years back, so the only additional thing I can add to all these tips, is to line up everything PERFECTLY, and clean and lube any and all moving parts (including hinges). If your mechanisms are working flawlessly, you will find it ten times easier to make it work well.
+2 and spend the extra money on good heavy duty solenoids. They may cost more but you will have a lot less trouble with them in the future. Also hide a second set of door buttons somewhere on the car. Never fails, go to get out, and forget to pull the key fob as the door shuts.
I browsed through the thread and didnt see anyone mention this.... but if you decide to do the door pops on the rivi, configure it so the king pin hangs on the door and the bear claw is stationary on the pillar. Reason being.. in the event of power failure or solenoid failure you can have a emergency pull located under car that can release the bear claw. Just a though. May not be the best theft deterrent, but if you hide the cable pull well enough only you will know where its at.
Hey Ryan, Did this 5 years ago and still works great. Almost daily use for the past 3 yrs and no issues! Here 'tis man! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152650 Johnny
I use a keyed switch to power the drivers door window down, then you reach in an open the door from the inside. 15 yrs later, it still works.
Poppers just pop the door open, like a spring. Far as solenoids go,I just replaced a faulty one with a dakota digital unit, seems fine, better than the original, and it was a light duty unit. You can get an entire kit from them, or summit, then you have a key fob, with buttons, just like a new car, opens either door. Pretty straight forward.
Couple of things I have had a number of customs with the old solenoids in the doors. From the 50. So traditional. Poppers: try it without poppers first. I have found I prefer the door to just open from the pressure Of the weatherstripping. That way it does not swing out and hit the Curb or parking meter...... Or traffic. But each car is different. Just start with no poppers and see.. Make sure you put a fuse before each solenoid power. They can catch fire!!!! Buy quality solenoids. Well worth it. The contact is the door are gold if you are going to be using the car much. Don't know if traditional. But after first time using And not having issues... Hard to go back. There are lots of tricky ways to open with a backup if you don't want a cable Running through the door. I suggest that you have the back up method "locked" so everyone Doesn't just look in inner fender or under hood for handle. But you can disguise it.
We shaved. The door handles on my buddy's '63 riviera and the solenoids that came in the autoloc shaved door handle kit was not strong enough to open the door. What we ended up doing was that we removed the crank mechanism on the vent window, drilled a small hole in the stem part that is attached to the glass ( the part that goes into the crank mechanism ) added a spring to keep it closed, now when you want to open the door, you open the vent wing reach in to openthe door and when your arm comes out, the vent wing window automatically returns to its closed position. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I always use rear 70 ish Cadillac rear door solenoids. Out of the junk yards. Maybe 2 of the 80 or so I've gotten did not work. We used to pay about 3-5 bucks a piece for them. Are you wanting a alarm remote to activate them or a switching source on the car? The magnet deal is cool,but you'll have to carry or stash a magnet on you. There's not much room inside the Rivera doors,but as mentioned the straightest- shortest route if preferred.
I have a small magnet (but strong), less than the size of a penny on my keychain. I dont even know of any key fob remote that small. Mine is epoxied to the head of the ignition key. Plus, I can leave a spare key inside the car and my "hide-a-key" on the outside is just a magnet stuck under the car. Only reason I say the earth magnet for guys is because they can wave their hand a few inches above paint like a magic trick. For me, I use the smallest magnet that works.
First line in my notebook: 1. Don't call them "poppers" you stupid beast. They are "solenoids" and not to be confused with that other thing. OK, got it.
If you are just talking poppers. A couple of earth magnets mounted on the pillars with the poles opposite each other will pop the door open a bit after solenoid is activated.
Just did a 37 Chev coupe for a friend and used the product from Hotronics. Made in the USA and a worthy product. Package came complete with two fobs and all the other stuff required to complete the job.Has a fail safe circuit that kills the power to the solenoids when the key is "on" to prevent the doors from opening as you are driving. I used the 3rd position on the fob to open the electric window just in case the door solenoid failed.
Man, I absolutely HATE door handles, I'm a Kustom guy through and through! Even take them off my daily drivers if I get a chance! The best I've found are "Ball's", they are gear reduction screw motors, so they are small, but powerful. Solenoids, I've found, fail often in this application, and often take out your wiring when they do. Now, even though the Ball's are strong, on most cars, there isn't a lever long enough on the door latch, for them to have the leverage to pop them. Minor thing, I figure the actuators have almost an inch of travel, so I weld a small tap onto one of the levers on the door latch and find the point where it has about 7/8" of travel, and pops the latch. This way the motor has a bit of "free play" to wind up to speed before pulling on the latch. Wire the actuators to relays for max voltage. Back in the day, most guys hid their buttons under the rocker panel, or inside theri dummy spots. Some used micro switches behind a pice of trim. For myself, I use house alarm window switches, actuated by a magent to trip the relay. Hide them behind anything non magnetic, like stainless trim or glass. On customer cars, I usually use remotes. It is also important to put in an emergency, mechanical means to open the door in case of dead battery or bad relay/fuse/actuator. I use "Control Cables" for a strong flexible cable, with a lever, for more pulling power. I usually hook themup with a loop of the cable, and tiny U bolts, to the inside door handle's attachment point. Either where the handle clips on, or at the door latch, whichever is more accessible. Run it through the door jamb, into the wheel well, or engine compartment, and hide it behind the bumper, or grill, or even up in the wheel well. Make sure it works before closing the car up! I've used this set-up on a couple of my dailies, and on my weekend sleds for many years with little trouble.
Just finished a Buick for a customer(won't say who) using cables and no poppers, but instead some little springs.....work outstandingly, and is pretty stealthy. Tech post next week or so, soon as I have time
Hint: If you have "door poppers" on your ride, never ever put your car on a roll back backwards. Ask me now I know.
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