Or a good lesson learned,,,Again. Something we all need to remember when building any Custom parts. How ya going to repair that when the time comes. Door Poppers are so Kool until they don't Pop. When that happens, most often we are on the outside and the window is Up. So we build in a backup, power windows we can roll down with a remote. Or we could just go to the other side to get in and open the offending door. So I'm 6 years into not a problem. Then it happened, the driver side of course don't pop. The window is down so no problem. I reach inside to the handle and it's frozen, won't move either way. W.T.F? Wiggle, Jiggle, Shake, Nothing. I can hear the relays trip but nothing. The manual door lock rod goes up and down like it should so it's not in lock mode. Besides, when it's manually locked you can move the inside handle and over ride the manual lock system. OK, The door panel needs to come off,,, only the door is CLOSED!! I never thought of that. Maybe I can just pop the rear edge of the panel loose enough to get inside and trip the latch. Ya, Right,, Not in this car. So I take out the front seat. Now I can get to it, No Big Deal,,,, Ya Right. So the Garnish Molding needs to come off, at least it's a Hard Top and not a Coupe. So just 7 little sheet metal Screws. First 6 no problem. Then there is "That One"! Bottom Front Corner, up past the edge of the Dash. Not only that, the gap space is about 3/8 of an inch. That's narrower than my Index finger. OK, Different approach. I'll take the front edge loose and try to reach Back to the latch. Door panel comes loose on the leading edge no problem. The bottom edge, No Way. The scuff plate has a 5/8" rib front to back and the panel is against it,, you know,, like a weather seal. F word, F word, F word. Back to that "Damn Screw". So I need a 1/4" long Phillips screw driver. Ya, then how ya gonna turn it? So I build one. I took a bit from my screw gun and a piece of 10 gauge, punched a hole and welded it to it and cut the Hex off. Walla a 1/4" screw driver with a handle. So the screw comes loose and it's coming out some when the dash becomes an issue. Can't get the tip out of the screw, so I grind the point of the tip a little to make it shorter. A few more turns and I'm SCREWED Again. So now the Screw Head is out far enough to see. I get a pair of long nose vice grips and start turning the SCREW more. It's loose, any time now it will drop out. Ya, Right, No F---ing way. So I'm against the dash now, but it's wiggling. Why won't it fall out? Finally I bend the SCREW into an L and out it comes. I had a 1" long screw doing a 1/2" long screws job. F Me! Now I get to fix the paint on the end of the dash. So now the panel comes right off. I look things over and see nothing obvious wrong. Grab the linkage and it don't move. Look a little more, Lay down to look up inside, grab the bell crank I built and it just OPENED! Like nothing ever happened. W.T.F? I hit the power and the popper pops. I don't get it! This part is not over yet. So the lesson here again is When a short Screw will work, use a Short Screw. Mostly, make access, think ahead. Look at what your doing. I've done enough of this stuff I should have seen this coming. We all know electric Doors fail sooner or latter. How ya gonna deal with yours? The Wizzard
When I built my '55 Cadillac, I kept telling my brother that everything I built/modified HAD to be able to be removed/replaced, quite simply cuz shit quits working...!!! (See the 5 1/2 year build here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329070&highlight=the+best+55+caddy+build ) My old back-up adage is: "If a human built it, it's subject to failure." As for your door situation...the first thing I woulda done was push on the door while working the opener...sometimes, when putting the door back on after a paint job, it simply won't line up 100% as it was...and sometimes, just a slight push on the door will release the mechanism...and that's what reads like it happened... Sorry you had to go thru all the headaches to get the door open...but sometimes looking/being cool ain't easy... R-
I feel for you, man. I had to go through almost that much trouble once when the mechanism jammed on an off-topic 1980 Olds (that had factory stock handles and such). It could have happened even if you were still running the exterior door handles and original mechanism. Mechanical shit fails, too, just maybe not as often. Good post with useful advice. If it helps you feel better you've probably saved someone else the same hassle.
Yes it's a mystery and won't go back together till I can duplicate it to see what happened. A manual back up cable wouldn't have done anything the hard bar connected to the main release arm on the latch was doing. Also I went back to my build photos to look at things and try to see what might have hung up. I banged, rattled, shook, even sprayed WD-40 all over on both sides of the glass. What a F--ing mess that made. I think this is a test, had it been an actual problem I'd already have it fixed. I'm going after it again after dinner. Will keep ya posted as to what I find out. The Wizzard
I always suggest to builders to put the latch and solinoids in the B pillars, the pin on the doors. another plus doing it that way is not snagging your clothes on the pin. also a cable release will always work and not bending back and forth at the hinge
Over the years I was very lucky with my solonoid operated doors and secret buttons which were really no secret. As of now I only have one vehicle, my 48 Chevy panel truck with remote operated bearclaws. Yes, I put the bearclaws in the B-pillars because I thought it was different and didn't want suicide doors. I have choke cables inside and outside for emergencies but never finished the panel so have no idea how it will work out. This sort of scares me. Thanks for the warning. Back in the good ole days there were no door poppers. I used those tornado looking window crank springs mounted with a screw. Zero dollars from junk yard and didn't look too bad.
OK, I didn't eat dinner. This thing had me consumed so I just got after it. Just so you know I have factory 1951 Ford door latch parts. No Custom bear jaw Hokus Pokus stuff. Again a back up hidden cable would not have over ridden this problem. I took everything apart, inspected, handled, operated the latch over and over. It works fine. I re lubed it and put it back in the door. All of the grade 8 shoulder bolts and bushings on the bell crank move smoothly with no free play or slop. Also, it did prior to taking it apart. At the rod end at the solenoid using a fish scale it takes 8 lbs. to trip the latch with the door closed. All is well at this point. I have a 75 lb. pull Autolock solenoid. I had noticed some rust and corrosion around the plunger as soon as I got the door panel off. It makes no sense being it's on the inside side of the window glass. What's up with that? So now I'm currious. I start working the plunger witch by the way does not come out of the housing. Why is that? I feel that it does not travel smooth. I actually think it has a spot where the plunger catches. I re mounted it and hit the remote. It works fine again. So I take my finger and put just some slight sideway pressuer on the plunger and there it is, stuck. Damn! Why is that and where did the rust come from? I don't use the garden hose to wash the inside of the windows. It has been in the rain but it didn't rain on the inside of the window. The housing has a tin liner in the hole and my guess is the plunger rattled around and made a ridge in the tin liner. Why doesn't the plunger come out? So I think I've got it. A new solenoid, a VERY SHORT SCREW in the front corner of the molding and put the thing back together. What a Blister! The Wizzard
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