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shaved door handle, "dempsey" buttons?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Taff, Mar 18, 2010.

  1. Taff
    Joined: Mar 14, 2006
    Posts: 360

    Taff
    Member

    Evening all

    Just in the process of shaving the door hanles off my 49 chevy.
    The original latch mechnisms are in good order, so they will be staying.
    I want to fit a "dempsey" door button, has anyone else done this? I fitted them to my Anglia, but the mechanism was differant and allowed for having the button welded staright to the acting lever of the latch mechanism. The chevy mechanism won't allow for this (well, if I welded it on, I wouldn't be able to get it back into the door lol!)
    Any suggestions out there in HAMB land? I don't want to resort to solenoids, and the Law over here states that the doors must have some method of opening in the event of an accident, which rules out hidden cables under the fenders etc.
     
  2. Pinstriper40
    Joined: Sep 24, 2007
    Posts: 3,655

    Pinstriper40
    Member

    Talk to sixinarow here on the HAMB. He's got a nifty cable pull setup that you pull from the inside of the front wheelwell. No solenoids.
     
  3. Erik B
    Joined: Sep 4, 2006
    Posts: 2,050

    Erik B
    Member

    Can you define what a Dempsey button is? Is that like a Lincoln button? Anyway, good subject as I am looking into this right now. It would be great to get some feedback for no handle/ no solenoids solutions for custom doors. Or even a back up to electric poppers.
     
  4. Taff
    Joined: Mar 14, 2006
    Posts: 360

    Taff
    Member


    glad too, my mistake, i thought it was a US kustom term.

    basicaly, with the handle shaved off, just a small hole is left in the door skin.
    a chrome bumper bolt is welded to the door mechanism in such a way that the dome of the head is just underneath the hole you left in the door skin.
    so you press thru the hole in your door onto the chrome bolt to action your door latch.
    hope that makes sense?

    i have some pics somewhere, but they are old school 35mm pics not digi-image, so i'll have to scan them and post them up

    the problem with the chevy is that the mechanism doesn't lend itself to having a bolt welded onto it. I wouldn't be able to get the mechanism back into the door skin afterwards.
     
  5. In my 76 years of cars,I have never seen a door handle fixed like this...a hole in your door to put your finger in to push a bumper bolt???? whats wrong with a solenoid inside the door,with a small pushbutton somewhere on the outside.
     
  6. BrandonB
    Joined: Feb 24, 2006
    Posts: 3,543

    BrandonB
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from nor cal

    How about these instead?
     

    Attached Files:

  7. picasso
    Joined: May 22, 2007
    Posts: 70

    picasso
    Member

    I made door buttons for my Chevy by using a washer welded to a piece of threaded rod and a piece of 1" tube with a washer welded in one end. the threaded rod piece slides in the tube like a piston and i sleeved the thread so that it slides easier. there is a spring around the rod to push the button back out and the whole deal is adjustable with a nyloc nut. weld those babies into the door and you can still access your door locks if you need too. Sorry no pics.
     
  8. Erik B
    Joined: Sep 4, 2006
    Posts: 2,050

    Erik B
    Member

    That's a new one on me but what do I know. I plan on using Cool Hands version of the Lincoln buttons. Slightly smaller than the OEM Lincolns but easier to install with a nut on the back.
    So with a solenoid system, if I'm not mistaken, you can run a jacketed cable from the fender up through the door at the hinge end to your door latch linkage and be able to open the door in the even of an electrical failure? Sounds like that should work but I haven't heard of it done that way.

    Can anyone speak from experience?
     
  9. enjenjo
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 2,767

    enjenjo
    Member
    from swanton oh

    Put a button on the back of the door, just inside the skin. Form a notch in the jamb so you can insert a finger to push the button.
     
  10. picasso
    Joined: May 22, 2007
    Posts: 70

    picasso
    Member

    Here in sunny South Australia cars were being defected off the road for not having visible means of entry BLAH BLAH BLAH.....I believe thats changed now but when I put my car together I had to have external door buttons. I dont have photos so I knocked up a sketch.[​IMG]
     
  11. barslazyr
    Joined: May 30, 2009
    Posts: 339

    barslazyr
    Member

    Taff
    what if you welded a nut to the latch, then after you had everything back in the door thread the bolt into the nut. Use the square shank to tighten the bolt. Hope that makes sense.
    p.s. post a pic when you get it done.
     
  12. Taff
    Joined: Mar 14, 2006
    Posts: 360

    Taff
    Member

    same deal here on the legal side, i need to have a method of opening the door from the outside in the event of an accident. without it, i won't get an MOT (annual road worthyness certificate here in the UK)

    That looks like it would work, plus it could be dismantled to get it into the door frame as well.
     
  13. Taff
    Joined: Mar 14, 2006
    Posts: 360

    Taff
    Member

    so simple, why didn't i think of that? :)
    yup, will deffo post pics when it's done
     
  14. barslazyr
    Joined: May 30, 2009
    Posts: 339

    barslazyr
    Member

  15. j-dogg
    Joined: Aug 20, 2005
    Posts: 301

    j-dogg
    Member

    I think space herpe had doors like that
     
  16. Jeff/DavidP
    Joined: Mar 9, 2010
    Posts: 2

    Jeff/DavidP
    Member

    my brother and I made a push button for a door opener, the striker pushes against the door plate where the original button pushed, it's held in by a c-clip. sort of like the old lincoln button. They're made from billett aluminum.
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2010
  17. Mikes55
    Joined: Jan 6, 2011
    Posts: 1

    Mikes55
    Member

    I have a 55 chevy bel air 4 door. The first one I owned had some cool custom door poppers installed already. I was hoping to find them again but I have no idea who made them. Does anyone know of door poppper buttons that look like the key hole and still allows the keey to function in them?
     

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