we shaved the door handles on the '57 buick and so along with our new product I have to install solenoids, linkage, etc. I ran into several problems using the stuff supplied with the solenoid kit. There are a lot of better ways I am sure to do this and I kinda learned as I went so here's what I did and a few things not to do. First the black semi-flexible tubing used to encase the pull cables doesn't work very well. It is a pain to cut because of the inner spiral steel core and it isn't all that flexible. I tried using small wire harness clamps and such to get to to make the 90 degree turn I needed in the small space and it kept slipping free of the clamps and therefore increasing the slop in the pull cord and it wouldn't work anymore. I solved this problem with some copper tubing. I should have used 3/16 brake line, but I figured that out later. I bent up some tubing with the correct curves and clamped to the inside of the door. ran the cable through and hooked it up to the appropriate places and now it doesn't fail and the conduit for the cable never changes shape. Next issue I had was that the solenoid would either bend the rod or struggle to actuate the inside door handle while it was trying to unlatch the door. I had to change the solid rod going across the door to a cable so that it would still be able to pull and unlatch the door from inside, but also not be able to push against the spring loaded inner door handle. This is where I learned 3/16 brake line is better than the tubing. I bought a piece of 3/16 brake line of appropriate length, ground off the flares and wire brushed the ends until the edges were all rounded off to avoid destroying the cable. Ran cable through the tubing and mounted the tubing back in the original spot where the rod was, even using the original clips. I hooked the end up to the stock latch linkage and the other end up to the door handle and it works great. now some things I might do differently next time. I am a little worried about the longevity of the cable rubbing against the ends of the tubing, so I thought of getting slightly larger tubing and buying small nylon bushings or inserts (ACE hardware has a big variety) and jamming them in the ends of the tubes. Also, don't use picture hanging wire.. it sucks and the cable stops will chop it right in half if you tighten it too tight. You need to get stuff like lawnmower throttle cable or the very small braided steel cable. Lawnmower cable brackets and other hardware work great for this stuff as well. I hate the way I had to use cable stops to attach it. it looks crappy, but I'm not sure what else to use. I need tiny little clevis type things that crimp onto cable or something..
Some might frown on this idea, but I used some 10-12 gauge electrical butt connectors to crip the ends of the cable on mine...works just fine for me. Great tech BTW!
Sorry about the first post without an intro, I'll work on it tonight...... I shark fish a bunch and offshore shark rigs would work great for you. On many big game and off shore fishing tackle sites are large assortments of cable sizes, stainless, coated and non coated etc. There are thimble ends and crimps as well. The terminal tackle I make with the stainless cable, crimps and thimbles commonly stands up to 400 lb + sharks. It should hold up fine for actuation of servos. Hope this helps you out a bit.
Thanks-all of the " bolt-in kits" need help to work properly. Your trial and error info, and input from the others, is great to see posted.
We used pullies at the turns, and plastic coated wire, and you need to flare the ends of the tubes before you clamp them in. Oh! you also need to use small swedges rather than big loops. good luck, Rags
I used a pulley setup as well. Just a 5/16 bolt into the doorskin and fender washers on either ends as guides for the cable and a regular washer in the middle as a runner. My biggest problem (having done this 4 years ago on my daily) is that the cable slacked out and no longer will pull the latch fully. The new Autoloc? kits have adjustable soleniods so once everything is mounted, the tension can be adjusted. I used 1/16" uncoated cable from Home Depot and a ferrule to crimp it. If not for the installation being noe permannent, I need to put more tenson on the cable itself. The tubing seems like a good idea, but I would think the cable might wear through the tubing. Hope it works out for ya though.
i replaced some bike cables in the 50' chevy my cousin owns, kinda small went to the depot and installed bigger stuff. the stops for a manual choke wire work great but you might have to drill them out for biger cable. i also went with the flexible copper tubing and drilled small hole in door jamb for lube access. ran seperate cables for inside door handles. the relay you get with most kits are universal relays and can be purchased anywhere,carry a spare with lots of use they like to meltdown. whoever did the job originally used a dakota digital kit. i think that the person(s) that installed it would really do good in the shoe repair business:A-1 cobblers!
I just was at home depot and picked up some 1/16 uncoated wire and some crimp ferrules. Aside from the edges of the ends of the tubing being rough I figured that the wire might wear on the inside of the tubes, but it would do the same on the plastic stuff too, so I guess it just comes down to which one will last longer. pulleys are a good idea. you could use the nylon wheels used for sliding doors and stuff. maybe I should hade done that instead.
Update.. More improvements! I went back to the stores and spent an hour or so looking for anything that would work. I found some stuff and the end result is much stronger, professional looking, and almost without a doubt will last a very very long time. I picked up: 1/16" uncoated cable 2 aluminum 1/16 cable ferrules 1 Add-in roller chain link (1/2" pitch) 1 connecting roller chain link (1/2" pitch 1/8" width ANSI #43) got the cable from Home depot from Home depot. It has some pull rating of 90-110 lbs and is a pain to cut through. This is more durable than either of the previous cables I had. still fits just fine in the 3/16 brake line. I got the chain link parts from the local ACE hardware. They are cheap, maybe 80 cents each. I bought two different kinds and used both kinds in my application, it just depends what fits better in your car. I measured the distance between the two connecting points and made a new pull cable using the 1/16 cable and aluminum ferrules. I made sure to factor out the length of the chain links that would be added to the cable. make sure you measure correctly or you'll have to start over. I crimped the ferrules with the vice. The chain links fit through the existing holes in the door linkage except for at the latch. I drilled it out with a 5/32" drill bit. Here's the end that will connect to the latch at the back of the door. It uses a keyed pin and a tiny cotter pin to attach to the latch linkage. Here it is connected: Here's the front connection.. sorry for the blur. It uses a snap-type clip to hold everything together. There are other types that use cotter pins best part about this was that I could build the cable outside of the door and then just clip it in basically. It was hell trying to get the cable tight and tighten a cable stop while trying to hold everything inside the door.
OK, that looks just about perfect. When the cable slacks, then what? Pull it out and new cable or do you have a different plan? I'm interested now, you have some great ideas going on here and they could help me as well as others for future plans.
mut better but the inline link will fall apart over time there is only a small friction fit between the linp plates and center. You should put a center pin in with fitted washers on each side to keep it together.
Shit, the update looks tight as a Nuns knees to me. I'll be shaving my doors, nosin' & deckin' over the next couple of weeks. This'll help alot. Thanks man good job!
Steel rollers originally designed for sliding glass doors work great for cable pulleys. They won't wear out like plastic ones and they have a real bearing in the center for low friction.
I'm not much of a home repair guy, any pics or maybe a place I could find one? that would pretty much solve my problem.
nothing drastic, just door handles, trunk emblem and lock and that's about it. maybe more later, but for now we are just trying to get it back on the road.
you need a turnbuckle I was thinking a bellcrank could work in place of a pulley. Anyone ever tried one?
I was at the junk yard today and niticed a lot of newer cars have cables from the handles to the latch.Didn't have time to check it out buy maybe that would work instead of rods or cable through tubing.Going to check it out next week.
Thanks for the great info I'm also working on a 57 buick and the info is much needed and will be put to use
Glad to see this posted. Since so many "kits" for shaved handles aren't as universal as intended this shows several ways to amke everything work well. The improvements you made to it look like they'll hold up longer than the average solenoids. Also digging that I'm not the only one who combs through Home Depot/Lowes looking for anything that can be made into what I need.
That is the way I always do mine. I will drill out the little stop inside the butt connector, so the wire will pass all the way through, then loop it around and pass it back through the connector.
Lots of good ideas there guys. Did the kits come with remote for door /doors. I have one similar. 52 csb
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