this may have been covered before, i tried to search it found nothing so here it goes.. How did they do it in the old days? with out solenoids? will not need popers cause my doos will open enough to get a hold of. it is a 53 chevy sedan and i am shaving all the handles off and want some input as to how it was "traditionally" done.
hahha yeah...nah..rains here alot and alot of people i dont trust to keep their hands off..dont want to invite them to taking my ride or getting into it without permission.
Ive used a peice of brake cable before and ran it throught the door into the front wheel well put a key ring on it. Pull it door pops open. Replace the rods in the door attached to the handles with more cable that way your not fighting the door handles springs. Hope that makes sense to ya.
yah..was thinking bolsens cable to the front wheel well with a pull handle on it..tucked up deep into the well..might work. probably was how it was done back in the day..was lookin for any ideas..more more more!! got any more? any one acctually have a set up that works? that they know works?
a fellow club member shaved his caddys handles then drilled a small hole so that a small rod can be pushed in it and i hits the lever to unlatch the door...does that make any sense?
a buddy of mine said back in the day a lot of the guys he knew used to use chevy starter solenoids since they were small, powerful and cchheeaappp. i thought it was a cool idea.
starter solenoid? wow never thought of that..wonder if they had any fires with those? i guess it would work..was this something (period correct) for the 50's?
I was told by an old ford kustom guy in town that they'd mount a headlight dimmer switch behind the rocker panel and they'd hit it with their foot to actuate the solenoid and open the door.
get some plastic lined brake cable from your local bike shop or walmart. You can even use a brake lever as a handle. Tuck it up under the wheel well, behind the grill, or under the bumper then route it to your door. I did one inside the fuel door. When you open the fuel door it opens the door. As a backup I put another one inside the trunk to open the passenger door, as well as a trunk release lever inside the fuel door. Cables everywhere, but I never had to buy a solenoid. Be sure to weld up or somehow keep the door latch from locking. I usually weld the door lock assembly so that it can never be locked, preventing any chance of the door locking and not being able to get it open. I've also ran down and got door lock/unlock solenoids from a new GM car/truck at the junkyard for about $5, used them as door solenoids to pull on the latch, wired them to a toggle switch, then welded the base of an antenna on the switch and sunk it into a frenched hole on the body. Two birds in one stone...you get a frenched antenna, and a switch to open the doors by moving the antenna. I use the new GM car/truck ones because they are quiet. My grandfather (aka "Papper") told me about the solenoid trick. He used '53 Cadillac power door lock solenoids on his chopped shoebox he built in 1954.
Every one that I did in the 50's used solenoids. Today along with pull motors I use three ways to get in, Remote,Magnet and a bicycle brake and cable mounted under the front fender (just in case the battery goes dead)
I've seen an old pic once that had the guy stepping on a very small pedal at the botton of the rocker to open the door, thought it was pretty slick.
rodknocker i like the small pedal idea..ive got 80" lake pipes im sure i could "hide" a lever or pedal between the rocker and the lakes..that would be sweet?
There isn't much that hasn't been done in the way of customization. The technology changes (smaller components, etc.) but the basic way to it is still the old reliable no electricity required cable or wire release. My 33 Ford Cabriolet(chopped windshield, Carson top, shaved handles) had another door latch assembly mounted in the cowl door post with the strike bolt sticking out in line with the door latch mechanism in the door. WHen they pushed each other out of the way they were "locked" together with the flat back sides. A small wire went forward through the firewall with a ring to pull and release the inside cowl latch to open the door.
I used them in the 70s. Older guys advised using 6 volters in 12 volt car-I did. The idea was a big jolt of 12V power momentarily wouldn't hurt 'em and provide plenty of pulling power.
Always used starter selenoids. Because of their size usually mounted in the bottom of the door with a cable and pulley system to miss the window and window mechanism. The new systems they sell are just a variation of the old starter selenoid, but are smaller and much quieter. Never had much luck with a manual pull cable to work doors but they worked fine for hood and trunk. MIck
If I remember rite we used 6V VW starter solenoids with a 12V system, they would really pull!...........OLDBEET
Wire into the circuit a magnetic switch that is used in home security systems. Available at Home Depot etc. The switch for example can be hidden under stainless trim or hidden anywhere so long as it's not behind steel. Then simply by passing another magnet over it the solenoid is triggered. ( the switch is connected to a relay which in turn powers the solenoid which requires a larger guage wire)
if you use a cable a buddy of mine locks his doors with a whole drilled from bottom up through the door and a rod or bolt pushed through body and door through bottom so even if some knucklehead finds the pop cable he aint gonna look for the rod. does that make sense???
Seem to recall that they were available as kits in the 50's. Used a set of four on this Merc. circa 1957.
wow i like the magnetic idea, slick. until you lose your magnet..lol guess it would be the same or close to losing your keys. cool idea tho
One of my friends had a chopped car with the wing windows intact, he never latched them and would just push his hand in and grab the doorhandle inside to open the car up.
This is great thanks for all the ideas. I really feel like doing this in a no frills mechanical way. much more reliable in my book..no electrical falure mode and seems way more simple and old school. Any one have any diagrams or drawings on the way they did it? as for the idea of pushing in a vent window to reach the inside handle thats not an option on a 53 or 54 chevy..the vent windows crank out..not push out..
I'm an old guy, grew up in socal in the fifties and sixties and there were kits you could buy ( expensive ) so guy's would use VW starter solenoids, they were small and powerful. Rags
Magnets are easy to hide almost anywhere on the car so long as its magnetic. There is also something called Hide-a-Key that you put your spare key in and hid somewhere on the car, being held there with a magnet.
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