old school shaved door handles

I have seen what kropduster was saying was done on his friends car in one of the late 50's small custom mags.
What was done was after drilling the hole directly above the push pad on the door latch (what the doorhandle pin pushes on in GM type doors), they then weld a short length of brake line tubing to the underside of the door skin. It is then opened buy pushing a rod, small enough to fit in your pocket or keep on your wallet chain, into the tube to activate the latch. Simple, cheap and effective. I was considering doing this on my '62 Buick, but I'm not sure if I will keep the door locks or not. It's not like everyone is walking around with an ice-pick in their pocket

 

For what its worth, back in the 80's I shaved my '75 Duster door handles, kept the key locks, and just moved the link rod there.

 

that would be cool too 1950 suburban..but as for the 53-54 door handle it has the key in the button..so..but still a cool idea for other models

 

The 51 Merc that my son was customized in the 50's and used solonoids to open the door. We couldn't find the button though. There was a small hole in the stainless and right under that was a starter button. Push a small pin in the hole and it activated the starter/door opening solonoid. Pretty neat trick.

In 1958 I drilled a starter button sized hole in the stainless on my 55 Chevy to push to open the door. I like the Merc idea better.
Ol Blue

 

hey..I like that idea too..alot of creativity and ideas of different ways to get this done..

 

Get it surgically implanted into the palm of your hand, then just a wave is all it takes.

 

now there's an idea! Hi-Tech Red Neck lol...the doc. says "WTF you dam custom car freaks and your magnetic sergery" lol

 

amaze your freinds! Impress your girl! All it takes is a wave of the hand...

 

Where would one get a six volt VW starter solenoid? What year Chevy solenoids work?

 

probably would not need to be 6 volt..unless you havent converted to 12..(duh havent taken my meds.) sure thats why you were asking, open mouth insert foot.. i think any early 70's solenoid would work..I just talked to my old man and he did it to his cranbrook back in the day for the trunk he used a starter solenoid but he said it hit real hard and it was clunky but it worked

 

Just a word of caution. Last week a guy from the central New York area was in his 32 PU with electric windows and doors. He left the gas station after feuling up headed for a show when his wiring harness melted down. Truck stalled and filled with smoke. He was in the truck with no working windows or doors. Ended up kicking out a window, when fire co. came they axed his door to get him out.

There is something to say for "Old school" MECHANICAL door handles and windows. Yeah, the kind that came with your vehicle.

 

That's why you shave the outside handle, but leave the inside handle

 

The problem with having a "hidden" pull cable in the wheel well or rocker is that EVERYONE knows that's where you "hide" the back up release.

What if you swapped the door latches from pillar to door/door to pillar and ran the cable into the trunk? Then all you'd have to do is unlock your trunk, reach in and grag the cable. No one else could get to it

 

If you are going to install new latches, think about putting them in backwards....that is install the latch on the body pillar and just the bolt on the door. By doing that, the solinoid, pull wire, rod, or whatever you use to make the latch release doesn't have to go through the door jam. I have had them on my pickup like that since 1989 with solinoids and a wire going down thru under the running board in case of battery failure. (yes I have used the wires several times)

 

Not to be acting insensitive..i would never trust an electrical part to be my sole access in or out of anything. safety has to be a first thought to anything i build or change on any of my cars, the interior handles would always stay! no matter if i did it mechanical or electrically. Thats a shame that he didnt think forward enough to anticipate an emergency situation. I myself have had a few close calls in my life that the forward thinking toward safety was forced into my thinking process. bad experiances have a way of making you learn your limitations

 

Well said and I agree. Speaking of forward thinking , my door glass is tempered glass so that it will shatter if you ever had to break it to get in or out in an emergency. If you ever tried to break safety plate you know how messy it can be.

 

I did the modern solenoid setup on my car and they have worn out, now I have to pop a rear door and reach in and open one of the front doors to get in, I wish there was a mechanical backup. I did the shaved handles on my buddies 63 fairlane, and just leave the vent windows unlocked, works great and unlikely someone would try the vent window to get in. I have seen people shave the handles but just leave a button to push to get in, but I guess you have to leave the locks.

 

My 55 Chevy button was in the side chrome spear it wasn't easy to see but it was visible. I put an on-off switch inside the grille to turn off the power to the solonoid when I left the car.
Ol Blue