Shaved Door Handles
What
are shaved door handles?
To shave a part means to
remove it. A car with shaved door handles is a car
without door handles. It looks a lot cleaner and is a
very popular mod on show cars. You can still get into
the car by pressing a button on a keychain. It will
unlock the door and pop it open. The same applies to the
trunk. The keyhole and/or handle are removed and the
trunk is accessed by a remote button.
Often, a hidden button is
placed somewhere on the car that can be used to pop the
doors open if the remote door opener is lost.
First and foremost:
- This mod will require basic welding
and body work skills. If you can weld, this should be an
easy mod for you to do.
- Will you void the warranty on your
vehicle if you rip the door handles off? You should
check first if this is a concern for you.
- Will your vehicle pass inspection in
your state or local area with extremely modified doors?
Shaving your handles...
Despite what you may
believe, shaving door handles is not that difficult to
do There are plenty of body shops out there that will
charge you well over $1,000 for this modification, but
that is a ridiculous price to pay for what you are
really getting. Yes, it looks like an extreme mod, and
it does require a little hard work, trial and error, and
patience. However, the only parts that you will need can
be obtained for less than $400.
The toughest part of this
project will be welding. If you have cutting and welding
tools, you should have no trouble at all.
Parts List
I recommend purchasing
the
AutoLoc
"35lb
Remote Shaved Door Kit"
(Part #: SVPRO3). It is $250, but will provide
everything you will need for a perfect and reliable
shaved door handle installation.
An
Overview of Shaving Handles
Shaving door handles is
not that complicated. In fact, the kit above is
everything you will need to shave your handles! The kit
above also has very detailed instructions on how to do
the installation.
This guide is just a
supplemental guide to the Scissor Door and Suicide Door
conversions. Shaving the door handles would be a nice
addition to either scissor or suicide doors. Since it is
such as an easy process, I went ahead and included this
information as a free bonus. It's not much, but it
definitely shows how easy it is to shave your handles...
especially compared to the radical door conversions that
I did describe in detail!
Basically, you just tear
your door apart and remove the connections to the door
latch release lever. You then need to attach a
solenoid to the
latch's release lever via a steel cable. The solenoid
will pull the cable and release the latch whenever
activated. The
AutoLoc
kit includes a
keychain to control the solenoid, which in turn opens
the car door.
That's all there is to
it! Simply follow the instructions with the kit. Then
shave the door handles from the vehicle.
I've included details on
the actual shaving process below.
Remote Controlling the Doors
Here are the basics of
the remote door popper. I won't go into extreme detail
with this installation because the
different kits come with different
parts and different instructions.
-
You'll have a
keychain controller for popping open either the driver
or passenger door. You can also control 4 doors if you
have a 4-door vehicle.
-
You get a heavy-duty back up button to install under the
vehicle to pop the doors open in the event that your
keychain controller ever quits working.
- A
solenoid will be mounted inside the door vertically in
line with the latch's release lever. A solenoid is a
small device that can pull with a large amount of force.
You connect a steel cable from the solenoid to the latch
release lever. The solenoid can be controlled by the
keychain controller. When the solenoid is activated, it
will pull the release lever and the latch will pop the
door open. The
AutoLoc
35lb solenoid will be more
than enough to pop the door open immediately every time!
- You get (2)
long range remote control units.
-
(3)
Heavy-duty relays.
-
1/16 Pre-stretched stainless steel cable.
-
Brackets and mounting hardware.
The wireless solenoid system is very
easy to install, and it comes with very nice
instructions. All that you need to know is the basics of
how the system works. By knowing the basics, the
installation should go very smoothly, or you could even
opt to design your own solution for opening the doors.
If you have a very customized car, and
have future plans to automatically pop the trunk and/or
the gas tank, or if you wish to control some other
electronic device, you may want to go with the
AutoLoc 16-function remote systems. The range is
up to 300ft, and you can control a lot more devices with
the controller.
The Actual Shaving...
Mark the area to be
removed from the door. A rectangular shape is the best
since it will be easy to cut out a piece
of sheet metal to take
its place. Once you've marked the shape to remove, go
ahead and take a die grinder or cut
off wheel, and cut it out
as shown below.
Then, cut
out a plate of the exact same size and weld it in place.
Do not leave any holes or
gaps. Grind the welds down and apply plastic filler and
sand to the desired shape of the car. Strip the paint
from the rest of the door and sand it smooth. Then you
can prime and sand the door. Once you are happy with the
shape of your work, you can refinish the door to match
your vehicle. The paint type and color will vary
depending on the make, model, and color of your vehicle.
If you are unsure of what to use, ask an auto body
specialist.
Now repeat for the other door.
END
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