A guy did this on a mini truck site i go on and i thought it was cool so i figured id share it with everyone, forgive me if its been posted before........

He shaved the hadles but left the locks then, inside the door, he ran the rod that went to the handle to the lock and installed a small spring on the rail where the door and body meet..

So you walk up to your car, put the key in, turn and your door opens, no remote battery to go dead. No handles either...

If you look at the rods on the inside of the door its pretty easy to do.... I might do that this summer...:hail:

 

i would put the locks in a different part of the car though. i wouldnt just want a door lock chillin in the middle of my door. maybe put it behing the license plate?? like where the truck one is?? might look nice like that, you have the shaved look and you have the doro locks still

 

that would involve electrical components, which brobert was trying to say his way would allow u to open the doors even if the battery went dead, simply by turning the key

 

what would be the point to leave the locks? all or nothing...

 

so u arent trying to crawl in thru the hatch and have people wondering if u are breaking into your car.....

 

just leave the handles then if your that worried....the whole point is to give the car a smooth appearance which leaving the locks doesn't do.

 

to everyone their own opinion

 

damn straight......

 

You know what, people act as though crawling through the hatch is like a military obstacle course.....

NONE of the benefits of shaving the handles

Still all the side effects of having door handles on the car

Then how do you grab the door to open it?? You would still need to install a door popper kit to open it.....

 

well what they are saying is design the lock to work similar in the manner of a handle so that when it's turned to the unlock position it will not only unlatch but also move out enough to grab it open....

however the downside to this is it becomes a pita for passengers to get in and out without having a popper and then you still can run into problems with it not fully opening.

in theory its a neat idea and for a trick aproach to something on the car scene i suppose it's not a bad one but on our cars to leave the lock and shave the handle it looks very odd....where as the newer vehicles that have recessed color coded locks it looks ok. i personally would shave it all and deal with it when the problem comes, but to everyone their own opinion.

 

im glad some people on here have actually read my post and not skimmed through it.
Yes the way i posted uses no electrical equipment

No if you smooth out the transition from the door to the lock and then paint it the same color as the door , the locks are not noticable at all.

Climbing through the hatch sucks ***.

The way i posted is fool proof. You never have to worry about a battery or anything else dieing on you. You have a spring loaded poper at the bottom (or where ever you want for that matter)of each door that pushed the door oped a little so you can grab it and pull it open

Yes i guess it is a little differnt for passengers to get in but then again its no differnt then to the driver (if they dont have power locks)who has to reach over and unlock the pass door. Only now he has to pull the door handle to open the door for the passenger.

The handles on these cars are ugly as ****. The locks can be smoothed out with bondo and painted the same color as the door and with the hadle shaved it looks 10000000% better. All you would see technicaly is a slot for the key if done like i described....

 

but.. IMO, so are shaved handles.
Flush handles (from ...ahh n/m this comment) .. best of both... no gaudy cheap -ss 30yr recycled pos handles... no whining about dead batteries, crawling through the hatch, and ¼mi track rules (does not apply to where I live anyways since there isn't a track worth mentioning around here)

 

i personally like the stock look. however i certainly appreciate the want for something different and enjoy seeing new takes on things.

good luck with it.

 

While deadbir'd car is awesome, i think a rectanular recessed handle would fit the car better. Something like using a 4th gen handle that i'm pretty sure is flush to the door panel would look nice. Personally I have nothing against the stock handles though

 

mmk, imagine this


shaved handles and a shaved lock......except for a small round resessed hole that the key JUST fits thru.


why?


well you could have the smooth shaved look... heck it could be painted body color...

you can still use the electric poppers for normal use...

have the mechanical key backup





and at the strip, have a key "handle" in it. that would leave you NHRA legal..... just figure a way that it will stay in there.... im thinking a lil pin/ball setup like you have on a ratchet.


you stick your oversized end key/handle in and its held in by that ball..... you have to press in a button of sorts to release the handle/key and get it out.


comments?

 

i just shaved the antenna hole, gas cap and the door locks. I think the stock handles match the rest of the car very well. Smooth round shaped handles do not look right on a square car like a thirdgen camaro.

 

i dont have a 3rd gen camaro i have a 3rd gen firebird (not square at all) and the stock handles suck.
Its really not a hard mod to do and uses no electrical stuff at all.

Shave the handles
Relocate the rod that went to the handles to the lock.
Add a spring popper to the door sil, no need to use an electric one.
SMOOTH out the look of the lock with some filler.
Paint to match the car..
Since it uses no electric, you dont have to worry about any batteries or wires. ....

Very simple to do...

 

Going by what you say he did to the truck wouldn't it make it THAT much easier/quicker for someone to steal it?

 

uh no, what does putting the rod that goes to the handle to the lock have to do with making it easy to steal? You still need the key to open the door. btw you can pull on the top of the window on any 3rd gen and unlock the door so its really more of a mod for apperance not theft det.

 

Good thing we're talking about a firebird here, huh ?

Jeremy, thanks for the compliment.. while I somewhat agree about the square handle, I think they fit camaro's better than 'birds though. The thing about 4thgen handles (which I looked at before using what I did), is that they are mounted on a composite door panel which doesn't allow you to graft the surrounding skin, you would have to make a custom recess to use a 4thgen handle plus, they still have a divorced lock that is surface mounted.

The stock handles are not unfitting of the car design but, they are still just crappy recycled handles from nearly every car since 1970. The only 'update' GM did to make them more fitting is coated them in a matte black finish.

 

Deadbird, those door handles look SWEET!! I dunno about shaving the handle but leaving the lock. For me, shaving the lock is a big security plus. Then thiefs cant use a screwdriver to get in. I would probably shave the locks before shaving the handle. But I have to say, Deadbirds handles look the best out of anything I've ever seen on a 3rd gen (and the best tech article about doing the mod too).

 

i would use a recessed lock out of a newer car and just graph the metal to conform to it....would look alot nicer then having a raised portion like the stock lock.

 

Thank you much Crazy
As an 'added feature'... since the handles came from a 4 door car.. you can use the front handles with the lock (takes a smoothe bastard file & 2 mins. to make the GM lock cyl fit) or, for those who are worried about the perps.. you can use the rear handles with a remote lock (JCWhitney sells them cheap)..

 

how do you get the gas in it? is it in the hatch area?

 

You never heard of people jamming screwdrivers in the keyhole to pop the lock and open the car? SEEING AS HOW YOU CAN OPEN THE DOOR BY TURNING THE KEY,would make it quiker/easier to steal the car or its' stereo. There is some other method where they rippout the entire lock cylinder to get into cars,saw it on one of those nightly news programs awhile back.

 

Have you ever heard of pulling on the top of the window reaching in and unlocking the door? These cars are one of the easiest to get into. The window doesnt have a frame of metal around it like some cars do. and like i said before, im NOT doing this as a theft det. And even if you HAVE handles and locks, once you breake the lock with the screw driver you can open the door anyway so what the hell is your point? How is my method making it easier? Do you think the scumbags would brake the lock then stand there scratching their head wondering whats next forgetting to pull on the handle?

 

Oh what the **** ever dude no need to get hostile. I wasn't trying to be an *** either . Also I wasn't just talking about our cars but not every "scumbag" knows,or is smart enough, to pull the window back to get inside.I can take pictures of my brother's T/A where some ahole messed up his doorlock cylinder to get inside and steal his stereo.. my brother t/a has T-tops too! The point is when you go to get in your car you put in the key, unlock the door ,pull the handle and open the door>it takes longer than just jamming in a screwdriver and turning it and opening the door. Whe my brother's car was broken into he was parked(with one car next to him) in the front of the parking lot by the windowed front store so you think that the guy had to be pretty quick since no one saw it happen. I was just merely pointing out that it could be a problem nothing more...geeze

 

its all a moot point, because if someone really wants into your car, they can do it, its that simple. Break a window, and bam, your in.... if you wanna mod your doorhandles to look cool, sweet, do it. If you think its a stupid Idea.. dont do it.

I dont know what all this and sissy arguing is all about.

 

Personally I like a simple stock look too, I just had my (originally black) handles painted red to match the body. Looks pretty smooth in my opinion.

 

No chit,it wasn't even suppose to instigate an argument nor was I against his idea,kinda cool in fact...but in certain instances it could happen...just saying that it's another possible way for people to steal your stuff and not that customization is a bad idea. I'm sorry that I brought it up.

 

I did the opposite, lave the handles, shave the locks. Keyless Entry.

 

I wasnt trying to be an *** either i just didnt understand how my mod would make it easier for a scumbag to steal the car.Whats it take a fraction of a second to pull the handle up?

Like it or not( i know i dont like it) our cars are very easy to steal. Especialy if you are like me and have tilt wheel. handles and locks or no handles and locks the windows are the weakest point and their really isnt much we can do about them.

I guess the only way to keep your car safe is a kill switch/alarm/ pop off wheel / turn your front tires when you park/ buy a shotgun for when your at home and you hear your alarm going off.

Back to the subject, i saw some really thin locks today that wouldnt stick out as much as the stock locks do, this summer im gonna try the mod and see how it turns out...

 

definately flushed or recessed would be better then the cheap locks we have.

as far as the above picture....i'm not so sure now about painting them body color. i think i'd have to see it in person.

 

i've always tossed around the idea of using the handles off of the C\K series trucks from around the same age of our cars. they are recessed and look flat to the door, have a lock included (not seperate like our cars) and are just about as abundant as our cars (meaning cheap). but, no time, money, or tools (at school) means no body work.

 

its an all or nothing approach, shave it all or leave it all.

it is a good idea though

 

shaved locks, gas cap and side body moldings

 

forgot the pic, here it is:

 

I would shave the handles and locks give a real clean look

 

well anyone heard of a battery buddy? ya know the portable jump starters? i have one in the side compartment of my rear hatch. well what if you ran that positive and negative hookups to somewhere on the car that you can access IF the battery does die? all youd have to do is hook up the battery jumper and bam its done. thats my teenage imagination i think it would work.

 

threads way off topic now.

I posted about a mod that would allow you to use NO electrical work but would let you shave the door handles and keep the locks. It would make the locks act as the handles. I would never use electric method only to open my doors because im not going to be the idiot out in the cold or rain one day climbing through the hatch or pulling "Jumper buddy" wires out from under my car.

Simple rehook the handle rod to the lock, shave the handle, smooth the lock, paint to match,done.

No remote battery to die no car battery to fail and leave you out, no poppers to die nothing!

 

.


dont feel bad.. you inspired my idea of a removable lock "handle"..

so when i get to the body work part, i can now shave the handles, flush the locks, and still be strip legal...

 

Im glad someone got what i was talking about, Post some pics when your done.

 

look in deadbirds post, about 19 posts up.

see the lock he has on the car that is just below being flush with the door?

thats the kind im thinking of... one small round circle on the door.

99% of the time, i'll use my keyless door popper... the 1% of the time at the track or when the batt is not connected, i'll use the key.

i kinda like the idea... best of both worlds.

 

I had to smooth my door lock with the door last night.
I caught two *******s trying to pry out my door lock.
The door lock didnt give but the door did, I had a small hole in the door. I smoothed the lock even with the door and painted it to match.
Never caught them either. I posted about it in the v6 section.
Great BD present isnt it?

 

yea, i just read...

get a alarm dude..





(like im one to talk... i park with the top down and dont have a alarm... )