How the heck does this stupid thing come off??? Its a 90 firebird with the electric pull down hatch. I dont see a way to get the cover off of the outside of the car. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

anybody?

 

The lock cylinder was trashed on the outside and the etrunk release did not work becuase the motor was missing from the pull down assy. I removed the trunk release from the front of the assy and inserted screw driver to turn the lock release to the open position and unlocked the trunk. Of course the struts did not function and you can get a great workout lifting the trunk lid repeatedly. Viewing from the top inside looking down on the lock cylinder you will see the clip on the right hand side. Pull the clip out and push the lock cylinder out. There was a plastic assy on the end of the lock cylinder that retains the pull wire from the trunk release solenoid. I damaged it when removing from the lock cylinder but don't plan to use it anyway. NAPA has a universal lock that fits the trunk but the notches that fit into the bore do not line up properly so a little filing is needed to align the key slot vertical. The NAPA lock cylider has the cylinder lock retainer clip installed from the top. This worked for me hope it works for you.

 

On a Firebird, you have to remove the tail lights and the tail light center panel. Then you will see the lock assembly is riveted to the rear sheetmetal panel.
Obviously, you'll need to figure out how to get the hatch released first.

 

they way i got the hatch open on a bird when i couldn't pop it was to unbolt the hatch hinges off the roof, tilt the door towards the back of the car as far as it would go, got a saws-all out and cut the loop. Had someone holding the hatch so it wouldn't go flying, pushed it back a lil farther after i cut the first half of the loop, to cut the back of the loop. Didn't scratch any interior panels and didn't ruin the weather stripping. Went to the junk yard and got another loop off of a car and replaced it in ten minutes for $5. Just an option.

 

I already got the hatch open and ordered the new lock. Thanks for the info!