Is it possible to replace the electric hatch pull down with just a plain old fashioned trunk latch. I really do not want something as tempermental as these are protecting everything in my car. I just want a plain old fashioned trunk latch. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

you can weld the stock one, but the next owner might not appreciate that, ive heard of people using the older style non pull down trunk latch, i think they were on the very early thirdgens, but i dont think your hatch will close as tight as it would with a electric pull down

 

I bought a Z-28 new in '85 (I know, I know, THAT was a looooong time ago) and it was the last year the manual was installed. '86 had the first electric pull down.

 

i knew there was a time period but i didnt remember if it was 82-84 or 85, now i know 86 was the last year thanks for the info

a question i have for anybody else here, and it may help the original poster is, how hard is it to switch to the manual latch style, i think i remember seeing you had to drill new holes to mount it, and alot of measuring to line it up right and have it at the right height, is that correct?

 

I had an 87 with a worn out motor. I pulled away the plastic cover that goes over the motor, closed the hatch and pushed it down until the motor shut off, then crawled inside and disconnected the wires to the motor. Works like a manual hatch ever since.

 

The 82-85 Hatch release soleniod can not simply be screwed down to an 86-91 car,... that will not work. It is possible to drill ot the spot welds from the hatch solenoid bracket from an 82-85, drill out the spot welds and remove the original 86-91 hatch motor bracket, then weld teh 82-85 bracket into the 86-91 car. ( overkill unless your swapping to the early style interior ans 'need to' to account for interior panel changes. )



If your car has the optional hatch release than it will still work normally too !

 

Top down solutions has the fix that will solve all your problems. It is a great repair kit with solid instructions. My wife and I did ours in a few hours and now it works great.

 

Yes I can help with repairing the hatch pull-down unit. I can't help with welding, baling wire, drywall screws, duct tape or any of the other items I've seen used in a mistaken attempt to "fix" their pull-down unit.

Lon