Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - 07:16 pm, by: Roger Costello(Roger)
I recommend the new Gillette Mach III turbo with the electric vibrator thingy, really quick. About $20 at Woolworth's. What the heck is a shaved handle (pardon my ignorance)?
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - 07:37 pm, by: Dominik Bloemhard(Dominik)
My cima had shaved doorhandles when it came in, and i had to mod them so that i could open them from the outside (not roadworthy with just a remote control).
The guy who did the side intrusion bars put pins in the top of my doors (look like oldschool door lock buttons), which you push down to open the door. Cost me $220 for all 4 doors.
Shaving doorhandles isnt that hard - they just take the handle out and weld a plate of metal over the hole (on the inside). Then putty and respray the door
If you are getting the remote door openers installed its just like installing central locking - the actuators are the same just a bit bigger...
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - 07:38 pm, by: Thomas Mulraney(Mxt_imports)
Roger, a shaved handle is where the handle is removed completely from the door and the hole either welded or bogged up so as to give a clean finish to the door. Same as having the lock on the boot shaved off which is also common (although not really possible on a Soarer).
Sam, I would say it would be pretty expensive. Given that it costs approx $300 - $500 just to have badges removed, holes closed and paint resprayed. Also, you would have to invest in an electrical system that automatically pops the door/s open when the alarm is de-activated. But don't let that discourage you if you really want a custom look, personally I reckon it would look awesome! I've seen it on a few other show cars and it really finishes off the streamlined appearance.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - 08:14 pm, by: Miles Baker(Milesb)
I reckon if you got a piece of door skin from a crashed door it would be dead easy. The popper kits are available all over the web. All you need is a weekend, some careful template work, and someone who can tack weld the piece in for you. Then just take it down and get the door resprayed. It's just simple bodywork.
But not having door handles sucks. The ones I have seen, you have to stick your fingers in the crack and pull the door open while the popper does its thing. Soarer doors are heavy.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - 10:42 pm, by: Henri Huynh(Ntyce)
dont get it.. i had it on my car and about 2 days, i got done for it, they only gave me 3 days to get new doors and get the yellow off. the problem with it was that if you get into a crash, people cant get to you cause they cant open the doors, which is fair enough... wasted so much money getting it and then having to put new doors then painting it afterwards. so dont waste your time, and money, its always a good idea to start with, but a real big problem afterwards. oh and since the soarer doors are too heavy, 80% of the time the popper wouldnt pop out all the way, so the door would still be hooked on to the latch, so you have to stand there and push the door back in and try again.
Thursday, September 08, 2005 - 12:18 am, by: Jeff Hogan(Hoges)
i personally dont like the look, cars have doorhandles, thats just the way it is, and i think the soarer ones are pretty good as far as handles go. My old boss at work got them on his Excel, but had to leave the keyhole there, which looked even worse. He had a remote that you had to press about 3 buttons to get the door to open, and one day the actuators stuffed up and both his doors wouldnt shut, and it was pooring rain lol.
Thursday, September 08, 2005 - 12:58 pm, by: Dominik Bloemhard(Dominik)
Thanks Miles, i thought it came up pretty nicely too!
But yeah, i wouldnt put my trust solely in the remote actuators either (although, they are just the same as central locking actuators which we many people trust their car's security to).
I learnt that one very early on. The day I picked up my Cima from the shipping yard it was drizzly yet the driver's window was down. I didnt understand why, so i jumped in, closed the window and prepared to drive to the compliance workshop. I realised i had left something in the office so on my way past i jumped out of the car and left it idling as i ran to pick up what i had forgotten. As soon as the door closed behind me i had a sinking feeling... and i spent the next 90 minutes learning how to break into a Cima. The remote was actually broken, but even if it had been working it was no use to me dangling from the ignition!
With the pins they are unobtrusive, and also provide something to hold onto when opening the door. But if you do it without the pins, i've seen most kits from the states have door poppers too, which push the door open after the latch has been pulled.
Friday, September 09, 2005 - 01:10 pm, by: Shane Ilich(Ferret)
if you WERE going to do it, how hard would it be to connect the door opening remote to the windows, so that the windows wind down when you hit the remote button to unlock the door, thus giving you something to pull on to open the door.
would be a PITA in the rain, but i'm assuming that someone going to this sort of level of detail on their car is getting it up to show standard, and wouldnt be driving it in the wet all to often anyways?
and BTW, miles, is that an old ford mercury in that pic??? i LOVE the shape of them....but i'd paint it deep black, with purple flames, and keep the white leather tuck n'rolled interior...mmmm
Friday, September 09, 2005 - 09:51 pm, by: Miles Baker(Milesb)
yeah I was always a fan of a black '49/'50 mercury custom chopped top, big chrome grill. that or a '67 Firebird, black, big block, jacked up back with wide ass tyres. hot damn.
Monday, September 12, 2005 - 12:52 pm, by: Dominik Bloemhard(Dominik)
Thanks Damien. The rear door handles did pose a problem until they decided on the pins. It wouldnt be *that* hard though, because you could possibly even mount the handle near the front of the door - its just a linkage to a lever at the door catch.
Another failsafe option (incase you lose the remote) is to put a button under the sideskirt, or inside one of the wheel wells. You would still need an alarm to lock/unlock the doors though.
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