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SHAVING ELECTRONICS
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RADIO ANTENNA
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Ok some of you have been wondering about the radio reception w/o the antenna. Well here is what I did!
So I got ticked and decided to play around with it. Kandied91Z said he left his antenna connected and put it under his dash. So I got to play with it one night. I reconnected the antenna wire to the radio. I had the brace and crap that went in the fender. With just it reception still sucked, so I connected the antenna rod back on. That did the trick. So I had to find a way to get it all in the car under the dash. So I lowered both sides of the underside of the dash, the panels above your shins and feet... I took the antenna rod off the wire and bracket. I then put it all the way to the firewall on the passenger side. I then slid it below and to the back of the radio pod. Somehow I got it to poke out on the other side. I pulled it to the driver’s side till I had enough clearance to put the base, wire, & bracket on. I put this whole contraption and tucked it up and checked the radio...still got reception.
So I put back the passenger side under dash panel and then the driver’s side panels. You can't even tell what I did to look at it. It works just fine. No shorts or interference! Probably all the coating and insulation I put down on the flooring!
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DOOR POPPERS
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Door Popper install:
Ok here is how my install went.....
You have to take off your door panels and look inside at the latch mechanism. Its located on the end of the door @ middle height.
Now look at the latch this is what you should see.
Now the next step is to pull the door latch while looking at the latch mechanism. Watch what it moves in the mechanism. See what controls what.
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NOTE:
I made a mistake and accidentally tripped the door latch in the mechanism with the door open, like it would be when it shuts and hits the door pin. It’s a safety catch that moves and locks so the door will not open till the handle is pulled. Once the handle is pulled a lever moves and releases the lock on this part of the latch. When this part releases you would normally be able to pull the door open. Just in case you do the same thing...
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On f-body doors here is the layout...
I believe the inner handle and outer handle and outer handle attach to a different arm on the latch mechanism. I picked the hole that had the most straight shot from the bottom of the door...It believe it was the outer door handle arm.
As I look at the passenger side latch mechanism, I as if you were looking in thru the door...Inner door handle rod pulls to open the door...and is attached on the right side of the latch mechanism to a hammer looking arm.
There is a rod attached above this...the inner unlock/lock rod.
These are NOT the arms I chose.
On the left (outer most) side of the latch mechanism, there are 2 arms.
The top arm is where the key lock attaches.
I choose to attach the solenoid to the arm beneath this one on the latch mechanism. This is the outer door handle arm. As you pull on the door handle this arm is pushed downward. So the solenoids action will be to pull it downward from below.
Details on the latch mechanism arm for the outer door handle. My latch arm has a top side with a hole and a side that faces you that has a hole in it. The top hole is the hole the door handles rod goes into. This arm travels up and down on a metal rod with a spring on it. I used the hole that faces you.
There is no rod attached in this hole. I can only assume this is a universal door latch mechanism because it has so many multiple holes on the same arms. If only the pics had come out!
So now you have isolated the what and how. You then get the solenoid and find a place to mount it where it lines up with the hole of the latch that is pushed by the connecting rod when you pull the outer handle.
You use the hardware supplied with the kit to and attach it to this lever.
Picture of installed unit:
I spent some time with a friend pulling the door handle repeatedly while I placed the solenoid and hook, just to see where the binding might be and what areas were clear. I also attached it and had them pull the handle to see what it would do.
I think the metal hook that VPA uses to attach to the latch keeps it from binding. As the latched arm goes up and down using the outer door handle this metal hook remains rigid and moves down with the arm.
Door latch at rest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Door latch being pulled (kit installed)
Let me describe the VPA system...
The VPA kit had a metal hook piece that was shaped like a horse shoe with longer ends, like a paper clip loop. One leg was longer then the other. In fact, it was the thickness of a paper clip wire, but it was flattened on the longer end, not round... It hooked through the hole where the door handle rod attached...
There was a plastic hoop, like a small rubber band (not stretchy though) that went over the hook once it was put through the hole. So it will not slip off. The wire that came out of the solenoid then was attached to it. The 2 pieces of metal we held together by a bolt with an oval hole I drilled in it and a nut.
The original piece in the kit had a bolt with the center out (split shaft) so it was like a horse shoe. This did not work at all. The 2 ends would squish together as you tightened down and actually allow the nut to fall off.
You will have to get a small bolt that is short and a nut that fits it. Be sure it has a thick enough shaft to drill a oval hole thru that will allow the thickness of your solenoid's wire through it and the hook's end. I say oval because you need to get the flat end of the hook thru it. To install it, you take the bolt w/ oval hole...drop the hook's longer flattened end through it from above. If you made your hole the right size then the flattened part will only fit thru when oriented with the oval. Then the flat part will suspend your bolt for you. Then stick the solenoids wire in through the bottom. Not the nut. As the nut tightens, it holds the 2 together. It was a pain to do. I basically got it almost tight and then looked at the directions and set the solenoid's wire tension accordingly.
My directions stated that there had to be X amount of slack, so the solenoid could retract to a resting position, but still be able to pull the lock down. It took some fiddling to get it just right. The flat wide end made it so the bolt would not slide off the hook, and I used a set of needle nose pliers to pull and hold the solenoid wire as I did the final tightening.
With a few test runs you adjust the length and final placement of the solenoid, so it works at its best efficiency.
Passenger side door
Drivers side door
I sintalled this kit on 2 cars. Mine I used the backets you see below.
On the other car I did the install w/o out them. Seemed to work fine both ways. Using the barcket helps get the solenoid in better orintation, but in all honesty the solenoid does not care.
My only problem was with the solenoid slipping and cocking to the right or left inside the door. This added extra tension on the solenoid and the latch. The solenoid was sitting at an angle and this angle caused it to slightly pull down on the door handle arm on the latch mechanism. If there was enough downward tension, once the door was locked it would not unlock. The inner lock mechanism was jammed. It was strictly the solenoid slipping from side to side, though. I added another bolt to stop the slippage and fixed that. Oddly, it never had to do that to the passenger door...
Quick illustration...I'm sure this has happened to you...you and a passenger are getting about to get in the car. The doors are locked. You unlock yours and get in. You go to unlock theirs and they pull up on the outer handle at the same time. Now the door will not completely unlock. Mom had a power lock that hung sometimes. I would assume it unlocked and it would not and I would pull the handle as she unlocked again. Door would not unlock. This is the situation the solenoid slipping caused.
You then add your striker/popper.
The door striker/popper will rest against the striker plate
It will provide tension that once the door latch is pulled by the solenoid; it will push the door catch past the door pin.
I don't know what the VPA solenoid is rated at, but the poppers/strikers are 25lbs. I had to drill a 1/2 in hole in the door to mount it, but it was the easiest part of the whole process.
My mom thought I was nuts though. The 25lb poppers pop the door just enough to get your fingers in the jam & they keep me from worrying about smacking another car in the parking lots.
Am I satisfied with VPA?
Yes! I had to modify some VPA components a bit. The screw that was used to attach the solenoid cable to the latch mechanism kept slipping, so I had to redesign that part. After that I have not had a problem.
I hope this is clear. Its not easy for me to explain without a door here to point to and show you what I mean. I hope to take some more technical pics, now that I have access to the parts on my Project 82 bird.
As far as what to do if there is a power failure, due to battery drain. Well thanks to the F-bodies back hatch, I can always go in that way. If the remotes battery dies, you can mount a switch on the exterior of the car to pop the door in lue of the remote.
Others have addressed what I do in freezing weather. Some have said rather then using a popper kit, I should have used a remote that would roll down my windows. In my opinion, windows actually aren't as reliable. Rolled up and down multiple times a day and in bad weather on a daily driver would be a bigger pain. I would rather wear out a solenoid and replace it then a power window motor, esp. @ our car's age. They are prime age for failure due to being old & worn out. So I would think they would be less practical.
I have had the "Poppers" on my car since 1999. In fact, I had installed them, but them I still had door handles. I wanted to be sure they worked properly for some time before I removed the handles. And once, and only one instance, the door did freeze shut, but even the handle could not open the door. And the solenoid was actually still working as I hit the remote for the doors. I could hear it actually pulling the latch. But simply put, the door was frozen shut. The rear hatch was frozen shut as well. I had to get a hair dryer and heat up the door where the rubber weather strip was. In a minute or 2 the door popped open just fine.
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HOME PAGE
Follow this link to additional information on the car not found on this site!
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DIRECTORY FOR RAIF'S EXTERIOR SITE
01 Site Overview
02 Red Window Tint
03 Red Window Vinyl
04 Stance
05 Bumper Insert Conversion
06 Ground Effects
07 Lower GFX Spoiler
08 SunCoast Hood
09 Shaving
10 Shaving Electronics <<<
11 Antenna Relocation & Gas Tank Filler Neck Reroute
12 Headlight Conversion
13 Clear Front Turn Signals
14 Exterior Underbody Neon
15 Strobes
16 Spoiler
17 4h Gen Mirror Conversion
18 Tailights
19 Primer
20 Paint
21 Emblems
22 Smoothed TA Fender Vents
23 Clear Rear Side Markers
24 Paint: Jam Touch Up
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