Shaved door handles

[sound_xtreme]

i would get mine shaved but since my alero is my everyday driver im worried about in the winter when my door freezes shut and im not left with a handle to pull on

Mine is an everyday driver. it cracks the ice the first time you hit the button. proly easier than if you had handles.

[sound_xtreme]

here's a crappy pic of my car.

If your happen to run across having your door frozen, could you not just pour a bucket of warm water over the frame and melt what's frozen?....Unless for some reason it's frozen from the inside!

Heh, can't tell you how many times I've done that ^^ with my car. That's what happens when you wash it and don't wipe down the door molding good.

[johny_boy32]

OK I will add a ?....how much did your shaved handles run you sound?

I would not suggest doing this yourself, mainly because these solenoids, and their operation/alignment and mounting must be flawless... If you dont know what you are doing, dont be surprised if you run into problems later on. And as far as shaving yourself, I would rather have a body shop do mine, because it is a difficult process to look perfect (and I mean inspection perfect) I would not want to look down the side profile of my car and see a ding/dent or any impression from where the work was done. You can get the work done pretty cheap compared to the prices I've heard quoted - I live in Canada, and I'm having it done for under 400 CDN. If you want the labour/paint cost to go down, you could always have them only paint from the trim/body line and upwards... BTW I have spent the last year coming up with a fool proof backup plan system that should be able to prevent/get you out of any sort of glitch/failure/seize/freeze up that you may encounter, I would recommend getting in touch with me before having your handles shaved. Also, if you are skeptical about the poppers, have them installed while your handles are still on the car (and you have the option of deactivating your door handles once you do that) That way, if you ever find that they seize up on you, or you dont like the way they work, all you have inversted in is the price of a kit (which you can sell) and the shop install labor price. I am going down this route b/c I dont have enough cash right now to have the poppers installed AND the shaving done, and I dont want my car on my driveway right now with the handles on and operational, since a few months ago my car had been broken into by the thieves prying under the door handle and messing around with the rods inside to gain entry. This way if they do pry under the handles now and hit the right rod to unlock the door, they wont be able to use my (de-activated) door handle to open the door once its unlocked.... Trust me I've looked at this procedure from all angles, and I would like to think I have it all mapped out. If ANYONE has any questions or concerns, by all means, post your questions and I'll try my best to answer them. BTW - would you be shaving all four doors on your car or just the front two? The reason I ask, is because most popper kits (the better ones atleast) come with a 7 channel control unit, and if you plan on using any sort of remote starter/trunk release/alarm, you MAY run into issues depending on how many other remote items/features you have - though there are channel expanders for some units, so that is also an option for some people.

Later
Landon,

ok, i have done them many of time wirerd up the popers never had any prob`s with tme at all
like sound said the popers are way strong
think about it for a minute.....35lb poper openin a door....ya no prob
as far as "bondo crakin" if that ever happens then the body man should put his tools down and quit fixin cars
a well preped area and ready for bondo will never ever crack
welding has strong points and down sides too warpin rusting
now the way i do my handles is i use a product by duramix that bonds metal to metal and fights rust ya jusy have to know what ur doin that`s all
now that`s my 2 cents

[johny_boy32]

so how much are we looking at for the kit?

[sound_xtreme]

i got my kit for 50 bucks through F.B.I cause i know people. but you can probably get one for around 100 bucks.

Poppers are the EASY part. welding a plate is the hard part. bondo/bondo glass/kevlar mix(my personal fav) isnt too bad either, sand and prep it real good(Prepsol - dupont i think).

expect to spend a lot of time sanding and maybe redoing parts if you have never done this. and the welding part you have to be REAL carful not to warp your doors.

if you have more ?'s you can find me on AIM, YIM, and MSN a lot.

True, I know that the bondo "shouldnt" crack, but I have heard of body shops offering ridiculously lower prices to have doors shaved, simply because they dont weld a plate in and just glass or bondo in the hole, and without the proper support, Ive heard that cracking will be a likely problem. Just for clarification the kit sold by FBI mini ( http://www.fbimini.com/products_deta...?item_no=dp102 - currently on sale for $59.99 USD) does not come with a Kickout springs or a control unit and remotes, so those of you planning to install poppers and dont have an aftermarket keyless entry/remote starter/alarm system, may have to look into buying one. I am not sure what the capabilities are of the factory keyless entry, but Im sure someone would be able to fill us in on that one. FYI Most popper kits that do come with a control unit and remote(s) normally have a 7 channel unit, which will be more than enough channels for most people to also hook up their starter, etc... I cant stress it enough - DO YOU RESEARCH, there is a lot to know about the lil intricacies of poppers and install options and body work etc..., I spent quite a while talking to people about kits, install options, Good/Well Priced bodyshops etc before i went ahead with it (appointment booked for Dec 19th ) Im sure Sound as well as myself would be more than happy to answer any questions. Post them or pm me with your questions.

Landon

[sound_xtreme]

i got mine with everything for 50 but i use the stock remote and wires. it can be done with or without an aftermarket one.

i still have the remote kit and would sell really cheap if someone wants it.

So Landon... have you found someone in town to do it yet? I like the idea about ppl not being able to break in... and seeing sound_xtreme's car, it actually looks quite nice on a four door. Not that I'd have money enough to get the handles shaved/car painted right off the hop, but in the future...

Yeah it looks like I found someone else to do it who actually has even more experience with kits than the last guy, so thats always a plus I actually got the call from the shop that turned me down, and made a call right afterwards and had my next appt. booked five minutes later... and all for the same "friendly pricing" that the first place (my buddy who owns/runs a shop) was going to do it for = :thumbsup: Lemme know if you do decide to go ahead with it, I am not sure about any extra issues that one may have to worry about when doin it on a 4 door, but Im sure you and I could brainstorm and work out a wicked plan, and get you some mean deals too ! Lemme know - later

[sound_xtreme]

i dint put poppers in the rear doors, i may some day but it is really easy to just reach in since the handles are up front.

Hey Sound, how many channels are available from the stock remote and unit? What features does the stock unit offer, and what did you have (ie: does the stock unit offer remote start or just keyless entry and trunk pop)

Also, if you have any underbodies on your car, and the stock system is anything like the unit I have, Im going to be using my panic feature button on my remote to trigger my underbodies (using an extra relay or two) meaning that I will be able to use my panic button to turn on the underbodies. The reason for using the panic button was because I ran outta channels with my aftermarket unit - but heres the neat part. The panic feature on most cars is equipped/programmed with a timer, and normally lasts around 2 min, so I can trigger my underbodies, and never have to worry about it draining my battery, even when the buttons get pushed in my pocket (not that that happens lots...). Therefore, you not only have remote underbodies, but a fail-safe on your underbodies to prevent you from forgetting to turn them off... I thought it was pretty neat, though I havent had it done yet. Car goes in the shop on Friday the 19th of Dec, so i will keep you updated as to how it all turns out...
:thumbsup:

[sound_xtreme]

just keyless entry, trunk, and panic. lock button becomes useless unless you want to pop all doors at once. hit the unlock button once for drivers side, twice for drivers and passengers.

you have to read the book and turn off the auto-un/lock feature also. otherwise when you turn on/off the car it will open your doors.

panic button could proly be done but it would proly be a pain to figure out.

i also have an emergency lock under the car mounted in the rail(where most install their neons). I had to use a couple relays to cut power off from the stock wires and essentially hot wire it to the battery.(if you dont use relays nothing happens and stuff starts smoking (and i think you'll blow a fuse).

oh yea, one more thing. if you use the stock wiring, you'll have to put a bigger fuse in. it'll blow the small stock rating the first time.

I also have an emrgency jumper cable(2 ga power wire) just in case my battery was to completely die. most poppers will work with very low voltage tho.

True, I know that the bondo "shouldnt" crack, but I have heard of body shops offering ridiculously lower prices to have doors shaved, simply because they dont weld a plate in and just glass or bondo in the hole, and without the proper support, Ive heard that cracking will be a likely problem.
^^^ huh???? if a body man is just fillin in the hole with bondo or glass there`s no way the filler would just be ozin and ozin no way to fill a hole that way
weldin can be a bad thing too rustin behind the panel warping the panel
iam speakin from experience here nno matter how good a welder you are it will warp
happened to me and allot of people, the duramix product is freakin great, anybody here that does body work and has used a duramix product knows what iam talkin about
the stuff is basiclly liquid welding and it won`t rust!!!
through my boss he is a jobber for autoloc, and he gets the poper kits for 20 bucks!!
come next spring when iam doin mine i will post pics and show ya guys the dura mix product and silent`s car as well
any custom work takes time to do it right iam curious how much this body shop is charing you to do this????
is ur ride a 4 or 2 door
allot of labor allot of paint labor
what kind of paint system do they use???
oh one more thing do not constanly bug the shop trust me we don`t like that when a customer is buggin the hell out of us "when is my car goin to be done"
we hate that...lol....
any more questions let me know

[johny_boy32]

Hey Aleross...how much is it gonna run you then?

Well basically - it's kinda hard to say. I had two insurance claims from this year, the first being a VERY minor rear ending, and the second is from when those bastard theives broke in (see pic below). Basically, I took it to the shop, and had them look at what autopac (the car insurance place for us manitobans) had alloted in the claim for shop labour and supplies, and see if they could work in some of the Shaving/painting process into my claim. Basically they said that they would be able to fix the lil scratch and dent on my back bumper (from the first claim), fix & paint my pass. door (from where the beak-in occured), pull a dent out on my drivers door, and do the shaving and painting for a mere $150 more than my $200 deductible. All in all I will be paying $350 for a job that Ive heard quoted for MUCH higher. This is one of the best shops around for body work. I know that they are using PPG paints, but I just emailed them to get the other specs that you asked about, as I cant remember from when they took me on a walkthru of their shop(though I believe their booth is a down draft booth - but then again, im not sure what that translates into as Im not up on my painting process knowledge...). BTW my car is a 2 door, so obviously, it would be cheaper than a four door, but I think that anyone can agree, that for the price I am paying, and for the quality of work I will be having done, most people couldnt argue that I'm getting one hell of a deal... And not to drag this post out, but it to sweeten the deal, this business is another one of those businesses that I COMPLETELY trust, and I dont say that about businesses quite often. I think the peace of mind of having a quality shop which you have a good repor always makes things much easier, and less stressful, wouldnt you guys agree?

Sorry - pardon the two feet of salt on the car, and the other 3 inches of dirt on the car, lol, its been way too cold to wash the car lately... :P