Installing the Hinge Pockets
The hinge pockets are the
rectangular pieces of metal that the hinge's arm
rotates back into when the door is shut. I've circled the hinge pocket in the
picture above. Above, the hinge arm is extended 90
degrees. The position of the hinge above is the
position it will be in when your suicide door is
open 90 degrees (straight out from the vehicle). Remove the pin on the hinge, and the
arm will separate from the hinge pocket. Do this to
two of the hinges as each door requires 2 hinges. For your door to be as sturdy as
possible, you will want to mount the two hinges on
each door as far apart from each other as you
possibly can. The hinge pockets will mount in the
door jamb of your vehicle. First, remove your door
latching mechanisms from the door jamb. (Not the
door itself) This will probably just be a striker
pin, but some vehicles may have a different latching
system. You now need to determine where to
make the cut-outs for the hinge pockets. Remember
that you need to space them as far apart as possible
so that there will be very little flex. So look at
your door jamb and try to determine where you will
make the cut-outs. Also, since the position of the
hinge pockets dictate the positions on the door
where the the hinges will attach, you need to give
that some thought as well. Don't cut out two large
holes in the door jamb, mount the hinges, and then
realize that you won't be able to mount the hinge to
the door at that position. (Could be due to the door
design, window motor on the inside of the door, etc)
So before you start cutting, be sure to remove the
inner door panel and scope out the inside of the
door. Make sure that the hinge arm can be inserted
into the end of the door at the position of each
hinge pocket. To help you make sense of what I'm
talking about, I've included a couple pictures below
of how the hinge system will be installed.
Now that you can clearly see how the
hinges will be installed, you can begin mounting the
hinge pockets. To choose the best location for each
hinge pocket, remember these tips:
- You want
the hinges to be as far apart from each other as
possible to reduce flex.
- You must
make sure that you have room behind the door jamb
for the entire hinge pocket.
- You must
make sure that there is room inside the door for the
two hinge arms.
- You want
to mount the hinge pockets as close to the outside
of the car body as possible.
This allows the pivot point on the hinge pocket to
be very close to the outside of the car. This allows
the door to swing as far away from the car body as
possible. The last thing you want is for the door to
swing open and dent your car! Once you've decided on
the positions for the hinge pockets, you will need
to make absolutely sure that the hinge pockets are
installed perfectly in alignment. Otherwise, there
will be stress on the pivot points and cause the
hinges to wear out. So take the hinge pockets and
run a slim, straight rod thru the pivot points on
the hinges. The rod ensures that the hinges are in
perfect alignment.
Now take this contraption over to your door jamb and
place the top hinge in the desired position. Make
sure that the hinge's pivot point side is facing the
outside of the vehicle. Now take a pencil or sharpie
marker and trace the outline of the hinge pocket on
the door jamb. Keep holding the top hinge pocket in
place and slide the second hinge pocket down the rod
to the bottom mounting position. Hold the bottom
hinge pocket in place and trace it as well. Mark the
rod at the pivot points so that you will know the
distance between the two hinge pockets. Now
determine if you could slide the two hinge pockets
into the door jamb cutouts from the backside if you were to weld a strip of angled metal across
the back of the hinge pockets. Hopefully, you will
be able to do this. By welding a supporting strip of
metal across the hinge pockets on the backside of
the door jamb, you will effective strengthen the
support of the door tremendously. If for some reason
you cannot weld the hinge pockets together and slide
them in from the backside of the door jamb, you will
especially need to make sure that you cut out the
holes to fit as snuggly as possible.
It is now time to cut out the holes in the door
jamb: The hinge pockets mounted in the
door jamb are going to be supporting the entire
weight of the door. Therefore, the hinge pockets
need to be mounted as sturdy as possible. Do NOT cut
out a sloppy hole and expect to fill up open areas
with a welder. You need to cut the openings as close
as possible to the actual size of the hinge pockets.
Taking the extra time to do this the right way will
pay off in the future. Otherwise you may have a
sagging door.
Start by drilling out the corners as
shown below:
Then you can use a grinder
with a cut off wheel to finish the job:
Remember not to cut too much out.
It's better to cut the hole out small and file it
down to a perfect fit. Once you get the two cut-outs
made, you can slide the hinge pockets (which should
be connected by a piece of angled metal) in from the
back side. (That is, if you have access to the back
side. On some vehicles you may not. If you're one of
these unfortunate few, you may have to cut the
opening out a little larger to allow the pivot point
of the hinge to slide through from the front.)
Hopefully they fit nice and snug. Below is a picture
of the door jamb cutouts with the hinge pockets in
place. Also note the notches on the front of each
hinge pocket. These allow the door to be opened a
full 90 degrees. When welding the pockets in place,
you need to make sure that the backside of each
notch is perfectly flush with the door jamb.
Before you weld the hinge pockets in
place, go ahead and attach the hinge arms to the
hinge pockets with the pins.
Now clamp a chunk of metal to the
hinge arms and test the hinge. Swing it back and
forth mimicking the motion of a door. If it feels
smooth, everything is okay.
Remove the hinge arms and
pull the the hinge pockets out of the holes. You now
need to strip the paint from the openings prior to
welding. Jason recommends using airplane strength
paint remover. Just be careful not to get it on any
other part of your car! Mask off all surrounding
areas before using the paint remover. Otherwise you
may end up ruining your paint job.
After you've stripped the paint,
place the hinge pockets back into place. Make sure
that the notches are flush with the skin of the door
jamb and weld them into place. Jason recommends
using 0.023 mig wire so that a low enough heat can
be used to prevent burning through the skin of the
door jamb. He says, "try practicing first."
Installing the Door Pockets Once the hinge pockets are welded
into place, you can go ahead and attach the hinge
arms. Once the hinge arms are attached, go ahead and
bolt the door pockets to the hinge arms. Once you
have done this, close the hinge in the doorway and
then gently pull the door together (still on factory
hinges) The door will not close all the way because
the new hinge assembly is in the way. What you need
to do now is take your pencil or marker and mark the
positions on the door that need to be cut away for
the door pockets to be installed. The door pockets are installed just
like we did the hinge pockets. Remember to the cut
the holes for the door pockets as precisely as
possible. When you have cut the holes and are
prepared to do the welding, be sure to close the
door all the way. With the door pockets attached to
the hinge arms, you should spot weld the door
pockets to the inside of the door. It is very
important that you at least spot weld the door
pockets to the door while the door is shut in its
factory closed position. After you have spot welded
the door pockets to the inside of the door, you can
unbolt the door pockets from the hinge arms. At this
time, you can finally remove the hinge pins for the
factory hinge! Do NOT remove the whole hinge though!
You will need them later to hold the door in
position while you bolt the door back to the new
hinges. Finish welding the door pockets to the door,
and be sure to do a good job. A lot of weight will
be put on them in the future. Once the door pockets are securely
welded in place, you can take the door back to the
car and sit it in the doorway resting on the factory
hinges. Go ahead and bolt the hinge arms back to the
door pockets. Now I'm sure that you're dying to
swing the door open and check it out! So go ahead
and do it, but be very careful. The inside door skin
is very thin and it will flex. So don't worry when
you open the door and find that it sags. This is
easily fixed by welding cross-members or a piece of
sheet metal across the inner door skin. Rerouting the Electrical Wiring Since the door will be swinging open
on the opposite side, you will have to get rid of
the electrical/speaker wires that run into your door
along the factory hinges. You will need to cut the
wiring and splice in additional wire so that it will
reach out the other side of the door. If you don't
know how to do this, or if you don't feel
comfortable doing this, you should ask a friend with
some experience to help you. Or you can go to your
local stereo installation shop and ask their advice.
They'll be able to tell you what size wire you'll
need, and what tools you'll need. They may even do
it for you at a cheap price. What kind of wires go into the door?
It depends on the vehicle, but typically there are
just speaker wires and door controls. This
installation guide covers shaving the door handles.
Therefore, electric door locks will be useless.
There is no locking mechanism for shaved door
handles. A thief can't open the vehicle without door
handles, so what's the point of needing a lock?
Therefore, if your door controls are just for locks,
you can just remove the wiring and not even worry
about them. Leave at least several inches of the
original wire hanging from the devices on your door.
This way you have room to connect the new wire. You probably have a speaker in the
door that you don't want to disable. You may have a
door control that you don't want to disable as well.
Just determine the wires that you need to keep and
then make plans to extend them. You can take a 2-3 inch section of
each wire that you need to extend to Radio Shack.
Use the sections of wire to find the appropriate
type and size of wire that you will need to extend
them with. Buy a couple feet more than what you
think you'll need. It is definitely better to cut
some off than have to go buy more when you realize
you didn't get enough. Before you can extend the wires out
the other side of the door, you will need to cut an
opening for the wires to pass through. Use your
cutting tool or a large drill to create a circular
opening in the end of the door between your new
hinge arms. Next, do the same thing to the door jamb
between the new hinge pockets. You now have a path
to run your wires out the opposite side of the door
and into the vehicle.
Note: Make
sure that the openings are very smooth. You don't
want the edges to cut into the wiring. You should
also use a section of flexible hose to protect the
section of wire that runs through the metal
openings. This will protect the wires from being
frayed. You can also purchase a custom rubber sleeve
to hide the wiring and make your installation look
even more professional. The following website sells
these rubber grommets: http://www.minorrubber.com.
Now, connect the new wires to the
wires still attached to the devices in the door. You
can connect them however you like. Wire nuts,
special connectors, or solder will work just fine.
Just make sure that you tape up the connections so
that there is no chance of a short occurring.
You will be routing the extended
wires out the other side of the door and through the
door jamb. From there, the wires can be ran to the
floor of the vehicle and then up to the front of the
door hidden under the carpet and/or trim.
The wires that you cut off at the
door jamb should still be sticking out of the door
jamb opening. Push these wires back through the
opening and route them down to meet up with the end
of the extended wires that you just routed to the
front of the door. Connect the original wires to the
matching extended wires using the same method you
used earlier.
Double check your connections!
Before doing anything else, try to use the devices
that you rewired. For example, make sure that you
can still control your power windows, etc. If
everything works, hide away the wiring under trim
and carpet. Installing the Bear Claw Latches It is now time to install the new
Bear Claw latches!
You'll need to determine where you
are going to install the latch on the door. Just
position it so that you can mount the striker plate
and striker at the same position on the door jamb. You can go ahead and remove the
factory hinges if they are in the way. If they are
welded on, you will have to cut them off. Jason ran
into this problem on his 2000 S-10. He removed the
paint on them with paint stripper so that he could
see the burn marks from the spot welds. He then
drilled the spot welds out (all 4 of them) and broke
the hinge off with a hammer. In the picture above, you can see
the install plates for the latch, the bolts that
secure the Bear Claw latch to the install plate, and
the striker pin install plates. Take one of the install plates for
the latch and hold it up against the end of your
door and determine where you want to place the
latch. When you are happy with the position, trace
the outline of the install plate onto the door. Once again you will have to cut out
this shape from the metal. Once again you'll need to
make sure that you get the size as accurate as
possible. Once the shape is cut out, and the install
plate fits nice and snug into the opening, you can
bolt the Bear Claw latch to the install plate and
weld it in place.
Now you need to install the strike
pin and plate. To get it lined up perfectly, go
ahead and latch the strike pin into the teeth of the
latch that you just mounted. Then climb into the
vehicle and pull the door together. Mark the
position on the door jamb where the center of the
strike pin needs to be positioned.
Now, cut out the door jamb just like
you did for the hinge pockets, door pockets, and the
latch plate. If you don't have enough room for the
entire striker plate, you can cut the plate down to
whatever size you need. Then make the appropriate
cut-out and barely spot weld the striker plate in
the door jamb. Go ahead and attach the striker pin
to the plate and try closing the door. Make sure
that the latch is aligned with the striker pin
before you weld the plate in. Now that you have the latch
mechanism installed, you need a way to control it!
The latch has a release lever that will pop the door
open when pulled. Below, I've circled the latch's
release lever:
If you intend to keep your door
handles, you will simply need to weld a rod from the
door handle rod to the latch's release lever. Due to
the shape of the door, you will probably have to
create an odd-shaped connecting rod. A better
solution would be to use steel cable and perhaps a
pulley or two. (Like in the diagram included below.)
This way you can connect the outside door handle AND
the inside door handle to the latch release via
cable. You can attach both the inside and outside
door handles to the latch release by welding two
separate rods, but there will be an odd side effect.
When you lift the inside door handle, the outside
door handle will lift, and vice versa. So using a
cable is the best method to use both your inside and
outside door handles.
However, we want to shave the door
handles and use our keychain to open the doors.
Remote Controlling the Doors
Here are the basics of the remote
door popper. I won't go into extreme detail with
this installation because the different kits come
with different parts and different instructions. I
recommend purchasing the AutoLoc "35lb
Remote Shaved Door Kit"
(Part #: SVPRO3). It is $250, but will provide
everything you will need for a perfect and reliable
shaved door handle installation.
- You'll have a keychain controller
for popping open either the driver or passenger
door. You can also control 4 doors if you have a
4-door vehicle.
- You get a heavy-duty back up
button to install under the vehicle to pop the doors
open in the event that your keychain controller ever
quits working.
- A solenoid will be mounted inside the door
vertically in line with the latch's release lever. A solenoid is a small device that can
pull with a large amount of force. You connect a
steel cable from the solenoid to the latch release
lever. The solenoid can be controlled by the keychain
controller. When the solenoid is activated, it will pull the
release lever and the Bear Claw latch will pop the
door open. The Bear Claw latch requires very little
force to work, and the AutoLoc 35lb solenoid
will be more than enough to pop
the door open immediately every time!
- You get
(2) long range remote control units.
- (3)
Heavy-duty relays.
- 1/16
Pre-stretched stainless steel cable.
- Brackets
and mounting hardware.
The wireless solenoid system is very
easy to install, and it comes with very nice
instructions. All that you need to know is the
basics of how the system works. By knowing the
basics, the installation should go very smoothly, or
you could even opt to design your own solution for
opening the doors.
If you have a very customized car,
and have future plans to automatically pop the trunk
and/or the gas tank, or if you wish to control some
other electronic device, you may want to go with the AutoLoc 16-function remote
systems. The range is up to 300ft, and you can
control a lot more devices with the controller.
Stiffening up the Door At this time you need to stiffen up
the inside door panel to support the weight of the
door. You will need to scope out the inside of the
door and determine where everything will be when you
put the door back together. You need to weld a 1/8" plate to the inside door panel in order for it to no
longer sag. You will need to cut the plate to fit
your particular vehicle. Below is how Jason cut the
plate to fit his 2000 S-10:
He made a template out of cardboard
and transferred the shape to the metal plate. He
used a plasma cutter and a grinder to shape the
metal. He then used tack welds spaced about an inch
apart to secure the metal plate to the inner door
frame. (He also used self-tapping sheet metal screws
to temporarily hold the plate tightly against the
door frame while he welded it.)
Now your door should swing open and
closed just as good as the factory setup! (Only in
reverse!) The Finishing Touches Since your door now opens in
reverse, you will probably want to get rid of the
ugly old hinge marks, latch holes, and wiring holes
that are now visible. To patch wiring holes, you can
cut a piece of sheet metal to size and weld it in
the hole. To get the size of the hole, you can hold
a sheet of paper over it and rub a pencil back and
forth. You then have a template to cut out the sheet
metal.
To hold the small circular
piece of sheet metal in the hole while you weld it
in place, tack weld a piece of metal to the middle
of it. You can then hold it by this piece while you
weld. After you're finished welding, simply break
the piece off.
When you have finished welding
everything, you will need to grind everything down
to where it is fairly smooth.
Use paint stripper to remove the
paint from all of the door jambs and areas that need
refinished.
Before priming the
surface, roughen it up with some course sandpaper or
a sanding disk. This will allow the primer to bond
to the metal better. You can use your favorite auto
body primer to prime the surface. Jason used a Dura-Build
primer. If you are not sure what to use, ask someone
at the body shop supply warehouse. They'll gladly
assist you.
Before spraying primer, be sure to
mask off your vehicle! Trust me, overspray sucks!
It may take a couple coats to hide
your body work. Just be patient and sand each coat
nice and smooth. Use a lower grit sandpaper each
time. You can paint the car yourself, but
if you've never done it before, you may be better
off taking it to a professional. They'll know what kind of paint to
use and how to match it up perfectly. They'll also
do the primer for you if you don't want to mess with
it either.
and.....Thats
it!!!
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