Suicide Doors

What are Suicide Doors?

SUICIDE DOORS complete free step-by-step guide on how to modify your car doors. Why are they called "suicide" doors? In the old days, these doors were prone to open in a crash, and, since most vehicles did not have seatbelts, the driver and any passengers could be ejected out of the car in an accident. So driving a car this dangerous was said to be "suicidal."

Also, you didn't have to be driving to be killed by the "suicide doors". If you are parked alongside the road and start to climb in or out of the car you better make absolutely sure that no vehicles are approaching. If you open a normal car door into traffic it will be ripped off the vehicle. However, if you have suicide doors and open the door into traffic it will be violently slammed shut. If you happened to be climbing in our out of the vehicle at the time, you would more than likely be crushed and killed instantly.

Therefore, anybody crazy enough to own a vehicle with these doors would have to be suicidal.

And that's how the term "suicide doors" originated.

Before you begin:

• The electrical wires for door controls, power mirrors, and speakers will need to be extended by at least a few feet. This is because the wiring will have to come out of the rear of the door and then routed through the body of the car until they can be reconnected. If you are not comfortable with cutting these wires and extending them, you will need the assistance of someone who will do it for you . I'm sure that you know someone that's an electrician or someone that can install stereo systems.
  
• Warranty: Will you void the warranty on your vehicle if you rip the doors off and apply this modification? You should check first with your agent and/or automotive manual if this is a concern for you.
  
• You should also check with local laws before you begin as this conversion may or may not pass vehicle inspection. Some states and provinces do not permit extremely modified doors.
  
• Feasibility - Even though sucide doors can be engineered on any vehicle you need to ask yourself if the conversion makes sense to you. Ideally suicide doors look great on 2 door vehicles however you can also convert a 4 door vehicle as well.

Despite what you may believe, suicide doors are not that difficult to install. There are plenty of body shops out there that will charge you $3,000-$5,000+ for this modification, but that is a ridiculous price to pay for what you are really getting. Yes, it looks like an extreme mod, and it does require a lot of hard work, trial and error, and patience. However, the only parts that you will need can be obtained for less than $700.

The toughest part of this project will be welding. If you have cutting and welding tools, you should have no trouble at all.

Suicide Doors Parts List

Obtaining the parts for this modification is not difficult at all. Given the popularity of this conversion since 2010 there are many off the shelf suicide door kits available today. You can either buy just the hinges or a complete suicide doors kit.

The parts for a succesful conversion consist of the following:

• Heavy duty, flex-free hinges, and hinge hardware
• Door and jamb pockets
• Bear Claw latches and strikers
• Install plates for the latches and strikers
• Hidden dome light switches

 (Above is a picture of the complete kit.)

 (Above is a picture of the door hinge system.)

(Above is a picture of the Bear Claw latches and strikers.)

These are the toughest and most reliable door latches that you can find. These will keep your door latched shut, and they will pop the door open when activated. The latches mount to the end of the door, and the striker pins mount to the inner door jamb on the vehicle. The Bear Claw latch "grabs" the striker pin when the doors are closed. When the Bear Claw latch is activated by the door handle or a remote door opener button, the door is popped from the striker and opens enough for you to open the door and get in.)

(Above is a picture of the install plates for the Bear Claw latches and the strikers.)

NOTE: In order for you to be able to open your door with the factory door handle, you will need to engineer some type of lever from your door handle to the Bear Claw latch. This is impossible for me to cover in detail because of the many different ways that car door handle systems operate. This can be as simple as welding a rod from the handle to the Bear Claw release lever.

An even better solution to this problem is to shave your door handles. (They're going to be on the wrong end of the door anyways!) Since you are getting rid of the door handles, you can simply install an electric solenoid to activate the Bear Claw latch. The beauty of this is that your vehicle will be very streamlined and appear very customized without door handles. You will also have a remote door popper on your key ring that will open your suicidal door for you! Talk about getting attention! This is the preferred solution, and this will be the method that I discuss.

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