Door lock mod thingy?

[Elderain]

I use alot of technical terms so bear with me The door lock, the lil thing that sticks up right next to the window, that gouges your arm when you try to rest your arm out the window, is there any way to modify that to sit flush instead of 1" above the door? Yes i know it would make it so that I cant unlock it manually but i dont care, i hate not being able to put my arm on my window like i usually do, its pissing me off do you thinkg i could open the door panel, take that lil plastic piece and cut it in half or something??? Anyone ever done this or tried it?

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

remove the door panel. then trim the pole IN THE MIDDLE. when you get the right height, weld it together again.

 

[Elderain]

have you done this before, or was that just a guess. did i just not search for the right topics because i didnt find anything else on this

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

yeah i've done it. i've done it on a corolla. they guy wanted the round type door locks instead of the square, so i had to make a new hole with fiberglas on the door panel. then i had to change the height of the pole as well as add the thread on the end. so i had to cut off the original and add a threaded piece to the end.

 

[Sixmil]

Any mod that you can use a welder for is definetely worth it.. Thats a great idea, Im gonna have to try it.

-Six

 

[Elderain]

I've been calling all my friends looking for a welder lol they all think im crazy. "Hey Bob, do you have a welder?" "Umm... No... Why?" "No reason, Thanks.... Bye!" Grr, Are there places that will rent welders? Is it something that I would be able to do never touching one before? It does sound fun however power tools (welder is close enough) rock, especially when you dont know how to use them lol

 

[Elderain]

BTW... how do you take your door panels off? I still havent been able to find a shop manual yet for my car Anyone know a company that makes them for the MSP?

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

go to home depot and ask to rent a welder. rent-a-center might have one. any equipment rental place should have one. use a tig. it might be easier for a beginner. make sure to make a strong weld tho, you don't want to break that thing.

i've never taken the door panels off my speed yet so i can't help you there. i install car stereos, and stuff like that so i have panel puller tools. i use those to get door panels and stuff like that off. basically, they are really wide screw drivers. another is a flat piece of metal with cut outs to get the lock pins out of the window crank handles. you can use like a flat piece of iron or steel or something like that.

edit: oh yeah, when your trimming the thing from the middle, make small cuts, you don't want to mess up and have something too short.

 

[Elderain]

Thanks alot for the info. I know jack about welding so I will probably ask my dad to help me out. Hes old so I'm sure he knows something. He prolly has a story aboubt being the greatest welder during the great depresion of 1402 or something LOL

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

Thanks alot for the info. I know jack about welding so I will probably ask my dad to help me out. Hes old so I'm sure he knows something. He prolly has a story aboubt being the greatest welder during the great depresion of 1402 or something LOL

haha! don't worry about it. you should only need to touch the pole peice like 4 times b4 you get a strong weld. make beads with the welder. the beads should touch. then grind them down.

 

[KyRaceFan]

cut it in half with a hacksawand use ducktape and bubble gum to stick it back together...

j/k

post pics if and when you get this done...sounds like a pretty unique idea...good times

 

[Elderain]

Actually lol after he said welder, I was thinking about the hacksaw and duct tape thing As soon as I find a welder I will take pics and post a DIY thread, this so far is the only thing I HATE about the MSP. My civic had the locks on the door panel where it didnt effect my arm out the window Sounds like a fun project tho.

 

[YellowMSP4KP]

JB weld and a piece of tubing would work also.

 

[Elderain]

JB Weld
http://www.jbweld.co.uk/
^^ this stuff? That would safely hold 2 pieces of metal together and not break again from using it ever day? Either way, welding sounds much more fun LOL Id rather burn my finger off and get a cool scar saying i was welding rather then gluing my self together lol and trying to explain that one