Project Boondoggle (or, so I went and bought a Z!)

[charliekwin]

The power locks kit I ordered arrived today, but this doesn't look promising:

There's maybe 1/8" of extra plastic on both sides that I could remove to narrow the actuator profile, but I don't think that'll be enough to to fit behind the door sheet metal or the door card. My best (maybe only) option may be to mount them down by the door handle, which would probably require some kind of pivot...

Most likely, the kit goes in the closet. Not giving up yet, but at least it was only $30.

[dmorales-bello]

Charliekwin, I mounted mine right against the rear window track and about 1 inch back toward the door handle mechanism. Unless your actuators are larger than mine they should fit in a similar fashion. Look at my pic again.

Edited June 21, 2017 by dmorales-bello

[charliekwin]

I think my actuators are a fair amount thicker than yours are. Mine stick out about 1/4" beyond the edge of the door where the panel clips are, which means I need to lose almost 1/2" total to fit it behind the door card since the door metal is recessed there. The kit came with four actuators, so I have some extras to experiment on. 

[Jaymanbikes]

13 hours ago, dmorales-bello said:

Charliekwin, I mounted mine right against the rear window track and about 1 inch back toward the door handle mechanism. Unless our actuators are larger than mine they should fit in a similar fashion. Look at my pic again.

Dave, interested to see how you routed your wiring into the doors?  Also, what power door lock kit did you use?  Looking on EBay most of the actuators appear to be the same and are priced from one extreme to the other.  Thanks!

[Patcon]

@Jaymanbikes

The cut out in Dave's door looks larger than yours. Look at how close the bell crank is to the door opening versus yours...

[wheee!]

It looks like Dave's actuator is tilted down more and slightly offset from the locking arm. He has bent the actuator rod slightly to make it work. You have yours more parallel to the locking arm. I think it's do-able!

[charliekwin]

It appeared to me that almost every kit sold on Amazon is using an identical (or very similar) actuator. It's a little hard to tell from the angle, but here's what I'm up against. The green line roughly represents where the door card sits, so the profile of the door actuator needs to be reduced by about the amount of the red lines. In the photo here, the back of the actuator is butted up against the window track, so that's the real problem. Removing a bit of metal from the door at either end of the actuator to make room for the length would also need to happen (as they did on Dave's car), but that's an easier problem to solve.

[dmorales-bello]

Sorry I couldn't respond earlier (I have to work now and then).

We did expand the cut out initially toward the front of the door thinking it was necessary but once the actuators were fitted it looked like we could have avoided trimming the metal. We rolled the edges of the cut before paint went on so it would look factory. Once installed the actuators bow out the brace a bit (less then 1/4") which concerned me but it didn't prevent the door card from snapping in place and it can't be noticed at all.

I tried finding the receipt for my actuators but couldn't place it right now (I will keep looking) but I do remember them being labeled as "slim" . I just did a quick search on Ebay and found these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-X-Universal-slim-design-Power-Door-Lock-Actuator-Motor-Auto-Car-Truck-12Volt-/311731565864?hash=item4894a63528:g:iyEAAOSwo4pYFrq8&vxp=mtr

[David F]

What about mounting the actuator in the bottom of the door or away from the window track and using a bellcrank to redirect the linear motion as needed.

[Jaymanbikes]

6 hours ago, dmorales-bello said:

Sorry I couldn't respond earlier (I have to work now and then).

We did expand the cut out initially toward the front of the door thinking it was necessary but once the actuators were fitted it looked like we could have avoided trimming the metal. We rolled the edges of the cut before paint went on so it would look factory. Once installed the actuators bow out the brace a bit (less then 1/4") which concerned me but it didn't prevent the door card from snapping in place and it can't be noticed at all.

I tried finding the receipt for my actuators but couldn't place it right now (I will keep looking) but I do remember them being labeled as "slim" . I just did a quick search on Ebay and found these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-X-Universal-slim-design-Power-Door-Lock-Actuator-Motor-Auto-Car-Truck-12Volt-/311731565864?hash=item4894a63528:g:iyEAAOSwo4pYFrq8&vxp=mtr

Thanks for the info.  How did you run your wires from the door into the cabin.  Was it necessary to remove the doors?

[charliekwin]

Great info Dave. I took measurements of the actuators I have, and they're significantly larger. I'll mock up the slim ones, and for $11 if they fit, that's an easy purchase. If not, David F's idea is what I've been thinking as well. If nothing else, I'll run the wiring with the windows. My door panel skins are scheduled for arrival on Friday, so that'll probably take priority.

[dmorales-bello]

1 hour ago, Jaymanbikes said:

Thanks for the info.  How did you run your wires from the door into the cabin.  Was it necessary to remove the doors?

I drilled the corresponding holes in the door (and the car) when they were off for painting. I ran the wiring downward along the rear edge inside the door, along the bottom where it joined the power windows wires and then out the 1/2" pre-drilled hole through a corrugated rubber wire loom from Jegs Performance like the one pictured below protecting the cables between door edge and frame. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of that finished detail of the install but I'll take one for you when I get back in town in about 10 days

Edited June 22, 2017 by dmorales-bello