FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Ive been trying to determine the legality (or not??) of having no door handles on my wagon..

I cant find anywhere thats says Illegal (in NSW)

any ideas?

Obviously  consideration must be taken to avoid locking myself out of the wagon altogether, but having a wagon rear door helps solve this.. (a little)...

Cheers

Ed

I have read somewhere - can't recall where off the top of my head - that it is quite legal to remove the door handles, as long as there is some other external method of opening them.

I've seen cars in Street Machine etc where cars have been fitted with remote and keyless entry, but still have to have some wired means of opening the doors, usually a concealed button somewhere that fires the solenoid.

Why not ring an engineer and ask?  John Varetimidis of Lohning International is very easy-going with answering these sorts of questions over the phone.  If you already have an emgineer lined up, he should know the answer.  If you get a definitive answer, let us all know.

cheers
RET

i'd be interested to hear a definative answer too. i rang the rta about this a couple of years ago and they said the same thing as RET, but everytime you ring you get a different person who will tell you a different story.....

man ed, you must be working your way up to that chop after all eh?

are you planning on doing solenoids? if so i think it may be wise to run some hidden wires to somewhere inconspicuous but easy to get to under the car, that will open an infrequently used door with a battery in case of emergency.... you'd hate to get caught in the rain with a flat battery and no way in!?  ::)

Here's my 2 cents worth,i hope this never happens to anyone but if you ever have an accident and are knocked unconscious ,how is anyone to help you if they cant open the door.
Sure the no handle look will look a treat but
 

Regards 2brite

How does a theif steal your car if its locked  ::)

As Ed mentioned in his initial post, he isn't planning on shaving off the tailgate handle.....

Hi guys,

RET, as u suggested I called the engineer and was told anything which hinders entry into the vehicle is not allowed.  

Shaved handles are therefore not allowed.  push button entry or pull handle entry is ok.

the reasoning is the same as what 2 brite mentioned.


RET.. my iMac has also experienced major woes and required a clean installation to fix it!!.. all good now. (the new one is still being prepared)...


Simon,

I mentioned the top chop to the Mrs and she freaked out, number 1 was time to completion, then she was worried about rollover accident safety.. .  I told her if I rolled it, Id (we'd) be pretty well gone anyway!!.. ever seen how strong bench seat mounts are???  inertia reel belts would mean nothing then!

never the less i may pursue this dream later on!  including nomad style pillars, lengthened rear glass etc etc etc....  I have most of the pieces for my interior bracing frame made up including roof bows etc.

for the time being, shaved handles look like being push buttons (ala Clatworhty machine) but since im not keen on cloning ideas, I will need to think of something different....  those stocky door handles are looking good again.. lol.. MX5 items are smart but a little out of the style im after.

Harko,

I like your bit of philosophy there Harko.. back to an unrelated post, which I dont think I answered.. Dopplegangers are exact double or clones of yourself that are supposed to inhabit the earth at the same time.  seldom do u meet them if ever at all... in my case, I was born with my doppleganger.. (ie twin)


project update?.... ordered my paint today!

Etna Maroon being matched up from the inside of the glove box lid.
Castle grey being replaced with a darker silver / champagne kind of like metallic ifuknowwhatimean...

Ed

you must still be able to shave the rear door handles though? you can still get into the car from the front, and i have seen fitzpatrick's fc and a purple one at this years summernats that don't have rear handles. (you can see the purple on amongst alex's photos from sumernats).

i hae seen lots of rods and customs running around without any handles or buttons though..... maybe a club registration thing?

bit of a bummer though.....

Hi Simon,

I guess it comes down to your engineer's interpretation of the law, as to what hinders entry into the vehicle.

mine has recommended i dont do it, various states may differ.  Welding up the back doors would probably hinder entry too, but 2 door conversion seem ok, maybe if u put flip down seats and shave the handles you are ok???

probably wouldnt apply to convertibles either.

Cheers Ed

Yes indeed.  Once could argue that locking the doors and winding up the windows 'hinders entry'.

If you want to do it, ring around and ask some other engineers, see if opinions differ.  Many of them will be happy to answer questions like that over the phone.

cheers
RET

On the topic of door handles to no door handles.
The book has read for years that there must be manual external activation of the door release mechanism, ALL doors with no exception.
If you get it past an inspection and get pulled up by the cops or machinery inspection it is a defectable offence.
There is nothing about using remote locking or solinoid assisted opening.
Got busted for this in the early 70's
I have manufactured flush button kits for several years after using them in my own cars too many years ago. They are the same ones in Kim Clatworthys custom.
On the previous mention of what would happen in an accidient situation, They would cut the roof off!

hey paul, where can i get your kit? am very interested!  :D was thinking i'd have to nut something out myself ...

Dont want to upset anyone if you guys have rules about buisness's using this site for sales.
That wasnt my intension.
Was just answering the question

Can you contact me direct by my email listing, have photos of an FE FC Door with button fitted and lock frenched

hey man there's a whole section devoted for sales, so i don't think anyone would mind. besides, this is definately fe/fc information...  ;)

hey paul, ( i got your detail off the fe/fc forum)

my name is matt & i have just been trying to get info
in getting rid of door handles...

i dont care to much about engineers report, leave that
to me to solve...

anyway, have you still got the kits...

how much & when can i get them...

have you got any pictures of ones previously installed

thanks
matty martin

Matty this post is almost 4 years old now, don't hold your breathe for a response  :-X  ;)

hey matty,

since you're close by you can drop by and check mine out.

I got the kit from Smooth Cruisin' (paul Kelly).

I dont have his contact no any more but can get a hold of it for you no troubles.

let me know when you want to see the buttons on the car.

Cheers

Ed

at first didn't notice how old this was :-[
you have to manually operate the doors from outside the car
just got mine engineered
matty, Paul Kelly is smooth customs on the FB/EK forum

ta ratbox.... ;D

hey stinky, quicker than what you & i both thought hey... :o :o :o

i'm on it...

ed, maybe this sunday if your free...  ;D ;D ;D

or another maybe, sundays are my only day off....

thanks guys
matty martin ;D

Matty,

I'm usually at home most sundays, you're welcome to come over for a look.

ring me on 0404 848 774

PM me for Paul Kellys contact details if you haven't got them yet.

Cheers

Ed

awesome... thanks ed,


i'll give you a call sunday10ish...


matty martin

yor onto the right man marty, i picked out Eds brains before starting mine.

hey fccool,

yeah ed has been very accomodating & i'm stoked that there is some like this near where i live...

thank you also for your responses.... hey where are you located.


thanks
matty martin

Door button fit up using a Paul Kelly "Smooth Cruizin'" kit.

1) you start with a door, and there is a raised ridge where the handle sits.  You need to tap this down.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button11403.jpg)
profile before shot
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button21403.jpg)

2) door buttons are made in two parts.  the "bucket" which sits in the door and the button which is.. the button.
pic of the bucket tacked together. Note it is not trimmed yet and the inner guide tube has been held in place using the nut and bolt.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button31403.jpg)

3)Bucket sunk in to the panel and trimmed to the profile of the panel.  Note the inner guide tube has not been trimmed down yet.  do it later using a large drill bit in a drill... obviously.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button51403.jpg)

4)make your button.  sit the tube in the bucket, scribe the profile onto the tube and then weld the button top on.  the desired length/ height of hte button is achieved by grinding down later.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button61403.jpg)

5) the bolt is then placed thru the button and cut to length and welded to the button.
make sure you have as little threaded section as possible.  the threaded section causees the button to have a rough action whcih can stick.. ask me how i found out...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button71403.jpg)

6)  after futzing about for many hours getting all your clearnces right you should have something that looks like this (or better).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Ed74mnd/button81403.jpg)

voila! buttons.

Cheers

Ed

hey ed,

thanks for posting the pics, i'm trying to get the buttons from smooth customs now... just waiting...


when  we talked before you were talking about the drainage you put in for the buttons. was this in the instructions supplied (as i have been told by a few people that the instructions are very good & easy to follow), or is this some thing that you thought up youself...

thanks
matt

Forget the buttons and try this



http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/

Nick

Hey Utey
Thats a spin out (pun intended)
Regards
Alex

hey ed

mate i got my buttons yesterday so i a LITTLE excited... i was wondering if you had some pics of the drainage set up that you made...

and does it work... as mine is going to be a daily driver it needs to functionable...

thanks ed

matty martin