HAVE TO SHAVE DOORS?

[fender2082]

Greetings all... long time no talk. My cutlass has turned into my go-to-work car, and my other cutlass is still waiting for this one to die ('95 and '93, both supreme sl's)... the magnum gets to have all the fun now. So today I get off the train, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a hole in my door. Somebody actually drilled the lock out of my drivers door with a cordless drill. Not only did they ruin (more like david copperfield) my lock, they also bent the hell out of the metal trim up the door edge and took a ton of paint off of the black b-pillar (some metal along the edge too). They proceded to bend my door handle trying to get the door to open, too dumb to know what they were doing. Long story short, I have a ton of damage on my door. Does anybody have experience with replacing locks? Approx. cost? Do I need both doors and trunk? I'm guessing it won't be cheap... and i'm considering just shaving the locks and handles instead of replacing both on the drivers side. I know a decent kit w/ door solenoids, trunk solenoid, transmitters and receiver is in the $300 range. Would this be a cost-equivalent alternative to repairing it to stock? Thanks a bunch for any info. If I can get pictures, I'll post some.[/code]

[J]

just shave them, thats what i am doing. Black is easy to match (duh) and then you'll never have to worry again. I am using lock silanoids (spelling is way off on that) for my door poppers, not much else is needed, our doors are not that heavy. If your pretty good with a welder just weld them up and take it to a body shop, luckly i have a friend who went to college and got a degree in car refinishing. Best of luck, oh and see how much your insurance agency will give you towards fixing it and then put it towards shaving them.

 

Later Jay

[fender2082]

Sadly, I only carry liability on the car, so my insurance won't be much help. I can't weld myself, but I have done fill and finish work on both fiberglass and metal, so hopefully I can scrounge up some friends to gimmie a hand with the project and get most of the labor for free. Painting should be a snap, since black is cheap and easy. I have a coupe, so the doors are a little on the heavy side, but I have faith in the solenoids that come in the kits. Are you using recessed poppers, surface-mount pop tabs, or the springs that go on the hinge side of the doors? What are you estimating for a total cost? I'm also hoping this will be simpler due to the fact that the panel around the lock and handle is removable and can therefore be worked on at a better angle and off of the car.

[Justin]

If you have a coupe and they messed with the lock and handle on your car, couldn't you just replace the door handle and be done with it? Or did the damage extend down to the actual door skin? Really to shave the door handles on these cars you'd just need a small piece of metal shaped like the original door handle, then bolted on.

[jeremy]

if it is a 2dr, i say just replace the parts stock, but if it is a 4dr I say shave the doors...

[J]

oh shit i misread that, if you have a cutty coupe, replace stock shit from the JY, shaving the handles on a 2 door cutty would be a bitch.

 

 

I am really confused now, it is a cutty your talking about right? not the magnum (only 4 doors)

[97CuttySupSL]

ahh chicago never fails..

[fender2082]

Yes, the 2-door cutty. Check it out...

[img http://photobucket.com/albums/f82/tczworniak/?action=view&current=DSC04384.jpg

 

This is the third break-in... the first cost me a window and $900 in stereo (same train station), and the second resulted in a 17-yr old getting the shit beat out of him in my driveway with the butt of a pool cue... ah, the windy city. The door handle's bent (and since they break off anyway i don't want to try to straighten it out and keep using it), the lock is gone, the black trim that extends up the side of the door is mangled, and the black trim up the b-pillar is mangled (the piece that has the indentation in it so you can get your fingers under the door handle). I'd have to replace lock, handle, and both trim pieces... or throw out lock and handle and shave the two trim pieces, as they're independent from the main door skin. The door already has a dent in it from an 87-yr old woman (no joke) suddently attempting to merge into my lane while i was literally nose-to-nose with her... might swap w/ the other cutlass, but the other one is the darker green... the one i love and cherish and might shave is the obnoxious teal color. A big factor in the cost will be whether it's easy to get a new lock cylinder keyed to match the others, or if i have to swap the whole set (i'm not about to carry three keys for the damn car). Just curious... why shave on a 4-dr but not a 2? I've never done it, but it seems a shave on the 2-door would be easier because the parts are removable, vs. risking warpage of the entire door skin from welding heat, and trying to smooth a much larger area. This is why I come here to learn! Keep the opinions coming!

[GnatGoSplat]

I would just replace with stock parts.

 

The reason to shave a 4dr, is you will actually gain a cleaner appearance that way, and if the door skin were damaged anyway, why not? A 2dr already looks pretty clean even with door handles in tact. All the replacement parts would be very inexpensive to get, and just bolt on. Real easy, maybe a half hour out of your day, tops. Shaving it really won't buy you anything when it comes to looks, in fact, it might just end up looking really weird. You'd end up with an unusually large and wide B-pillar that will have people unfamiliar with pillar mounted door handles wondering what the hell the engineers were thinking when they came up with such wide and fat pillars.

 

As for the lock cylinders, you can get one from any junkyard W-body coupe, pop a cover off, and put new tumblers in it to match the other side.

[fender2082]

I see your point about the b-pillar being wider than most other cars... If I can get a single lock and have it keyed to match the rest of them for under $100, then it sounds like shaving would be a waste of cash (not that it wouldn't still be cool, but since my car is bone stock aside from the system, it seems ridiculous). The tricky part then will be the junkyard hunt. Maybe I can get a steering rack, transmission, door skin, and AC compessor, evaporator, condensor, and expansion valve while i'm there :-p

[fender2082]

Just an update... Three quotes all came out to around $330 for the door disaster... Add $150 for the black trim on the b-pillar and... get this... $800 just for paint if i want the scratches off my door... that doesn't include any bodywork on the few small dents I have on there also. Bottom line, I'm going to try to hunt down another lock/handle/trim assembly myself and see if I can't get it all adjusted properly. So much for shaving.

[19902drlumina]

a j/y out her has a z34 and has prefect handles when i get out there u want me to see how much they want? souldnt be much and not that aftermarket stuff. but if u go after market i spent 25 for each handle . ill look up thename and stuff pm me if ud want me to go and look for ya?

[cutlsp]

that sucks about your car..... you could shave the door lock cylinders and keep the stock door handles with a keyless entry system though couldn't you? :?

[GnatGoSplat]

a j/y out her has a z34 and has prefect handles when i get out there u want me to see how much they want? souldnt be much and not that aftermarket stuff. but if u go after market i spent 25 for each handle . ill look up thename and stuff pm me if ud want me to go and look for ya?

 

Z34 handles will not fit a 2dr Cutlass.

 

As far as the coupes go, Lumina, Grand Prix, and Regal use the same handles. Cutlass uses Cutlass-specific handles that are similar looking, but not the same.

[cutlsp]

Z34 handles will not fit a 2dr Cutlass.

 

As far as the coupes go, Lumina, Grand Prix, and Regal use the same handles. Cutlass uses Cutlass-specific handles that are similar looking, but not the same.

:withstupid: i've tried a regal handle a gp handle and a lumina handle all of them could be force fitted but don't fit properly

[19902drlumina]

oh well learned something new. nothing in it for me anyway; just looking to help good luck.

[19902drlumina]

http://store.yahoo.com/dpstore/repair-and-replacement-handles-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme.html this is the placewhere i got my handles they offer lifetime warranties thats why i went with em.

[fender2082]

Thanks for all the info guys! If those handles won't fit, then don't bother getting the price... but thanks a ton for the offer. 19902drlumina - I need the whole handle assembly... the whole black trim piece that goes up the side of the door w/ the handle and lock cylinder in it (though I know I have to buy the cylinder separately). Does that price really include the whole assembly or do they just give you a handle? If it's the whole assembly, then I just found my solution. Yes I could shave just the lock... but if I were to do that I'd shave the handles too. Just doesn't seem worth the money if I really can get a replacement assembly for that kind of price. Thanks again, all!

 

[19902drlumina]

its for the handle and whole black part no lock. but for the price and lifetime warrenty its a good deal

[White93z34]

i'm fairly sure that the handles between all the gen 1 cars are model specific.

 

if you want to keep your same door key, jusdt order 2 new lock cylenders from the dealer, they are prety cheep $20-30 ea and they will key them to fit your existing key.

[blkinternational]

yeha i have 3 keys for my car..its gay

[fender2082]

Here's another update for anyone that cares... handle was $168, dealer actually had it. Lock was $25, plus $25 to have it coded. Lock guard was $12, not in yet. Now here's my next question (this is turning out to be a HUGE pain in the ass...) I have illuminated entry... apparently that plastic ring is worth $82. I don't wanna hunt one down at a junkyard because it's attached to a pigtail that you have to take the whole door panel and vapor barrier out to get to... does anybody know if I just leave this part out if I'll get water inside my doors, or can i somehow make the lock cylinder sit flush against the trim?

[Psych0matt]

I did not know that the different cars had different handles. I swear I thought all of them were the same! (good thing mine arent broke)

[brianhasadd]

That sucks dude. Just do LAMBO DOORS!!!!! If I had a 2-door car, I'd definitely do some Lambo doors!!!!

[GnatGoSplat]

Here's another update for anyone that cares... handle was $168, dealer actually had it. Lock was $25, plus $25 to have it coded. Lock guard was $12, not in yet. Now here's my next question (this is turning out to be a HUGE pain in the ass...) I have illuminated entry... apparently that plastic ring is worth $82. I don't wanna hunt one down at a junkyard because it's attached to a pigtail that you have to take the whole door panel and vapor barrier out to get to... does anybody know if I just leave this part out if I'll get water inside my doors, or can i somehow make the lock cylinder sit flush against the trim?

 

The cars with illuminated entry also have an additional plastic washer that allows the lock cylinder to sit back further to make room for the ring. Omit the plastic washer and it will sit flush.

 

Man, those prices are terrible. Brand new GM door handles were $53.50 just a few years ago. At the rate the prices are going up, it might not be affordable to own one of these cars anymore!