I plan on shaving the door handles on my del sol (along with fuel door, antenna, symbols etc...). and I wanted to know what it was like to live with for an every day driver. Any problems with poppers not working? Also if anybody has any ideas with relocating the fuel nozzle (behind tail light? in trunk?) that would greatly appreciated. I just found this forum and I'm lovin it.

 

use a Mach3 razor, it shaves the door prety well.

 

let me help you out here even though we might get flamed on here. but this board is to help people out so here goes nothing:

Ive shaved my door handles on my 98 civic coupe. before installing these, i made sure i have another way of getting in the car if the poppers actually do fail. the poppers pull the latches via a wire cable, if that slips then you're assed out. if your battery dies, you're assed out. warming up the car in the morning and close the door on accident, you're assed out. this hasnt happened to me, but its the worse case scenario. my fail safe is climbing through the trunk. haha. I also make sure i have an extra remote. what a hassle, but this will be my daily driven show car and i'm taking the chance. If any chance i get flamed on: I got the motor package to back up the looks, but this car is built to my liking....not yours. thanks.

work in progress:



[Modified by tnbigdawg, 7:50 AM 11/30/2002]

 

is that primer?
got some overspray, 600grit wet/dry sand paper and wet sand that **** down
i use to work with my dad at his body shop, doing engine and body work.

just weld sheet metal where the door handles are, sand it down with a grinder, then bondo, shave off some bondo, then sand it down to a fine surface, then primer that ****, then wet sand it, then get ready to paint it.
paint that ****, clear coat, then wet sand it down, and buff it out..
easy ****.

 

as far as what NrG said, its just that simple....but its the time that kills ya. Just let a body shop do it all for you. You'll be fine with the shaved door handles, just be sure you use a quality actuator like the AutoLoc 75lb strength actuators. im using their 35lb i think, and they just barely work.

thats House of Kolors stuff im putting on there. that primer is tough as hell. so i start off using 320, then im working my way up to 600 grit before i paint it. im waiting until spring time comes around the corner to begin work on it. its too damn cold in my garage.....Seattle. so it would be a year that my car goes through this **** cause i started in May 2002 i think.

 

good luck with the daily driven show car

when you drive a car everyday it defiently shows the wear

i used to believe my car was good enough to be a show car when i just had my permit, but when i got my license and started driving daily it defiently shows the wear

what color are you painting your ride?

 

Im painting my car with House of Kolors Kandy Apple Red over Zenith Gold. technically im not going to drive my car everyday....only on sunny days or whenever i feel like it. this way it would cut down the wear and tear on the paint. I believe that a car should at least be driven, not trailered. it may be art, but again ITS A CAR....right?

a friend of mine has his semi/show 95 civic painted with Dupont Chromalusions and drives it everyday rain or shine. the car still looks good as new, well with the exception of a few chips. but who cares, thats the part of having fun owning a car.

 

They have sunny days in seattle?? Nice looking body work. Shaved the moldings also i see. Good luck.

 

damn ricers

 

What?! This isnt considered "rice"!! Winshield Squirter LED's are considered "rice". Not shaving the door handles...
Too each their own...

 

signal's ek, shaved door handles.....looks like the Japanese like shaved door handles too....you decide......but then again I aint trippin.

I consider the "shave" mods to be "klean".

And fake altezza tails, neon, m3 style mirrors, anything APC, nonfunctional wings, dual exhausts on 4 cylinder cars, is a bowl of rice. just trying to give you a hint of what my style is like.

 

I hate shaving my door handles cuz they always grow back.

 

nothing wrong with it. do what you want to do. don't let people make your decisions on what you want done to your car.

 

i have shaved door handles on my 98 accord which is my daily driver...i'll tell you one thing, make sure you get the door springs from autoloc, those will help you out alot especially when you are parked on an incline. personally, i think its a good mod, but if i could, i would take it back. the car looks clean and all without the handles but its a pain in the *** when your door popper fails, especially since i shaved my trunk panel too where the keyhole is. i basically have to break into my own car when my poppers fail. to be safe you should run a back up switch that runs power to the relay that operates the door handle then hide that switch on the outside of your car somewhere, that way when your alarm keypad fails to send the signal to open the door, which is what i have the most problem with, just use the button to open the door.

good luck with your project.

 

I agree 100%

 

my friend has his doors shaved and he keeps a spair battery just in case his batterie dies out on him for back up. just a tip

 

Hey guys thanks for the info.. All really great suggestions.. I will am planning on using the 75lb autolock poppers and a battery relay thingey that will prevent your battery from going dead if you leave your lights on. (now i just have to go through all my car audio and electronics magazines to find where to get one :crook

Also the hidden switch was something i didn't know you could do so for sure i will look into that as well...
As far as crawling in the trunk in a little S.O.L. in my del sol.

My car won't be a show car by any means.. I plan to have a fast (b20vtec) clean (no body kit.. shaved everything) and well handling car (not slammed). Something i can drive every day.. is unique and fun to drive. Oh and its got to be black to!

Thanks for the help guys.. I just found this site and it has helped me so much already.

 

sounds like it would be a good setup. klean, simple, and fast.....all makes a perfect package. goodluck.

oh another thing i just thought of doing, have some sort of emergency switch mounted in your trunk....i was thinking of doing this with some sort of key switch.

 

Wow, that would be a great looking finish if it weren't totally covered in stickers...

 

yea when the poppers fail its a real bitch...along with the door poppers you should have the option of getting the roll down windows too...so if the poppers fail you can slide your hand through the window...just a suggestion...

 

i like shaved door handles...but do you guys consider them rice?

 

i think its rice.
its not like its weight reduction hah
its for show, so its rice.

just because a JDM company does it, does it mean we can do it too?
damn everyone wanna be JDM, posers everywhere i sware.

 

JDM??? WTF is JDM about shaving the handles, its been around for years. Its been done since way back in the days of the lead sleds you idiot.
Its neither rice or jdm its just a simple way of making the car's appearance smoother.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean its rice



[Modified by tony4311, 10:22 PM 12/2/2002]

 

 

That's the fastest rice you'll ever see...heheh