Long Overdue Progress! Doors Finished 3/17/26

[Red77]

A couple of strips of Dynamat or similar sound deadening product affixed to the inside of the door skin and the inner door structure may be all you need. You can often get away with a smaller piece than you might think because you are just adding some mass to dampen the noise. Some close to the solenoid and some out in the middle of the wide expanse of door skin along with the inner door panel area where all the door and window opening mechanisms attach may take care of it. Mine sounds like a crashing china cabinet when I close the door, so this is on my list of things to do. I have seen it effectively done for stereo installs and that's what pointed me to it. No need to fully cover it with Dynamat and add the weight as is often done if you can tune out the noise with a smaller amount of the deadener.

 

[BBShark]

I tested this my attaching the solenoid to a wood block separate from the door. The attachment to the door is going to make thinks even worse. I am going to use isolation mounts and Dynamat but I need to get the window regulator assembly out of there (for electric windows).

Like that description of the crashing china cabinet. Sounds exactly like that.

 

[BBShark]

I put a 1/8" felt pad in the bottom of the solenoid. It is much quieter now.

Second thing I would like to do is switch it on with a 1/10 of a second pulse so that it will limit the power it consumes from the battery. The DC coil resistance is ~.60 ohms or 240 watts! That is basically a dead short on the battery. I suspect if you left it switched for a couple of seconds some bad things would happen.

problem is I have no idea how to do this.

 

[Red77]

I know how to do it with industrial controls, basically you need to find a timer to put into the relay circuit that will cut off the power relay after that 1/10 of a second. The problem with what we typically work with is that industrial components come industrially sized, much like your actuator. I'll see if I can find something smaller and more appropriate for a Corvette interior. Glad the felt pad worked out. That's a win!

 

[BBShark]

I have an electronic module that you can do this with but the module has to be "on" to unlatch the door. So, if the car is sitting for a month, that module is drawing power. I am testing it to see if the door switch can switch on power and operate the timer at the same time. So, far I'm thinking that won't work.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Not sure why it would draw power unless it stay energized even after the cable is pulled.... basically it's an electron magnet - only draws to pull and shuts off once it's fully travelled its distance. To go the other way, the opposite magnet is energized..... if it didn't happen like that then you could have the Hyundai burning cars to the ground issue (their current recall - apparently if the switch to move the seat is held down, it never de-energizes so it eventually catches fire and burns the car down. No word whether anyone has considered that a true loss).

 

[rtj]

An intermittent switch makes contact when the button or toggle is push, when you let go it goes back to its normally open position.

There are one pulse switches if you search. They might not be high amps.

 

[BBShark]

Not sure why it would draw power unless it stay energized even after the cable is pulled.... basically it's an electron magnet - only draws to pull and shuts off once it's fully travelled its distance. To go the other way, the opposite magnet is energized..... if it didn't happen like that then you could have the Hyundai burning cars to the ground issue (their current recall - apparently if the switch to move the seat is held down, it never de-energizes so it eventually catches fire and burns the car down. No word whether anyone has considered that a true loss).

The coil isn't ON, the module that provides the pulse is ON.

I have an electronic module that you can do this with but the module has to be "on" to unlatch the door. So, if the car is sitting for a month, that module is drawing power.

An intermittent switch makes contact when the button or toggle is push, when you let go it goes back to its normally open position.

There are one pulse switches if you search. They might not be high amps.

I'm not finding any switches that do this. This would trigger a relay so high current is not an issue.

 

[rtj]

I use a toggle switch for a starter button. Hold until engine starts and let go. This might be a similar switch.

Toggle Switch; Military Spec Toggle Switches; Off/Momentary On; Single Pole/Single Throw

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/prf-80510

You can probably find some rated high enough or like you said have a relay.

 

[BBShark]

I have an alternative to the solenoid that should solve a lot of problems with the solenoid. Its quiet, low power and should be reliable long term. The problem that this solves (while creating another problem) is you don't need any electronic control so it it doesn't need to be powered on forever 24/7.

The idea is that the momentary switch button would be on the outside of the door. When the button is pushed, the switch is bypassed, and the cam rotates. When the roller drops off the cam, the microswitch supplies +12v to the motor. Motor continues to rotates 360 degrees until the microswitch is actuated again, turning the motor off.

The problem is if the person holds the button too long, the motor will continue to turn until released. I think that may not be a problem because half a turn should unlatch the door and pop it open. However, this solves the problem of leaving the door control powered up at all times (that would be required for the module). Also, I question the durability of the module.

 

[phantomjock]

Sounds like you might be looking for an Old Skol shaved door handle kit?
Something with a manual override tucked in a wheel well?

Cheers - Jim

 

[BBShark]

Sounds like you might be looking for an Old Skol shaved door handle kit?
Something with a manual override tucked in a wheel well?

Cheers - Jim

The solenoid is basically the used for shaved handles with a spring to open the door after unlatching. I will have a Corvette handle to open (with a switch added). Thats another challenge that I didn't see coming. I was going to add 69-up handles but they are not at all the same as 68 handles (and 68 handles are not how you open the door).

 

[BBShark]

A friend has very clever solution for this. I should have something soon.

 

[BBShark]

I am still waiting for some elecrical connectors to wire the console center panel. So, nothing yet on that. Also working on the door latch actuator. Hope to have that in soon.

I ordered some sound deadening material for the doors to quiet them. Need to remove the regulator and glass to get them in.

 

[BBShark]

I finally got my connectors, completed the wiring so that it can be completely removed as a unit. So, now if I drive the car I can find out what the temperature is, fuel level, oil pressure, voltage, etc. Just like a real car!

 

[phantomjock]

Nice!
The Blue lamps indicate "Fan-On?"

Cheers - Jim

 

[BBShark]

The fan "on" indicators are on the right side. The two blue lights are hand brake on and door ajar. The two switches below are the wiper switch and a momentary wiper switch that will run the wiper for one cycle.

 

[69427]

Looking good. Just curious, what wiper motor are you using?

 

[BBShark]

Wiper motor is stock Corvette.

 

[bobs77vet]

very nice

 

[BBShark]

Starting to put the weather stripping in the interior before I replace the regulators in the doors. A lot of the weather strip was in bags when I bought the car. One of the bags contains 2 things identified as Right & Left ????? strip ?????. I looked trough the AIM and can really find it. This is for a 68 convertible.

All ideas greatly appreciated!

 

[rtj]

Rain drip channels, I think. They go at the bottom corner of the windshield and divert water. Maybe. Maybe not.

https://www.zip-corvette.com/68-73-door-pillar-rain-diverters.html

 

[BBShark]

That part is fiberglass. My mystery part is rubber with a steel structure inside.

 

[BBShark]

Holy crap, I think I figured it out! They are rain channels that go on the inside of the door jamb that divert water onto the back of the hinge area. Seems like an awful idea but it was the 60's.

 

[bobs77vet]

water and hinges is a good combination. maybe for noise abatement?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Holy crap, I think I figured it out! They are rain channels that go on the inside of the door jamb that divert water onto the back of the hinge area. Seems like an awful idea but it was the 60's.

View attachment 57078

View attachment 57079

the 60s was full of many poorly made decisions....

 

[BBShark]

Still working on the door. Removed the window regulator, somehow. Cleaning 56 years of dried grease, rust, dirt out of the channels. Installed Dynamat on the inside of the door shell




I bailed on the door poppers. Just to risky. An accidental short would probably result in a fire. So I went back to the window motor actuator design. A friend designed a passive circuit (no standby power draw) that works great.


Also working on converting the window seal assembly from 1968-early 69 to late 69. A much better setup.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Gas Monkey is building an OBS truck and used (IIRC) C8 door latches to open the door. The benefit of those latches is they unlock and pop the door open.... didn't look too terrible to make it work in pretty much any car with a thick enough door.... just a thought.

the video - the latch stuff is at 4:30

 

[BBShark]

I like that. It looks like it might use an old style striker but I couldn't find a picture of the inside of the door. I committed to the setup I have. That's one of the problems I have with taking such a long time to finish projects. 5+ years ago, I couldn't find anything I could borrow from a production car.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I like that. It looks like it might use an old style striker but I couldn't find a picture of the inside of the door. I committed to the setup I have. That's one of the problems I have with taking such a long time to finish projects. 5+ years ago, I couldn't find anything I could borrow from a production car.

I build enough cars that that solution is going to be one for me... the C8 uses the loop style latch (if you don't or can't use the pin style)