Remote hatch release setup....ideas?

[Savage42]

Have any of you come up with a good mechanical (cable) or electric setup for the rear hatch in order to get rid of the stock keyed/push button setup? I know it's a minor thing, but was hoping some of you may have figured out "the answer" to that modification. Looking for ideas. Thanks!

[PapaCreech]

ahhk i been workin on a cable set up for a year or so and have found nothing im happy with yet. In a week or so im going to re run the cable again up the side of the hatch lid and to the back of my sun roof so ill have my release above my head. Biggest problems ive run into are the cable getting in the way once the hatch is released.

 

just my 2 cents

ron

[Careless]

why not buy an electric door opener.

it's a small electric unit that has a cable attached to it, it's made for automotive use.

 

i would try and make a depth mount in one of those holes that the hatch has there already, so that it can sit inside those holes and be accessible if you must change it. or even make one of the holes bigger so that you can make it easier for yourself.

 

then I would run a wire inside that same hole, and have it come ouf ot a smaller hole at the top of the hatch, and then run it through the rest of the car like you would any wire, down the side where the quarter is or wherever you please.

 

then hook it up to a relay and a small switch that's hard to reach from outside the car (theft sucks), and voila.

 

I actually stumbled on one at the store the other day, was like 14 bucks i think.

 

it's almost like those electronic door poppers, but a bit in reverse. all it does is quickly tug on the small metal cable it has attached to it.

 

http://www.discountave.net/ea8xovtrunop.html

 

http://www.julianos.com/power_trunk.html

[datsunlover]

I've got one in my 280 that I rigged up using the handle and pull cable from a Honda crx hood release cable. I ran it along the Z hatch, and modified the internal latch (drilled a hole and sloted it for the cable to fit in) added a small return spring, and it works ok.. but doesn't look so nice. I covered the button on the hatch with my whale tail so I was forced to do SOMETHING and it was all I could come up with at the time. I think I did a write up on it here about 2 years ago... But now I'm actually going to try to rig up the cable/lever I got from an 81 280zx, as it looks like it would work better and may even appear stock.

[rdsk8ter]

do these work good i like the idea and the price

why not buy an electric door opener.

it's a small electric unit that has a cable attached to it, it's made for automotive use.

 

i would try and make a depth mount in one of those holes that the hatch has there already, so that it can sit inside those holes and be accessible if you must change it. or even make one of the holes bigger so that you can make it easier for yourself.

 

then I would run a wire inside that same hole, and have it come ouf ot a smaller hole at the top of the hatch, and then run it through the rest of the car like you would any wire, down the side where the quarter is or wherever you please.

 

then hook it up to a relay and a small switch that's hard to reach from outside the car (theft sucks), and voila.

 

I actually stumbled on one at the store the other day, was like 14 bucks i think.

 

it's almost like those electronic door poppers, but a bit in reverse. all it does is quickly tug on the small metal cable it has attached to it.

 

http://www.discountave.net/ea8xovtrunop.html

 

http://www.julianos.com/power_trunk.html

[Two40MuscleZ]

Heavy duty door popper to spring the lid. If there is enough upward force then the hatch shock should do the rest. Bringing it back down would be manually done, unless you incorporate a hydralic system.

[Guest Mike]

A remote trunk release should work. I wouldn't set mine up to open all the way without a hydraulic system as Two40MuscleZ mentioned. Mine, after it's raises a few inches, flies up too fast due to the force of the supports. A trick hydraulic system would be cool but a bit pricey.

[Careless]

they pop the latches fine, but you have to actually go there and open it yourself. it wont toss the door up. and i wouldn't really want it that way anyways =/

 

 

do these work good i like the idea and the price

[Tony D]

I did noe of these after seeing Andy Flagg's Black 73 TurboCar. Similar to what Datsunlover describes, I used one of those universal choke cables, and poked it through the upper portion of the hatch. Opening is simply a tug away to pop it. I snaked it down the left side next to the window (inside the hatch), and made a littel bracket to secure the spiral outer cable support (like the heater clamps for the vent controls on a 240) so the pull-button end really only needed to rest inside the rubber grommit I put in there to keep it from rattling around. That hatch was rusty rusty rusty...Ended up doing a Mercy Donation to someone who had their back glass broken out so they had a secure hatch for their long drive home. I ended up getting a decent hatch (sans glass) out of the deal ...