project thread: custom trunk release (finished 8-12)

[AL]

my car came without the option of a power trunk release and it makes me mad having to use my key all the time so i decided i would make a custom trunk release lever so i wouldnt have to use my key anymore... (pictures arent the best because i cant find my camara so i used photo booth)

i bought a trunk latch off a guy parting out a car on w-body... (pic later)

a cable off ebay that came from a Deawoo Leganza CDX...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=280011429999
it measures 11 ft in length


i also bought a hood release mechanism off ebay and re painted it because it was pretty scratched up...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=110270136708





next step is hooking it up to the trunk latch... i will update as a continue the project...

Where it will be mounted... test fit #1





took my back seat out...




(it gets really ghetto rigged from here... i drilled a hole for a screw to go to mount it down...


put a hole in the carpet to put the wire through...



then i decided it didnt fit right so i trimmed off the bottom of the release lever...



wiring the rest of it in...





i tied it to the solenoid with some wire... sorry i didnt get pictures... the solenoids electric wire was broken when i bought it but i kept it anyway and tied the end of the cord to the u shaped device that pushes the latch open... best pics i got...



if you want i can unscrew the solenoid and take some pics of how it wired in...

the wire i used...


temporary hold until i get zipties...


cant even tell its back there...



all done...


now i just need to figure out how everything goes back together...

[terryk2003]

just curious...why didnt you just get a power release with a push button and mount it in the glovebox?...did the gp actually come with the cable release like that?

[AL]

well because this is more unique and i will eventually be taking out the key hole in the trunk and if the power release ever failed i wouldnt be able to get into my trunk

and no the GP didnt come with a cable release which is why im making a custom one

[LuminaPower92]

Is the release on the prix different then a Lumina, because even if theres no power, you still can open with the key, cant ya? I know my Luminas you can.

[AL]

i decided i would make a custom trunk release lever so i wouldnt have to use my key anymore...

im sure im not the only one who has had to shut off there car, get out to get something out of the trunk and then start it again... that just really annoys me... and with a bad back its hard to reach in the glove box to open the trunk as both my 2nd gens have had it in the glove box

[Brian P]

would be worlds easier to install a power wire, button, and solenoid like GM did, but I give you a C+ for effort so far.

[pontiac6ksteawd]

I would like to know where you are going to put that, so you can still open your hood?

[slick]

The lumina's pushbutton trunk release is on the drivers side of the dash, OEM....

[AL]

I would like to know where you are going to put that, so you can still open your hood?

somewhere next to my seat... i havent test fitted anything yet

The lumina's pushbutton trunk release is on the drivers side of the dash, OEM....

pic?

[slick]

The lumina's pushbutton trunk release is on the drivers side of the dash, OEM....

pic?

Don't have one handy, but it's on the knee panel on the left side. All you have to do is take your wheel off the steering wheel and pretty much push a bright yellow button right where your knee would meet the dash.

[ManicMechanic]

I wonder if one could be made using a 1988-89 Grand Prix fuel door release...

[meltboy1]

he's right, it is on the left side like he says. Nice idea there, should be a fun little project for ya!

[AL]

I wonder if one could be made using a 1988-89 Grand Prix fuel door release...

part of the future plans for my car... but after replacing the filler neck and getting rust in my eyes im not so sure how easy it will be to hook up...

[ManicMechanic]

I wonder if one could be made using a 1988-89 Grand Prix fuel door release...

part of the future plans for my car... but after replacing the filler neck and getting rust in my eyes im not so sure how easy it will be to hook up...

Putting the remote filler door release in is pretty easy. Friend of mine did it to his 1988 Cutlass Supreme.

[AL]

I wonder if one could be made using a 1988-89 Grand Prix fuel door release...

part of the future plans for my car... but after replacing the filler neck and getting rust in my eyes im not so sure how easy it will be to hook up...

Putting the remote filler door release in is pretty easy. Friend of mine did it to his 1988 Cutlass Supreme.

any write up? where did he mount the release