99StockGT Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 So, 3 years in storage in Akron...1 month in Columbus and my wonderful neighbors decided to punch the lock out on my Stealth along with destroy both window regulators, the passenger side window glass and all the tint. Also when punching in the lock they actual TORE the sheet metal so the entire door skin is going to need to be replaced and then we get to try and match the paint/stenciling. Aside from the sheer boiling rage:mad: that I have for whomever did this to my car, I wonder what the best option here is? Insurance is covering the repairs/replacement so I guess that's a good thing but lord only knows how the finish product will end up. So this got me thinking...what about just shaving and filling the door handles and doing some old school hotrod door poppers? As far as I'm concerned we could do the same with the trunk lid so there's liternally not a place other than the ignition to put a key. The lines of the car I think would look fantastic, not sure I recall ever seeing this done on a Stealth before. Is this kind of thing done much any more? Is it practical? What kind of costs am I looking at ballpark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky31186 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 So you blame your neighbors, but dont know who did it? I would shave the locks but I dont know pricing on door poppers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 The neighbor situation is a long story, let's just say the car was parked out in the street highly visible and there's a TON of traffic on my street. The amount of damage done to the door/windows it's hard to believe no one noticed but hey that's how things go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 That sucks man. I bet it would also suck to have shaved door handles and your battery dies for some reason.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRed05 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 I've seen shaved door handles on 3000gt's. I wouldn't do it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 If you shave the handles and locks they will still just smash your window. But i do agree it will look cleaner http://www.ebay.com/itm/80LB-Door-Popper-Kit-Shaved-Handle-Kit-Street-Hot-Rod-/360336075848 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Honestly I just wish they had burnt it to the ground or completely destroyed the car versus what they did. The real great part of it is they took basically nothing out of the car, even left my sexy 2005 Kenwood head unit! All I had in the thing were cleaning/detailing chemicals so basically they did all this as a training exercise. Can you hear me growling through the screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Having never owned a car with shaved handles what kind of body work costs are you typically looking at? What IS the backup plan to battery died issues? Someone with some experience school meh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenger1647545502 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Old experience from back in the day...my '89 Escort GT got the doors shaved in the early 90s. Ran me around $500 if I remember correctly, but that included new paint and everything done RIGHT by a good shop, and that was 1990 dollars too. If the battery went dead, the doors would either unlock automatically or would stay locked until they could be unlocked by the remote since the alarm used a seperate battery backup that also ran the door solenoids....selectable setting on the alarm IRC. Trunk was not shaved, so I could have gone in that way too if I needed to. Honestly, it looked cool but was a pain in the ass, the door poppers didn't have enough strength to pop them open, which I hadn't thought of before. I sometimes had to pull on the window frame to get the door open, and if it was parked nose uphill, forget it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 3/S doors are heavy as sh#$ too. Something to keep in mind, but they do have that nice edge on the rear most part of the door that if the poppers didn't pop it open all the way you could use that like a handle. If you decide to go the used/pocket some insurance money route there are a few guys in the area that keep or can get most used 3/S parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 In what part of town do you live? Someone tried to break into on of the cars on our lot last night, pried off the door handle assembly with a screwdriver and tried to pry the door open as well. This happened just off Brice rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 North end near 161. It's just been a whirlwind of issues lately with my neighbors/neighborhood lately, hopefully this is the last issue I have. Thank god I keep the other toys in garages or ... I'll post some photos of it later on, real nice damage to the door must have taken some serious effort. As for the insurance money pocketing I'm more looking to spend additional money to get something done right and keep the car tight. Plus making it look a bit more special/unique is never a bad thing. Yes 3/S doors are like slabs of iron, wonder what the hung weight is and if even an 80lb popper would handle them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Door poppers usually have a manual switch hidden so if the battery dies you can push a button and still get in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 That's exactly what I was thinking. With how my luck is going these days I'll end up with a dead battery and my car sitting there laughing at me. Starting to sound like a pretty attractive option now...who's got a body guys they trust to do this kind of thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Cheapest option out there is to leave your doors unlocked and don't leave anything valuable in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn89 Posted September 21, 2013 Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 Just my 2 cents, but it sounds to me like whomever did this had no clue what they where doing. So most likely young kids. Them type door handles are the easiest thing to unlock with a small flathead. You can get it between the handle and door skin and sometimes never even leave a scratch. Super easy and someone good at it can do it just as fast as a key. Dsm's are terrible for this as the handles loosen up over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted September 21, 2013 Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 I hated having shaved doors on an s15 I had. I didn't have the emergency latch and not too long after I got it the poppers quit working. From then on I just left the window cracked since I had the plastic wind deflectors and a bent coat hanger in the bed lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 Lol left yourself some breaking in tools handy just in case huh? If I decide to do it I would definitely put the manual latch, I know my luck to well to trust it without. How long ago did you have yours done and where? I know plenty of good parts/tuning people but body work is something I have never had to deal with, fortunately/unfortunately? As far as I can tell nothing is missing. Hopefully some little gangster got his "Bustin into cars" merit badge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted September 21, 2013 Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 It was already done when I bought it and it wasn't the prettiest truck so it wasn't a huge deal. Plus I'm in the country so the odds are a little slimmer of something happening so I didn't really care. At the time I had a box with 3 10's in it but you had to remove a bucket seat in order to get it out. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted September 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 Feelers are out to a few shops to ballpark me some costs, as long as it makes financial sense I think it's the way we'll go. Should give it a good different look, resolve my issues, and hopefully not ruin the car. Now...to Lambo Door or Not to Lambo Door... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted September 26, 2013 Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 No you may not Lambo door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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