Triumph/TR3A Projects:Electric Locks

I wanted to put electric locks on parts of my car, particularly the glove compartment, the backseat, and the trunk. I wanted to be able to open the glove compartment, in particular, without needing a key so I could get to the stereo.

I ended up building my own locks to try to save money (and because I couldn't find a reasonable commercial solution). It didn't really save that much money, but the locks worked out better than expected.

The solenoid
(I bought on ebay, just happens to be Lucas)
Attached to a door latch I grabbed these plates
for 39 cents on my way out of the hardware store to use as welding scrap
But it was almost
as if they were made for the solenoid/latch
So I cut and welded on
a piece of "wire channel" (my favorite bulk welding material) to hold back the solenoid.
And pressed the whole thing
between the two plates
And I'm going to mount it
in my dash something like this.
Here's a snifty little mpeg
showing the lock working [movie]
I found some posts and spacers
that were just the right size for sandwiching the mounting plates and attaching it to the glove compartment door.
And here it is mounted.
Now to wire it up and put up a striker plate.
Here's the striker p..e that I fabricated.
Album created by album a MarginalHack by David Madison on Wed Jun 3 05:39:18 2015