Lambo Doors - Does anyone know about this company???
06-29-2004, 07:26 AM
#24
The fenders have sheet metal that basically covers the hinge area. You can see it when you open the door and look inside the front fender area.
Folks say to "roll" back this sheet metal......which really means bend it out of the way. I do not recommend this.
Since you will need to remove the fenders to install the hinges anyway, it is my recommendation that you CUT and remove this small amount of sheet metal.........just enough to provide the necessary clearance needed by the hinge. This may sound drastic or frightening, but it is very simple and can be done with any type of metal saw or possibly sheet metal cutters. It is no more difficult than cutting a tin can. You will want to touch-up the cut with paint so that it looks right and doesn't rust.
I believe rolling or bending this sheet metal would create stress within the area that may result in paint failure or undesirable and unsightly "body" damage (the bent area just wouldn't look right).
I'll post a pic if anyone wants to see it.
Folks say to "roll" back this sheet metal......which really means bend it out of the way. I do not recommend this.
Since you will need to remove the fenders to install the hinges anyway, it is my recommendation that you CUT and remove this small amount of sheet metal.........just enough to provide the necessary clearance needed by the hinge. This may sound drastic or frightening, but it is very simple and can be done with any type of metal saw or possibly sheet metal cutters. It is no more difficult than cutting a tin can. You will want to touch-up the cut with paint so that it looks right and doesn't rust.
I believe rolling or bending this sheet metal would create stress within the area that may result in paint failure or undesirable and unsightly "body" damage (the bent area just wouldn't look right).
I'll post a pic if anyone wants to see it.
06-29-2004, 08:30 AM
#25
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Thanks for the added input everyone. Again, it will be a matter of analyzing what I get and see how it stacks up against the kits available. It's good to see there are some kits around $1300-1400... apparently prices have dropped some since I last looked.
I heard back from the company yesterday... my instruction CD is on the way. I should have it in the next 4-5 days. Again, updates after I give it a good look see.
Item 1 - Door style
I don't know... I'm hoping that they open normally 30 degrees or so then go up (like on BigBadBlackTrack's Z). That way, you can use the door normally most of the time and just swing it up when you want to show off.
Item 2 - Rolling Fenders
I hope this isn't necessary as I don't think I will do this either. Correct me if I'm wrong, tho... in most cases, rolling the fender/quarter/whatever doesn't affect the outward appearance of the vehicle if done properly... it just bends the metal behind what you see tighter to give more clearance for wheels or in this case the door to open. Right?
Item 3 - Adam
Get with the program, Adam! I've got money to mod and I'm running out of things to do. I'd much rather have the showy lambo doors than a boombox stereo... and big brake upgrade is too expensive for me to do right now. Besides.. what sort of Duck would I be if I don't have "wings"?
Item 4 - (unrelated) Carbon Fiber body kit from aspecmotorsports
Can I just get the CF front bumper from the Nismo replica CF Kit? Anyone know? What would the price be? Also, what kind of screen are they using behind the bumper? In the pics it looks silver... the Nismo one is black. I'd much rather have the silver to match my Siebon CF hood vent inserts (I don't think mine can be polished). Any chance they sell that by itself????
I heard back from the company yesterday... my instruction CD is on the way. I should have it in the next 4-5 days. Again, updates after I give it a good look see.
Item 1 - Door style
Duck, do you know if the ones you are looking at are the "90 degree" ones that simply slide out and then up or are they the ones that sort of open up at a diagonal path (like 30 degrees or so)?
Item 2 - Rolling Fenders
I hope this isn't necessary as I don't think I will do this either. Correct me if I'm wrong, tho... in most cases, rolling the fender/quarter/whatever doesn't affect the outward appearance of the vehicle if done properly... it just bends the metal behind what you see tighter to give more clearance for wheels or in this case the door to open. Right?
Item 3 - Adam
Get with the program, Adam! I've got money to mod and I'm running out of things to do. I'd much rather have the showy lambo doors than a boombox stereo... and big brake upgrade is too expensive for me to do right now. Besides.. what sort of Duck would I be if I don't have "wings"?
Item 4 - (unrelated) Carbon Fiber body kit from aspecmotorsports
Can I just get the CF front bumper from the Nismo replica CF Kit? Anyone know? What would the price be? Also, what kind of screen are they using behind the bumper? In the pics it looks silver... the Nismo one is black. I'd much rather have the silver to match my Siebon CF hood vent inserts (I don't think mine can be polished). Any chance they sell that by itself????
06-29-2004, 08:37 AM
#26
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Listen to me, this is a high pressure (because of leverage) mounting apparatus. My advice is DO NOT SCRIMP ON THIS MOD.
...
Quality here is more important than you can imagine.
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Quality here is more important than you can imagine.
I'm looking to save money, but not skimp on quality. If I have the specs, I'm sure I can have quality parts made to pull of this mod. The question becomes whether I can get the quality parts for less than the cost of a kit. That benchmark now appears to be the Vertical Doors kit which can be had for $1350.
06-29-2004, 10:20 AM
#28
Quality = good (not excellent) note my comment on the nec. .25 inch spacer. Of course I deviated from their instructions because I did not want to cut, lengthen, and splice the stock wires.
The hinge allows for the doors to open precisely 25 degrees horizontally.
You can start lifting the door vertically before it reaches 25 degrees BUT you will damage the stock door panel. I did this, and had to do a minor repair to a small dent in the interior door panel. I used a heat gun and was able to get the very small indentation to totally disappear. You will need to educate EVERY person that trys to open your doors vertically of this. Perhaps there is an adjustment or simple fix. I have not really thought about it much.
The verticle door kit has many adjustable components. A definate plus and it actually earned a compliment from the body shop.
You MUST open the door 25 degrees horizontally before lifting vertically. Sometimes you forget this and yank that door open. I have not bent or misaligned anything by doing this. :-( A definate plus point for this kit!
Lifting the door is not necessary. You can get in and out just fine. I am 6'2", 230lbs, and 47 years old. The door kit's 25 degree limit is at most a very slight inconvenience for me.
You will not be lifting the door very often. Only when you feel you need the attention.
Believe me, if you thought the -Z- had eye-candy appeal...you aint seen nothing yet!!
Small story:
After installation I visited my local Nissan dealer. 10 Sales people were standing in a group in the new car lot. I pulled up and rolled down my window. I told them my door was broken, and proceeded to open it (vertically). At least half of them got this REAL CONFUSED look on their faces. LOL
The hinge allows for the doors to open precisely 25 degrees horizontally.
You can start lifting the door vertically before it reaches 25 degrees BUT you will damage the stock door panel. I did this, and had to do a minor repair to a small dent in the interior door panel. I used a heat gun and was able to get the very small indentation to totally disappear. You will need to educate EVERY person that trys to open your doors vertically of this. Perhaps there is an adjustment or simple fix. I have not really thought about it much.
The verticle door kit has many adjustable components. A definate plus and it actually earned a compliment from the body shop.
You MUST open the door 25 degrees horizontally before lifting vertically. Sometimes you forget this and yank that door open. I have not bent or misaligned anything by doing this. :-( A definate plus point for this kit!
Lifting the door is not necessary. You can get in and out just fine. I am 6'2", 230lbs, and 47 years old. The door kit's 25 degree limit is at most a very slight inconvenience for me.
You will not be lifting the door very often. Only when you feel you need the attention.
Believe me, if you thought the -Z- had eye-candy appeal...you aint seen nothing yet!!
Small story:
After installation I visited my local Nissan dealer. 10 Sales people were standing in a group in the new car lot. I pulled up and rolled down my window. I told them my door was broken, and proceeded to open it (vertically). At least half of them got this REAL CONFUSED look on their faces. LOL
06-29-2004, 11:32 AM
#31
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jnc30127... me too.. Got some pics to share? I'd love to see detailed pics of the hinges, the door fully opened horizontally with no vertical lift, area where door meets fender with door only opened horizontally, and several pics from different angles with door lifted. BTW, what support does the kit use for when the door is up?
You almost have me sold on the Vertical Door, Inc. kit. Still, I have the SuPie instructions on the way. It would be great to do a comparison. I might be able to if you could forward me some detailed pics of your hinges. If the plans look similar, I can still see about fabricating a kit.
Sounds like the Vertical Doors kit is my benchmark on all counts now.
Price = $1350... so I have to come in enough under that to make it worth while
Design = by jnc's account, "In my opinion you probably could not improve on the verticle door design. If you could, it would take much trial and error (and time)." So, probably about as sound as a design as we can have without putting in a lot of R&D.
Quality = by jnc's account, good (not excellent). Perhaps some room for improvement in quality of materials, but not the design.
Okay folks, those are my benchmarks. As I have said many times now, I'll get on this as soon as my package arrives!
You almost have me sold on the Vertical Door, Inc. kit. Still, I have the SuPie instructions on the way. It would be great to do a comparison. I might be able to if you could forward me some detailed pics of your hinges. If the plans look similar, I can still see about fabricating a kit.
Sounds like the Vertical Doors kit is my benchmark on all counts now.
Price = $1350... so I have to come in enough under that to make it worth while
Design = by jnc's account, "In my opinion you probably could not improve on the verticle door design. If you could, it would take much trial and error (and time)." So, probably about as sound as a design as we can have without putting in a lot of R&D.
Quality = by jnc's account, good (not excellent). Perhaps some room for improvement in quality of materials, but not the design.
Okay folks, those are my benchmarks. As I have said many times now, I'll get on this as soon as my package arrives!
06-29-2004, 11:53 AM
#32
I will take pics. soon. Since my -Z- is black, and the hinge area is dark, I am concerned about getting the shots you want.
I certainly can relate to all you are thinking......I was too at one time. I was lucky because it turned out well. This is not a purely mechanical install....there is some artistry to it.
On another note, my diamond-plate floor mats arrived today. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT !!!! DO NOT BUY THESE, THEY ARE ENTIRELY TOO SMALL and look terrible. I could jig-saw a set out of sheet stock that would look better than these. arrrgh!
I certainly can relate to all you are thinking......I was too at one time. I was lucky because it turned out well. This is not a purely mechanical install....there is some artistry to it.
On another note, my diamond-plate floor mats arrived today. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT !!!! DO NOT BUY THESE, THEY ARE ENTIRELY TOO SMALL and look terrible. I could jig-saw a set out of sheet stock that would look better than these. arrrgh!
Last edited by JCat; 06-29-2004 at 11:55 AM.
06-29-2004, 04:49 PM
#33
I took these 11 tonight. Unfortunately, once you get the fenders back on you cannot see how the hing functions very well. I took many pictures by sticking the camera up in there, only to be disappointed with the results. My installers claim that they took many pictures of the whole install. I'll try and get my hands on those tomorrow.