I am again thinking of ways to smooth the car out even more and the only thing left on the back end is the R logo with the key hole underneath. My question, could you take out that assembly but leave the motor in and just seal the hole by tacking in some metal, sanding over it, etc etc and painting it up to match the car? I would think it wouldn't matter as far as the trunk functioning since you have the remote and release switch in the car but my only concern - is the button in the car activating the release motor as well? That could be quite a problem if the motor ever broke then without a key release and could be the obstacle to this alteration. Is there anyway to make this work without just relying on and hoping that little motor never broke? Because if that's so this would be a no go - first time the motor broke I'd be stuck out of my trunk with no way in it.

Just an idea - if this was shaved off the back the car would look even more smooth and mysterious. But it's not worth it if you can get stuck out of your trunk!

yes, you can shave it, but have some kind of manual override to get into the trunk in case of electrical failure - maybe a cable tucked in by the license plate that can release the latch?

Or in the fuel filler opening.

http://rivperformance.editboard.com/showroom-f3/body-work-and-paint-t5729.htm?highlight=paint+++%2bbody+work


Look here for work in progress.

Cool, thanks for that link - I remembered seeing it somewhere and that gave me the idea. How would you make a release that doesn't require a key? I don't think the fuel door would be a great idea - if that ever broke the manual release for it is also in the trunk. So if both broke at the same time you could be stuck out of the trunk AND your gas cap. It'd have to be something like underneath the backseat where I could take the seat out and then pull the release. But again, how does one design a pull release that doesn't need a key to open it? It would definitely require some little rings to keep the cord from getting caught up too. I don't want it to be like those door poppers that anyone could walk by and use - people could get into my trunk that way.

Does anyone have a picture of how that release mechanism works with the thing taken out of the car or otherwise?

The trunk release mechanism is not a motorized device, it is a simple solonoid that pulls back and turns the trunk release is if you were turning it with the key. I knw this because mine is currently broken and I had it out to superglue it.... whih worked exactly once before it broke again...

You could probably use something like a manual choke cable assembly and run the cable back to the trunk release. This could be hidden where ever convenient for you. I have no doubt that it whould be a PITA to install, but it could be a simple design which IMHO means less chance of failure.

Good Luck!

My trunk is shaved adn I just use the popper on the side of the door. I tried to find a way to make a emergency release cable but couldn't figure out how. If the solonoid does go out, I will have to pull the rear seat adn use a long flat head screwdriver to turn the release (which I had to do before I found that I had the glove box switch in the off position).

There's a release under the back seat? How does that work?

You can use a brake cable from a bicycle. Just have to figure out a decent way to get the cable from the trunk lid to the interior.