I got some replacement window scrapers (or scrubs as the vendor calls it) so I can finish the door panels. However, there is something else I wanted to do before closing up the doors. This car is old school, and has manual door locks. To add a bit of modern convenience, I wanted to add a central locking system, along with keyless entry. I got a kit from Commando Alarms that includes door lock actuators for the central locking and an RF control unit for the keyless entry. The kit was inexpensive so I'm hoping it won't crap out too soon.
I started by running the wiring out to each door. Again, if I had thought ahead, I would have run this wiring along with the window relay wiring while I had the dashboard out. It was tough, but I got it run and secured. Next was mounting the lock actuator. This was actually pretty easy as there was plenty of room in the door immediately below and in line with the manual door lock knob.
You can see the lock actuator mounted vertically behind the inner door skin. From there, a rod (bent a little to clear the other door rods) goes up to the manual lock rod and secured by a clamp supplied in the kit. This system does not use an external switch. When one door is unlocked, the other will unlock. With the driver's side hooked up, I was able to plug the actuator in the other side and test the system. It seems to work pretty well and is quiet and smooth. As soon as I have both lock actuators hooked up, I'll wire in the keyless entry to make sure that part works before buttoning up the doors.
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