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I was putzing around today and figured I'd swap the hatch latch from my 84 TA to my 90 Formula chassis that everything is getting swapped into. Unfortunately I ran into an issue, as it appears the mounting is different between the two.
Here is the latch release along with the mount on the 84 TA.
Here is the mounting bracket on the 90 Formula.
Since the mounting brackets are significantly different, I'm at a loss. I suppose I could drill out the spot welds and swap the mounting brackets, too, but I'm hoping someone here has a better idea.
Is there a hatch release for the 90 Formula that I could hook up to work with my archaic 84 Dash\Button? I do have all the wiring from the 84 already installed, so if I could just use the existing wiring that'd be even better.
Has anyone run into this issue? I don't need a pulldown motor or anything fancy like that, I'd just like to be able to close my hatch securely. If I can use the remote popper, all the better, but it's not a necessity at the moment.
The way I see it is you have 3 options in dealing with the rear latch. First, like you said, drill out the spot welds and swap in the mounts from the 84. Second, run a constant 12v power source and use the pull down motor. Third, turn your power pull down into a manual one by welding/screwing the tracks together. If you go with option 3 and your pull down works, you might be able to work out a trade with someone who has an already broken one and come out ahead money wise. The downside to 2 and 3 is that you'll need to use the 1990 rear panel as it has a larger hump for the motor than the 84's manual latch.
The release part, as far as I am aware, is the same. The button in the dash supplies the solenoid with 12 volts when pushed (and the car is in Park,). I tried to verify on the wiring diagrams but I couldn't find the circuit.
Unfortunately, I don't have a pull down motor or any sort of latch that came with the '90 chassis. It was strictly a roller that I was planning on transplanting all of my interior and drivetrain into. At present, all I have is the electric hatch release from the 84 and the corresponding wiring (essentially just a 12v wire from a 12v ignition on source). It has a ground wire, but it grounds locally to the bracket it bolts to.
I was hoping that there was an electric hatch release without a pulldown motor for the later years that I could just bolt up to the existing bracket, and use the 12v wire and switch I have to power it, but I'm not sure something like that was even available utilizing the style of bracket that you see in the '90.
I sort of figured that would be the case. I guess I'll need to transplant the bracket, then, since those pull down motors seem to be worth their weight in gold.
These years all had a pull-down unit.
86-87, 88-91 & 91.5-92.
The 86-87 and 88-91 had slight differences in construction, but they are functionally interchangeable. 86-87 had a large white plug on the blue wire. 88-91 had a small black connector on the blue wire. Both have a metal frame (where it attaches to the car body). It also weights about 7 lbs.
The 91.5-92 hatch pull-down unit is a COMPLETELY different animal in construction and function. It is easily distinguished by having a tan-colored plastic frame (where it mounts to the car body).
Add the oddball latch assy to the mix. The 91.5-92 convertibles had a slam latch that uses the same mounting pattern as the 91.5-92 pull-down units in the coupes.
If you are interested, I have a latch/motor combo from a '90 RS that might be useful. Motor doesn't work, but if I'm understanding AmorgetRS correctly you could modify it and just use the latch? Sorry, I'm not terribly familiar with this part myself.
Since it was burned out I was just going to pitch it, but if you'd like to cover the shipping I'll pull it and send it to you. Feel free to PM me.
04-17-2016, 08:44 PM
