2000 Chevy S10 Electric Life Buildup - Electric Interior

Leo Carbajal, Orange County Rod and Customs' talented go-to guy, began the S-10's power transformation by first removing the manual window crank, door lock bezel, and a few bolts that secured the door panel in place.

With the panel and inner cover removed, Leo assessed the location of the factory door lock rods and window crank and figured out a game plan.

Leo drilled out the three rivets that held the window crank bracket in place and removed the bracket completely since the Colibri regulator would be connected directly to the window crank gear.

With the Colibri regulator in hand, Leo chose the correct gear sleeve combo and affixed it to the handle pivot end. Since this is a universal power window kit, Electric Life supplied many different sizes of cranks and sleeves to select from, which have been labeled and cross-referenced in the directions for a correct, application-specific fit.

With the gear mechanism properly assembled, Leo placed the handle pivot into position and added support with the supplied metal tapping screws, rubber bungs, and brackets.

Using similar hardware, Leo then strategically positioned and secured the motor-end of the regulator. There was just enough space alongside the window mechanism, so we measured twice and drilled our holes once. The instructions indicated that this process was to be done with the window rolled down, which allowed Leo to check for any contact between the motor and window glass.

With the power window setup in place on the passenger side, aside from all wiring, Leo next moved onto the door lock kit by first screwing a provided mounting strap to the actuator.

Mounting the actuator required much caution because the lock rod that connects to it and the factory lock rods operates much better when given a straight plane of travel. Leo selected a great mounting location that allows for seamless actuator operation-the lock rod connected to the actuator extends while unlocking the door and returns to the locked position on the most direct plane imaginable for our application. Leo also strategically positioned the actuator in a spot that would tuck flush behind the door panel upon reassembly.

The fastening clamp that connects both the actuator lock rod and factory lock rod was tightened using the tool supplied in Electric Life's kit.