Trunk Release Button Punch
Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 4:22 pm
I've had this in my toolbox for the last 18 years. It is a custom made tool that punches the proper size & shape hole in the console shifter trim plate to accept the trunk release button. I had this made by our machine shop back when I was an engineer on the L-car in Lansing. You see trim plates were manufactured without the trunk release button in them. If a car had that option the hole would get punched at the Wilmington assembly plant on the console install line. If you have a car without the trunk release option and you flip the trim plate over you will find a faint outline of the hole in the backside of the plate. That outline was put there to guide the operator in lining up the punch before popping the hole.
Anyway, I found myself needing to put trunk release buttons in a lot of development cars back when I was working on the PRNDL warranty issue (I changed out a ton of trim plates with the PRNDL for analysis). It got to be a real pain in the a$$ to get trim plates custom ordered through the plant with the hole punched in them (eg: nearly impossible since they were focused on building cars not just trim plates for development engineers). So I had this cool little punch made up. It is all aluminum except for the punch die which is steel. You place a trim plate in the tool, crank the die down using an allen wrench and voila' you have a perfectly shaped release button hole (notice they are not square - to prevent mis-orientation when you install the button).
I was always keeping this little tool as a bit of a momento from my L-car engineering days, but thought heck maybe someone else might enjoy having an interesting piece of the L-car history. Still works fine, but I am certain it would make more of a conversation starter and/or cool office desk paper weight.
Let me know if you are interested. I'll let it go for $40 plus shipping.
Anyway, I found myself needing to put trunk release buttons in a lot of development cars back when I was working on the PRNDL warranty issue (I changed out a ton of trim plates with the PRNDL for analysis). It got to be a real pain in the a$$ to get trim plates custom ordered through the plant with the hole punched in them (eg: nearly impossible since they were focused on building cars not just trim plates for development engineers). So I had this cool little punch made up. It is all aluminum except for the punch die which is steel. You place a trim plate in the tool, crank the die down using an allen wrench and voila' you have a perfectly shaped release button hole (notice they are not square - to prevent mis-orientation when you install the button).
I was always keeping this little tool as a bit of a momento from my L-car engineering days, but thought heck maybe someone else might enjoy having an interesting piece of the L-car history. Still works fine, but I am certain it would make more of a conversation starter and/or cool office desk paper weight.
Let me know if you are interested. I'll let it go for $40 plus shipping.