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Sometime in the early Sixties a Detroit whiz kid came up with the idea of offering a remote trunk opening gizmo—a device that would allow you to unlatch the trunk without getting out of the car. The implications were enormous, particularly during the days when the box boy at the market would bring the groceries out to your car. Drive up, pop the trunk and you're gone! WOW, what a concept!

This option created a wonderful new convenience product.
Until that time, the trunk key was the only way to access that handy storage area. This option created a wonderful new convenience product (in the age of convenience items) that the manufacturers knew would sell. The problem was how to do it in a cost-effective manner. The first solution was a cable pull device with the handle mounted in the glove box. The cable was routed down the passenger side of the car under the carpet and into the trunk. The driver would pull the handle, which would trip the latch in the trunk, and it would open. The problem was that the cable was so long that over a short time, dirt and internal rust would make it impossible to move the wire inside the cable. A new solution had to be found.

Pop-the-Trunk!
Using an electric solenoid in the late-Sixties solved that minor problem. A push button was mounted in the glove box, with a wire that was routed like the pull cable into the trunk and up to the trunk lock. Push the button and the solenoid pulled the latch, opening the trunk.


Consumers loved it and it was an immediate hit! The Photo Gallery will show you the main components of each type of opener. The manual version is fairly rare and a tough item to find should you want to add one to your car. But to the gadget-phile, it's a cool option to have.


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Photo Guide

This is the handle for a cable-type trunk release. The bracket mounts to the screws that secure the glovebox liner and the cable passes through a hole in the back of the liner. It only takes a short pull to unlatch the trunk, provided the cable is not rusty inside.

The cable was routed through the passenger compartment and into the trunk. Then it was attached with clips to the lid hinge, passed into the trunk lid itself and around to the latch mechanism. A tug twists the latch in the same way the key would turn it.

This manual latch assembly is relatively simple in operation. The cable is pulled through the latch hole and attached to the latch release rod, then the latch then pushed into position and secured. Any slack in the cable can be pulled into the trunk and secured with the clips.

This electric version uses a button that mounts to the side of the glovebox liner. The wiring runs into the trunk, and power comes from a pigtail connection attached to the underdash wiring harness. The button dispatches power to the solenoid, activating the latching mechanism.

The power wire is routed the same as the cable, again attached with clips to the hood hinge. A heavy plastic sheath, to prevent wear at metal contact surfaces, protects the wire. The installation shown here is in a 1970 GM A-body.

Notice the difference between the manual and power latches. The power latch has a protrusion at the top, which houses the solenoid. The wire from the button plugs into the wire from the solenoid. The extra cutout in the trunk sheetmetal is for the solenoid to pass through.


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