Now that we have installed several Vertical Door kits for the Saturn SKY, we have been asked to provide more details about the installation process, so we'll try to do an overview here. While the door kits we purchased are customized for the SKY and advertised as reversable bolt-on kits, we should caution that the installation requires a great deal of metalwork, rewiring, and adjustments.

The installation begins with removal of both front fenders plus the fender support brackets. Then, three components need to be removed and replaced in new positions:

1. On the drivers side, the ECM/TCM module and bracket are removed, and the bracket that holds the computer module must be trimmed and relocated
2. Also on the driver's side, the washer bottle needs to be removed, and a new bracket needs to be installed which moves the bottle forward about an inch.
3. On the passenger side, the battery needs to be removed, and the battery tray modified slightly to allow the battery to slide forward about an inch.

After the components have been moved, the next step is to trim off material from the fenders and support brackets to provide clearance for the new hinges. The kit includes diagrams telling you how much metal needs to be removed from each piece. Also at this time, material needs to be removed from the underside of the hood to provide hinge clearance.

Prior to installing the hinges, we taped the doors to the car with A LOT of masking tape to hold the door into the exact place prior to removing the old hinges. After removing the old hinges the new hinges will bolt right up, and the tape can be removed, and the alignment tested before installing the assist shocks.

Although the doors are working at this point, the trickiest part of the installation is extending the wiring harnesses so that they clear the new hinges and fenders. Zip ties are used to accomplish this.

After the wiring harness is extended in such a way as to not interfere with the mechanisms, we reinstall the fender brackets and fenders and begin greasing the hinges and making our adjustments. There are several adjustments to make, and this is time consuming, and imperative for a nice, clean instalation.

After doing several of these, it now takes us about four hours to do the driver's side door, and two hours to do the passenger side. Installation is a team effort, often requiring four hands and special tools. The instructions included in the kit are sketchy at best, and you definately get better at this as you get a few of them under your belt.

The photos in this article are linked into our photo gallery, so you can click on each one to see a larger image.