Re: Rat repair.
 

Thank you Deadhead for the vote of confidence!

NonHog thanks for the suggestion, that dolly would not be long enough.

Hey Vic, There was some small livable waviness in the metal which i think was from folding the edges but the weld area was still pretty straight, only a couple small waves, that said i did forget about quenching and shrinking, i was just trying to keep the part cool. At this point i felt it was not a problem to continue, and probably find out how bad it would get...

I went ahead and tipped the door upside down like you said, i could reach about 1/2 of the welds, i was looking for a way to build an extended handle that might work for planishing the rest of the spots.

Having the door upside down revealed a couple things i didn't realize from looking directly at the face, from the forward bottom up to the weld seam, the face of the forward edge of the door curves inward which i believe is to help with clearance when the door is opened and closed, my patch panel had actually gotten curved the opposite way so it was dishing inward nothing a little bondo wouldn't fix but i also noticed i had an edge contour issue which i couldn't fix by subtle bending, i tried to reopen the fold but in doing so i pretty much messed up the edge enough that i'm gonna go ahead and start over. learn from experience right? I happen to have a spare LH skin in my stash that was given to me by another local board member.

I turned up the heat and feed on my welder and i can get a good penetration on the angle itself, i just need to figure out how not to burn the skin away in the process.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Please stand by for an important news bulletin...

The Welding department regrets to inform you that you were stupid.. :)

After i messed up the skin i went ahead and cut my spot welds off and removed it, tried to straighten it a little but decided to go ahead and prep for the second skin. i looked over the angle and tried a test weld on the back side... then i increased the amps and feedrate... Humm .... Duh... :mm:

Anyway, the angle is welded in place now and i have got the second 3/4 skin rough cut down and started folding the lower lip, have to stop for the day.

Learn by doing, its going a lot faster this time around..

Now if i could learn how to grind off spot welds and not hit the surrounding skin ;)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Don't worry about grinding the sheet metal around the spot welds. that's why God gave us Bondo.

Re: Rat repair.
 

yea i know, thankfully i have seen worse. :)

Only had about an hour today, got 2 edges rolled over and almost have the length fitted.

Now its starting to get hot (relative term) outside and i got to go to work where its always 10 degrees hotter in the shop on days like today, sure glad i don't live in AZ or S. Ca, but when i was in Eastern Wa i liked the heat because it was dry, over here its muggy.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I know what you mean about muggy. My dad is from Boston. I remember visiting I felt like a old glazed donut when the frosting starts to melt.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Another day, another late start, another hour of work.

Rolled the 3rd edge over and made a small radiused dolley to roll the lower rear rounded corner, then got the length trimmed to 1/16' longer than the original skin. ready to tack in place.

Now i just thought about how to spot weld the inner rolled edges, gonna have to drill some holes and not mess up the skin face..... guess i'll look at a spare door to figure out how many holes i need.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Looks good!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Have you seen the spot welder at HF. it might be the way to go

Re: Rat repair.
 

Skimmed through the last few pages. Nice choice in compressor. Working on them doors, you braver than I. Seeing your last project, looking forward to seeing this one complete. Couple hours a day adds up. Keep at it :metal:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for stopping by, ya know I'm not too sure if I'm brave or a glutton for punishment at this point, this door is frustrating as all get out.

As for the last project, i think you must have me mistaken for someone else, this is my first but hopefully not my last. Trying to teach myself how to be a body man is a major undertaking.

Update:

Been slow going, lots of OT at work has been sucking my energy but with the skin tacked in place today i mounted the door... Back to the drawing board! I realized the front lower skin stuck forward way too much I measured the passenger door and one of the other doors i have and this one was 1/4" too wide, altho i didn't have the door properly adjusted it was obvious it was the front edge that needed work. I also didn't trim the bottom of the hinge pins and the upper pin was hitting the door so i had to cut them down. the skin looked too long on the bottom.

Back in the garage I opened the fold and did my best to re roll it without removing the skin, lots better than that first attempt a while back when i trashed the first skin.. when i remounted the door a second time i realized the front fender has a slight contour (i think) and while the bottom corner looked good after re rolling the area between the corner and the cut no longer followed the contour of the fender so i'll have to use some filler rod and build up the middle. I removed the door again and am in the process of trimming the length to where i think it needs to be, plan on adjusting the hinges a little then remounting tomorrow.

Remember the aluminum slot mags i bought? I took them to be polished today, figure i'll get them back in a couple weeks, i'll be taking my current tires with me to remount them to the slots..

Re: Rat repair.
 

You're doing great, Mike. As you can see, test fitting the door tells you a lot and gives you the chance to make corrections. Rome wasn't built in a day. ;)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok i know i'm doing this the hard way but i don't want to pull the hood and fenders just yet.

Anyway i have taken the door on and off about 7 times this weekend while fitting the skin and adjusting the door hinges, but am realizing that on this truck nothing is perfect, right now i have the rear door gap consistent to the cab and the body lines on the rear of the door and cab are real close, just a smidge high.

The biggest hurdle seems to be the window frame, the radius in the glass frame looks to be smaller than the cab and its hitting in the corner and along the top edge of the frame its a bit arched and hitting the top of the cab in the center of the top flat, along the front edge the window frame is further away at the bottom. it looks to me the only way to adjust the door to eliminate the interference is down but then the that affects the body lines.. the bottom contour looks good so my inner flange repair seems to be ok.

So tomorrow i'll look it over and get a fresh perspective, If I have to readjust the door again and try and drop the door just a little, maybe I'll get brave and see if i can bump that arch on the top down just a little. I'm gonna have to draw a conclusion soon and start stitching the lower skin for the last time.


As it is now i have 3 spot welds holding the skin in place, it looks like i'll have to cut them one last time and reposition the skin for the last time to true the bottom edge of the replacement skin to the lower cab.

Since i have been on this forum I have seen a lot of posts where people show a crack in their door next to a hinge, this weekend showed me how the cracks happen, its amazing how just a little misalignment can move the hinge mounting surface for the door out of true creating a binding affect.

I learned one more lesson today, irregardless of if the pork shoulder is on sale for 1/2 price or not, never slow cook a 8.75lb roast for pulled pork when there is only 2 people in the house! I just hated having to throw 2 3lb zip loc bags of it in the freezer.. :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Here's the bottom skin as it sits now.. i may need to work the rear bottom corner a little.

This door is aligned better than it ever has been in the past tho so i feel good about the progress. ya know it gets easier the more ya do it.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Its always hard to tell from pictures, but that top body line under the window looks like you could bring the door down another 1/8th, but then the lower body line doesn't look like you could afford it. I hear you on the on/off 7 times - its much easier when the glass and innards have been removed. Between that and too much pulled pork I bet you're feeling it today :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Kudos Mike for doing the door the hard way and learning. Sometimes the most satisfying work is the stuff that doesn't come in the mail and need to be bolted on.

if you had some overages on the pork, you could have at least frozen a block and sent it to MD for cry in out loud.

But seriously, truck is coming along nicely.

Chris

Re: Rat repair.
 

I went out and did a little more adjusting today, i got the door lowered just a little and maybe the top is outward just a little too, it just clears the cab around the top. I have come to the conclusion that its good enough, its already way better than it was before i started. Now i have to cut the spot welds and readjust the bottom gap and tag it in place, then take it off one more time and weld it up, spread some bondo sand and prime, i may go so far as to buy a gallon of the origional paint, of course when i reinstall it i'll probably have to readjust it again..

I have to keep in mind this is my work truck, my goal is to fix the rust, preserve the truck and get the outside painted to match the old origional paint while keeping the truck road worthy in the process, its not a show truck, its a 20' truck LOL!

Then some day down the road when ready i may do a complete frame off and hire a body shop to do the fine tuneing.

Re: Rat repair.
 

The work you have done on the door looks real good. keep going.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks, its amazing how much you learn about things when ya do it on your own, i can guarentee the next time i have to do this it will go faster, i think it would have been a major help if i had a good sized picture of a door in front of me when i was doing this because i was thinking both edges of the door were suppose to be straight, but the front has a curve, its hard to see that when the door is laying on a table.. :waah:

Today i made a couple final measurements and scribed another line on the replacement skin to trim to, removed the door, then measured the bottom to the origional scribe again and documented it, cut the 3 tacks, shaved the skin a little more, put it back in place and aligned to my last measurements and tacked it again, now i just have to start the welding process.

I don't mind saying that the heat over here has been zapping my energy levels a bit, sucking down lots of water..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Your right about the outdoor build.But you do what you have to.You look like you have a great project going on.My father in law has a 72 gmc 4x4 thats green with those same wheels.I had to do a double take.Wish you the best with your build and I' ll be looking forward to your new posts.

Re: Rat repair.
 

You've really come along on those doors. A lot of satisfaction when you conquer something like this. Those adjustments I know are a PITA! Are you doing those with the door seals in or out? Just mentioning it as I know it can cause issues later as I had to readjust when I installed my seals.
Jealous of those slots. Something that is on my list. Please post em up so I can drool a little.
I can't think of how many times I only had an hour or two to get something done, but it all added up!! Keep it up.

Re: Rat repair.
 

20 footer? You’re too hard on yourself thinking more like 5! :jest:

Seriously you're doing a great job a lot of people would not fuss (slam artists) and it would look like crap those are the 20+ footers if finished at all.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey Thanks for stopping by!

Re: Rat repair.
 

You make a good point, whats there right now is whats left of the original seals, the lower part is gone, but about 3/4 of the seal remains.

Per the slots, they are 16.5", almost nobody makes 33" tires for them anymore so i figure i'd better get them polished and my recent 33" tires mounted on them before they get too old. I can still find 35" tires and have been thinking about buying a set sealing them in plastic bags and storing them but i know i'd be pushing the possibility of rubbing with the 4" lift and the possibility of them dry rotting. Kinda bummed i was told BFG was gonna continue making them so i bought tires and found the wheels, now its looking like i get one set of tires and the rims will become wall art.

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Thanks, i have a problem with not being able to say its good enough sometimes :)

Ok i'll meet ya in the middle and call it a 10 foot truck LOL!

Re: Rat repair.
 

So just waking up to my cup O mudd, i ran into something the other day and keep forgetting to ask..

My door lock tumbler worked fine before i started working on the door, now the key will go in but it won't turn, the door handle inside works fine, the outer door knob work's fine and the lock rod functions properly.. So did welding create enough current to weld the tumblers together? This keyed alike lock set is maybe only 4 years old...

Your thoughts?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hmmm.. Maybe the lube in it solidified after it cooled. Try squirting lube into the cylinder? Not sure if running the lock rod as you "jimmy" the key if that would help? Assuming nothing is binding. Got me..

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Going slow but i have sprouted an oil can. Its about 3-4" around, cant upload a pic at the moment

I have been trying hard not to build up any heat, trying to keep each spot weld about 3" away from the next, one pass across the door then walked away for 15-20 minutes, then come back and grind the spots, come back in 15 minutes make sure its cool to the touch, pick a different spot, go across the door in 3' increments, wait 10 minutes, grind the spots, wait 10 minutes.... Repeat You get the idea.

The can is in the front of the door. I have not done any of the spot welding on the flange's..

Guess i may have to get out my shrinking disk when i'm done welding the skin in..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Here's a pic, it pops about 2.5" radius around the tape, it still springs back to its original shape. Hoping at this point that it will firm up as i continue.

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Nothing much to report, still welding and cooling, definitely getting some waviness in the panel but gonna have to live with it, the oil canning spot firmed up. have maybe 10-15% of the seam left to weld then will do the spots on the folds.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well the front half of the door is looking pretty good, cant say the same for the back half. I didn't notice it when i stopped yesterday but the back corner of the skin had dipped in quite a bit, kinda football shapped about 4" X 6", the worst area is about 1/4" deep. I don't know if using my stud gun dent puller will be effective at popping it out. The arch that i tried to maintain across the width is now in a straight line. I have a small amount of welding left.

Ya know this keeps making me think that maybe flanging a replacement skin and bonding it in may possibly give a better result?

Re: Rat repair.
 

I've had good luck doing that the few times I've tried it. Modern panel adhesives have come a long way and feature low porosity, exceptional bonding and minimal shrinkage. As long as you have a decent amount of bonding area, like 3/8" to 1/2" of flange overlap and a way to clamp the surfaces together while the adhesive sets, they work great.

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Well at this point i'm not sure i wanna cut it all out and start over..

I'm gonna try and get my arm in that door again tomorrow (no easy task) and see if i can bump things around a little bit.. and give the stud puller a shot..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Sorry bout that - I was mistaken. It was post 735 I must not have looked at the posted name. These doors/fitment of panels were never perfect by any means from the factory. You're getting it done.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Oh Gees how i wish that was my truck! :lol:

Yea even the stock set of 67 doors i picked up are a bit wavy where mine had that arch. Not a lot of time to get much done today, hit a couple spot i missed yesterday, gonna attempt so move some metal around a little tomorrow. Working again this weekend..

Re: Rat repair.
 

So nothing done yet, worked all weekend and not feeling to well today, spent my free time reading about body repair, its amazing how opinions vary about having no gap or leaving a gap, ect.. Kinda like an oil thread ;)

While i'm ok with the body line contour from front to back on my door, basically its maintained a straight line, i am not happy with how the repair panel has sunk in between the spot weld seam and the bottom fold, I had all the edges are folded over before welding so trying to pull the surface out is just going to wedge the folds up against the inner shell tighter. I'm not going to slather that much bondo, just too thick.

My stock metal thickness is .043, the repair panel is .032. I called Tabco today and talked to Tim about my project and asked him about their door panel thicknesses he said theirs are .036, he said he was surprised mine were anything over .040 but i assured him i had the paint and rust removed before i mic'ed the surface. I went ahead and ordered 2 of their panels and headed out the door, he called me back in about 10 minutes and said if i had the time in 2 days he could reload the driver door die and try stamping a couple thicker pieces, the thickest being .046, he would include them free with my order and not charge me any more for shipping, all he wants in return is my feedback on which one i think works best.. Not that i think I'm the best guy to ask but i have come to hate the .032 stuff i got from Classic Industry's (Key parts i believe)

I'm not a fan of doing this but i think the only way i can do this skin replacement is to go ahead and cut an access hole in the bottom of the door that i can reach into so i can fine tune any warpage and planish the spots as I'm going, at least the access hole will be in a place that's not visible unless your laying on the ground. I just cannot reach all the way into the door from the inner access hole and run a hammer, let alone even see the skin for most of the door, even if the door is upside down or sideways.

So gonna start unfolding the folds first to see if some of the sunk down area springs back up first to see if the skin is pulling on the lower edge of the door, then start cutting the panel out slowly to minimize the heat build up.

I will not submit.... :lol:

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I did try pulling the surface up to restore some of the contour the other day, i succeeded to a point but also introduced some pretty bad oil canning, i didn't post this yesterday but this is why i gave up and ordered more skins..

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I can't offer you much advise as none of my patches required that I run that long a weld, but know that I'm rooting for you!

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I applaud your attitude. Sometimes learning sucks...Haha. I'm a greenhorn at panel work too. I have no doubt your finished product will be great. It's nice to hear of a company who listens and has good customer service. I'll be remembering that!

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Thanks guys i appreciate it, i'll be honist, i think this door will be harder than any of the other panels i have to deal with, and this is a hell of a learning curve, thats ok tho.. When i get the thicker door panel and give it a 3rd go around i'll ether be successful or i'll be looking for a restoration shop LOL!

I admit i have been kicking the restoration shop around a bit because this is a very sentimental truck, but right now i just cannot sink that kind of money into it. once i get my bike back and payed off i'll have a better idea where i'm at as far as highering some work done.

I am really itching to have this truck done so i can work on the 67!

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I just remembered something i wanted to ask about, the tires on my truck have all about maybe 500 miles on them now, i just noticed that on the front tires the little casting nubs or fingers are almost all worn off on the outside but not the inside, i figure my toe in must be out a little? but which way, too much toe in? or too little?