New lower door skins and door bottom repair

[GMtrucknut!!]

After weighing the options out and deciding that repairing the door was far better than buying the latest reproduction doors I have decided to undertake this . I was just wondering if anyone who has repaired their doors have any helpful hints,pictures ,or other great advice.

[48richard]

I made the same decision, and have just finished my first door - sorry I didn't take pictures. I decided to cut the outer so the join was hidden behind the lower molding; about 8 inches from the bottom I think. I ground the edges off the outer first to separate it from the inner, and then cut off and replaced the inner with the outer still in place. This made sure that the new inner was positioned right, and gave me something to clamp the inner to while I welded it. Then I cut the new outer skin where I wanted, and laid it over the old one to mark the cut. I used a 4 1/2" cut-off wheel to make the cuts, and it was amazingly controllable, so I got good tight joints that I could easily weld.
My biggest mistake was not cutting the inner higher. I ended up having to weld to some fairly thin metal, which doesn't work very well. The next one will be better. Anyway, not as hard as I thought. Go for it.

[_Ogre]

i did both of my doors on my 58, the inner patch panels only go up about 2'' i could have used a little more but i made do.
the inner panels do not match the profile of the original door, but they do work and fits the weather strip fine.
the outer panels are simple flat metal with rolled edges, pretty basic.

i made 3 quarter inch plywood profile templates for both edges and the middle of the doors
unfortunately i only checked one side, the other side was different and sticks out a little on the bottom of the drivers door
or maybe i just plain messed up
as you can see in this picture

[Atommik]

I did both door bottoms inner and outer on my 51. Basically did it the same way as 48richard. Fit the outers first to the rusty inner to get the right shape, tacked those in then did the inners. Check out my build thread, I've got some decent pics of mine.

[Russell Ashley]

I did mine like Ogre did. I made wood templates to be sure I maintained the proper shape of the door. I made the template from the cab at the rear of the door opening so that the door would follow the exact shape of the cab. I thought a template was necessary because when you cut the door the outer skin is not strong enough to maintain it's shape. I was replacing a large section of the door so a template might not be necessary when just replacing the bottom of the door.

[Chevette]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

I did mine like Ogre did. I made wood templates to be sure I maintained the proper shape of the door. I made the template from the cab at the rear of the door opening so that the door would follow the exact shape of the cab. I thought a template was necessary because when you cut the door the outer skin is not strong enough to maintain it's shape. I was replacing a large section of the door so a template might not be necessary when just replacing the bottom of the door.

Good to know. I will be replacing my door skins soon. Did you use 18G? Did you make them from sheet or did you purchase packaged door skins? Thanks.

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by Chevette

Good to know. I will be replacing my door skins soon. Did you use 18G? Did you make them from sheet or did you purchase packaged door skins? Thanks.

I got both of my outers from Brothers but got the inner ones from BowTie Bits. I'm satisfied with them for what they cost. The outer panels are twelve inches high and the full inner was about eight inches high. On my drivers side door I was using the full panels so I had to separate the inner and outer skins a long way up. When you get them cut apart the outer skin is not stiff enough to maintain the exact curve so that is why I made the templates. A professional body man might do it differently but no one ever accused me of being a professional, LOL.

[crossfire84]

did mine not that hard to do, just take your time.

[Kabwe]

I had to do both of my doors.
Damage





New inner panel

Tacked in place

Ready for the outer skin


Finished Door

[_Ogre]

chevette, bought them.

i like those inner pieces kabwe, not sure they were offered when i did mine. that is the way i'd go

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

chevette, bought them.

i like those inner pieces kabwe, not sure they were offered when i did mine. that is the way i'd go

Yeah Ogre.

When I went to buy mine he brought out the ones you mentioned and those. I like those better because my hinge need to be replaced also.

By the way if you buy the large inner door panel they sale the lower hinge bracket separate and you just plug weld it in place. It looks like this

[GMtrucknut!!]

I have the same lower door sections as Kawbe and since my exterior damage is minimal I got the 8 inch tall outer skin. All of the replies have been helpful , I am going to get out the cutoff wheel , hammer ,dollies,and the welder and get these doors done. Thanks guys !

[roger55]

I'm about ready to do this job myself. I just started looking at my doors today.

Here's what they look like:



The PO put that metal strip on there to cover up the rust. It was screwed and welded on there.

I noticed that when buying the inner piece there is one that is primed and another one that is not. I wonder if one is better quality than the other?

Brothers:


American Classic:


Also, wouldn't it be better to weld the skin on before installing the new the inner panel? That way you would have access to hold a dolly so you can planish out the shrinkage from the welding heat.

Any tips you guys can give me will be appreciated.

[mr48chev]

I'd think so Roger55. It's a lot easier to work the weld on the skin if you don't have the inner panel in the way.

[Russell Ashley]

I was told by my local dealer that if the part has the black coating it is foreign made, but if it's bare metal it's made in USA. I don't know if this is always true, but the only panel I got that was not black was the outer door skin I got from Brother's.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

I was told by my local dealer that if the part has the black coating it is foreign made, but if it's bare metal it's made in USA. I don't know if this is always true, but the only panel I got that was not black was the outer door skin I got from Brother's.

Thanks Russell.

Did you get a black 8" bottom inner panel? If so, did you like the quality of it?

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by roger55

Thanks Russell.

Did you get a black 8" bottom inner panel? If so, did you like the quality of it?

Yes, my inner was black. I believe it had a CounterPart label and was made in Taiwan. It fit pretty well though. The only patch panel I've ever gotten from any vendor that wasn't black was the outer door bottoms from Brother's.

FWIW: There is a smaller patch panel available that only replaces the very bottom of the door. I ordered on of those from The Filling Station and it was so bad that I sent it back and got the 8" panel. It wasn't shaped at all and was just welded up from flat pieces. My advice is to stay away from those.

The Filling Station was good about it. I spoke with them and explained how bad it was, and asked them to look at a stamped one and see what they thought about the difference. They swapped it for me and even paid the shipping to return it.

[roger55]

Thanks Russell. I think I will order the inners and outers today from Classic Industries.
They have 20% off sale that goes through Oct 1st.

[_Ogre]

the only door patch available 10 yrs ago was the ones russell mentioned, they do suck
typically the black parts are e-coated, not primer. i would use the e-coated patch.
though you do end up burning thru or grinding off the e-coat in critical areas for welding

[roger55]

Thanks. I just put an order in from Classic Industries. Inners and outers are black in their photos.

Anybody used one of these tools?



The installation PDF on the Brothers side recommends this. I've got a door skin hammer and dolly but have never done a job like this before.

[62lwbc10]

ive done this job before, inners and outers on my old 62. PITA but it came out very nice. take your time welding and move around alot. I second the statement of Russel: I have found that the bare metal patches are usually but not always AMerican made and the stuff that is blask is usually foreign, i.e counterpart. I used a special door skin hammer that helped form the door edge.