47-55.1 55 years ago I was given this USAF 54 3100

[vintovka]

Todays Veterans Day parade ws bigger than ever. Place was packed and maybe 100+ cars, jeeps, bands the works. Many of the local restaurants provided free full lunchs for vets -- Made it thru without overheating again which is a mini miracle in itself.. Mine was Only AD in parade and got applause and cheers from all over.

[vintovka]

Couple more pics. One is kinda what i looked like in uniform 56 years ago about the time i got the truck.

[dsraven]

awesome.

[dsraven]

and the door? does it have a better seal?

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by dsraven

and the door? does it have a better seal?

Will try next week and report back with pics.

[vintovka]

I have always had a badly fitting drivers side door. Its a replacement and not original to cab. I added new repop hinges and now its worse as you can see. The bottom half of the door seals ok. The upper does not as you can also see. I donn't think the top half of the door can be easily bent to make it fit. Some say the solution is to bend the hinge in. I have also been told that the hinge pocket may have been damaged when door was opened too far decades ago. the poposed cure is to pound it back with a oak 2x4 section and a 8 pound sledge. Which one or combination is best?? Will cross list with my build thread and would be great to hear all comments. Thanks in advance - Phil

[vintovka]

Not sure why some a sideways (again) - here the last one

[VWNate1]

Hi Phil ;

Even when new the jig works on all Advance Design trucks was abysmal .

IIRC the inner hinge proper is adjustable in and out, loosen the upper hinge only and see if you can push the upper half of the door in .

If so you're in for a not fun but do-able treat, you have to support the door so it doesn't sag then leave two upper hinge screws barely snugged and work the door in with your hands .

[vintovka]

Loosened upper hinge and pushed all the way in. No change. Will wait till the mechanic guy has time as i physically cannot remove the door myself anymore. In meantime i have 2 sets of extra drivers side hinges. The fresh takeoffs and some other used ones. Will take a hard look at each to see differnce and possible get out torch and bend one of the uppers in a bit. May disassemble before heating. This way we can try the newly bent one out before we procede to knocking the snot out of the upper pocket and or bending the door. This is just another case of trusting pot head "mechanics" to sort the fittment out before painting. BTW on last service my guy found the motor mt bolts loose and ready to fall out. Had to tighten them all again!!!

[dsraven]

which motor mount bolts were loose, possibly loctite them if they're bolts, or use self locking nuts, if that is the part coming loose.
what are you using for engine mounts?
also, fasteners come in a few different thread configurations for how tight the thread fit, or interference between bolt and nut, is. some off the shelf fasteners these days are actually quite loose i find. maybe a fastener supply place could fix you up with some tighter fitting fasteners if they come loose again.
usually a fastener thats always coming loose has a root cause. vibration, too much stress on the fastener where several fasteners could be used to spread the load, or using an old bolt that has been stretched to it's limit before and is done. when bolts get torqued they stretch and keep some tension on the threads that way so they stay tight. if there isno stretch left in the bolt they may become loose easier. possibly just replacing the fasteners would fix the problem. replacing them and using loctite should fix it. if they come loose again then look for the underlying reason
good luck wit the door hinge issues and fitment. lets cross our fingers that your guy can get it figured out and stop the natural ventilation

[vintovka]

"lets cross our fingers that your guy can get it figured out and stop the natural ventilation" Not to mention the scenic views thru the gaps. Will be a while till i drive it again as the PNW monsoon season is upon us again!!!!!