Project Christine V2.0

[Mjminino]

Some good, bad, and ugly news. Good news is I FINALLY got a day off, first one in 42 days. So I used that oh so lovely time and got the drivers side door patch panels done. Bad news is for some reason, NOTHING lines up. Ugly news is I didn't get the job because apparently my driving record is to bad for them, which is funny because I work for USPS driving a vehicle. Must have to have thee best driving record known to man.

[Mjminino]

Now on to the stuff y'all come here for. THE GOOD: After a few tack welds I remeasured to the line I pulled before and it was awesomely aligned. I didnt really care underneath the hinge because you'll never see it and remember, this isn't a Vitamin C truck I am build here

[Mjminino]

THE BAD: Nothing lines up correctly. Let me show you.


Pictures 1 and 2: With window frame part of the door level with the B Pillar, the bottom part sticks in that much.

Picture 3: That's how far the window frame area sticks out when the bottom part is level with the B pillar


I have NO DAMN clue what happened. part of the area that doesn't line up on the bottom is still OLD metal! If you look at the first picture, in the middle of the grinded area, is where the lower door panel seam is. You can see both the old and the new doesn't line up which it did prior to this problem (obviously it moved in and out because I don't have weatherstripping in, but the top and bottom were both level with the door pillar.)

When I welded everything up I spot welded in sporadic spots and never consecutively, same with grinding. Although, I am sure there is some warpage as I am not a welding expert by any means, I wouldn't think that this problem is directly related to warpage. More or less what is really throwing me for a loop is that the old metal doesn't line up any better than the new metal. And as you can see in the previous post on the 1st and 3rd picture where I hammered and dollied the wrap, you can see where it starts and ends. If there were ANY problems, I would think that the old metal would be lined up and the new metal out of whack, not both.

Do any of you fine gentlemen have any suggestions on what to do to fix this? I don't even know where to begin on repairing this.

[bj383ss]

I'm no expert here but I know that when I put my doors back on to make sure I had the rocker in the right place before welding them in they didn't fit properly because I had the door seals off. They will go way in past where they are suppose too. My passenger was really hard to unlatch if I let it go in as far as yours is there.

I assume you have already messed with the hinges. Seems if the top is lining up you could move out the bottom hinge and the bottom would line up. I know these old trucks never really lined up well when they were new from factory.

[Mjminino]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

I'm no expert here but I know that when I put my doors back on to make sure I had the rocker in the right place before welding them in they didn't fit properly because I had the door seals off. They will go way in past where they are suppose too. My passenger was really hard to unlatch if I let it go in as far as yours is there.

I assume you have already messed with the hinges. Seems if the top is lining up you could move out the bottom hinge and the bottom would line up. I know these old trucks never really lined up well when they were new from factory.

That could be but prior to this metal work I didn't have any weatherstripping, and as I could push the door in and pull it out (until it caught the latch) everything was even As far as the hinges go, i never messed with them outside of taking them off of the door. they still had the ring where the bolt goes. I put all 4 sides back on where they went prior. There were no shims whatsoever before. I know I am going to have to do some reconfiguration, I am just curious to know why it is this far off now, even the old metal.

Here is an old video WAY before anything was aligned (after the floor metal work) as you can here it hit the latch, but even so at about 6 seconds you can see the door is fairly aligned. Nothing is in or out any further then the mentioned above areas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW2x7...ature=youtu.be

[Jferrante]

Wish I could help..I am sure you stared at this for a long time. Sleep on it and come back to it and look at hinges again and try and figure out what's getting caught..

[mud.man.rj]

Interesting build, sure have had to do a "lot" of metal work, maybe start a new career building trucks and have a part time job instead.
Built a 79 Bronco and learned the hard way to have door seals in first, sure puts things out of wack.

[Mjminino]

Thanks everyone for the help. What I think I am going to do is use my other 64 C10 doors and fenders to help align the rockers and cab corners. Upon doing that I am going to use some 2006-2009 Honda Civic coup weatherstripping I found at a local parts place for proper door alignment on the old doors. (If you are wondering WTF would you use that weatherstripping for??? read this post http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=617703) Hopefully then it will give me some insight on what I need to do to get this damn door aligned. I think on the passenger door I am going to just repair ONLY the metal that needs to be replaced, although the entire outer panel will probably need to be used as it was a rats hotel. Honestly don't really know what the inner part looks like, haven't looked at it for a while.

[bj383ss]

I'm sure you will figure it out. What you said about only replacing whats bad. That is what I have been doing. The old metal is better than the new as long as its not swiss cheese. I had a little rot in my cab corners but I was able to stich it up and use nailheads to weld into the holes. It worked great just had to take my time go slow and not burn through and create more holes. My doors are in pretty bad shape. Haven't torn into them yet. I want to get all of my cab completely done and back on the frame before I tackle the doors.

[Alan's Classic]

How much have you adjusted the hinges? Based on what I see it's in the hinges. Looks like and sounds like you did a good job replacing the metal. You should be able to get the old metal of the doors adjusted like it was. Once you get the doors adjusted and are happy with the gaps drill an 1/8" hole thru the hinges into the pillar for alignment when they are removed again. It will save some time.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

looks like the replacement parts fit well..bet it will be a nice truck when done!

[Strodder]

Yeah, what Alan said.

[Mjminino]

Well, I finally got off of work at a decent time and I decided to work on Christine for a bit. I will admit I was wrong about the hinges. Thanks BJ and Alan.

I took the fender from Grandpa LeRoy to help set everything up with the rocker and what not. Everything is just tech screwed in for now.

I know there is isn't an engine or anything in it yet, but I don't know if I like it being this tall. I've got the -1 inch Springs from LMC.

[Alan's Classic]

I assume your happy with the gaps now? Looks good from what I see. It's hard to see the gaps where all the black is.

[Mjminino]

It's like that for a reason... Shhhh they aren't 100% perfect and I still have to adjust the rocker a bit more. It doesn't want to fit properly on the A pillar. I'm gonna have to splice it and massage the metal into place. Thankfully a lot of it will be hidden.

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by Mjminino

It's like that for a reason... Shhhh they aren't 100% perfect and I still have to adjust the rocker a bit more. It doesn't want to fit properly on the A pillar. I'm gonna have to splice it and massage the metal into place. Thankfully a lot of it will be hidden.

MJ,

I had the same problem with m rocker not fitting the A Pillar. Just massaged it with a hammer and then covered up the seam with seam sealer. After some paint and the fender bolted on as you said no one will see it. Only you will know. Glad the door lined up for you.

As Alan said drill the holes in the hinges. I did this before ever touching the doors. Mine were still in their original place never been touched. When I took them off the original Saddle paint was underneath and pristine. When I got done with the rockers I was able to put them right back where they were and they lined up very well. Lucky Me!

[Mjminino]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

MJ,

I had the same problem with m rocker not fitting the A Pillar. Just massaged it with a hammer and then covered up the seam with seam sealer. After some paint and the fender bolted on as you said no one will see it. Only you will know. Glad the door lined up for you.

As Alan said drill the holes in the hinges. I did this before ever touching the doors. Mine were still in their original place never been touched. When I took them off the original Saddle paint was underneath and pristine. When I got done with the rockers I was able to put them right back where they were and they lined up very well. Lucky Me!

I guess that is the price I pay for being a newbie at this stuff. I am actually not that happy with the way the door bottom came out, as in the wrap around area that you hammer and dolly. It is wavy as all hell. I think I got too excited/happy to be done with it and or knowing I wouldn't have another day off for quite some time to work on it which unfortunately is causing me problems. Also the rear corner of the door dips down quite a bit. (View the pictures). I don't know how it got like that as all I did was hammer and dolly that area just like the rest. What I will probably end up doing is taking the door off (after I drill my hinge holes ) cut it straight with the other part then weld the seam back up. I am almost contemplating on redoing the outside door skin.

I am quickly losing excitement about this build, and I am angry at myself for even thinking like that. I read Alan's build thread with great passion and I remember him saying/thinking the same kind of thing, he obviously stuck with it and look what he has to show for it, a bad a$$ truck.

[Alan's Classic]

Thanks Mike. It's a tough road at times but like all things in life you'll get thru it. One thing at a time is progress.

Don't redo the skin. It's metal put it where you want it.

[Mjminino]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Thanks Mike. It's a tough road at times but like all things in life you'll get thru it. One thing at a time is progress.

Don't redo the skin. It's metal put it where you want it.

Thanks for the uplifting words! I appreciate it.

Is my suggestion to fix te bottom issue a decent remedy? And as far as the rear, I should just add metal? Probably a few runs of the welder should add the thickness I need.....

[Shady Chevy]

I feel your pain. I just did a very similar repair to my door, but on a '74. I put it back on and was like, there is no way this door ever lined up before I worked on it. So I had to start cutting metal, and making everything fit. It is just metal. Talk to it long enough and it will listen. I think what you are doing looks good. If it was easy, it wouldn't be any fun. Have to have a challenge. Thanks for sharing the experience, because there are others out there that are in a similar situation as you are. Keep up the fight.

[Mjminino]

Well, got my 2008 honda civic weatherstripping. And attempted to adjust the door some more to get this stupid rocker set up. I believe I am fighting the losing battle.

Is the bottom of the rocker underneath supposed to be like that? I know that the door is not supposed to be sticking that far out. I'm losing my mind, what's left of it at least!

[Alan's Classic]

How's the back edge line up with rear post? Is it flush all the way down?

[Mjminino]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

How's the back edge line up with rear post? Is it flush all the way down?

This is the only one I have, if you need a better picture or ome from another angle, let me know. Thanks!

[Alan's Classic]

Does the door stick out the same all the way down the rocker? Hard to tell on pics.

You can close a piece of paper or dollar bill between door and weatherstrip to see where it is the tightest. First let me ask is the door hard to close with weatherstrip installed?

[Mjminino]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6DP...ature=youtu.be Here ya go bud.