47-55.1 Doors - Mix Match of Parts 47-5?

[Thadious]

Excellent!

That is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Now, to have a little time to get the new re-enforcements in and the door holes cut out! Momma's day and all....

Many thanks!
Ted.

[Thadious]

Well, for the most part, I'm done. I just have to do the strikers on the door pillar.

If you're looking to do this, I found that cutting a section out of a pair of old doors worked the easiest.




As posted earlier the measurements to locate the first hole is a good place to start. It's easier to just cut out a square or round of the original door that you are grafting these into than fill, then cut a new hole. The re-inforcement plate for the back shows where the forward hole goes. I drilled holes in the 47 door where the plug welds go for the re-inforcement plate (there are 3), sandblasted the plates and filler pieces, coated them with weldable primer and put it all together.




I made two new mounting plates for the latches to bolt to on the side of the door. Originally they were 18ga but I felt that was too thin and remade them from 14ga.

After that, I went with the large bearjaw latches. I didn't like the smaller ones and wanted something a little more robust. I ordered the ones from https://www.hotrodlatches.com/Large_...ge-latches.htm. The are American made and not offshore parts. Believe it or not, they are thinner than the Autoloc small latches. Space is a premium when putting these in and every little bit counts! I even had to go with shorter mounting bolts because the longer hits the window track and there's a little tab that needs to be flattened out on it (I noted it in the Altman latch install instructions.)

I ended up grinding off the rivet that holds the lower bar in place and threading the hole for a new piece to go in. These are my final setups as I took a little tip from a previous post link to what someone else did. Why re-invent the wheel when it works?

This is my final design. I went with the dual heim joints because of the pivoting action of the lever arms and the misalignment of them when opening. The spring is a little 'assist' to ensure that the parts return to their original settings and help to guarantee that the latches close properly, every time.







All the fabricated parts and hardware are either galvanized steel or stainless. They now work with the pushbutton door handles (using 52-59s so that I have a door lock on both sides) and the inside door latches. Keeping the look as close to original as possible but having the amenities as required.

All in all. Parts and materials ran me about $100 or less. That being said, I still had to bend up the plates, machine parts and a fair bit of time. I didn't have the $600 for a bolt in set, but I wanted a full weld in set that looked like it belonged there in the first place.