47-55.1 1953 3100 "Honey-do"

[mongocanfly]

nice repair work..
question...whered you get the knurled magnets...those look nice...the ones i have are aggravating at times

[rnrdthefox]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

nice repair work..
question...whered you get the knurled magnets...those look nice...the ones i have are aggravating at times

Sorry, I don't know. They were tossed into a box of taps that I bought at auction. They are very strong. Thanks.

[rnrdthefox]

Ok. Let me catch up to where I'm at. I've got the fab work done for the Miata handles, Escalade electric door locks/latches, and electric windows. To be honest, I didn't expect this phase of the project to take so long. But, I was trying to make sure the windows, locks and handles would all work together so I spent A Lot of time bouncing back and forth, measuring, and studying things, before I made major cuts.

I found one link online where a guy did the Miata handles and Toyota door latches so that gave me hope there was room to do what I wanted.

I started with the door latches first. I made a cut about 9.5"s top to bottom to remove the stock latch.

[rnrdthefox]

Next I started the fab work for the extension pocket to hold the latch. This only added about half and inch beyond the original width of the stock latch. I made sure I didn't go beyond the lip that rises to form the side of the door. That's an important limit. This gives the Minimum depth to keep the window tracks in the stock location. There are a couple "issues" that have to be overcome for what I'm doing and I will get to in a bit.

I found a half inch bar made the correct radius.

[rnrdthefox]

I'll have some pictures for the finished pocked before being welded to the door in a bit.

One thing I struggled with was getting the three holes lined up for a nice tight fit to the top radius and the opening for the latch. It needs to be solid without movement so it doesn't loosen up over time from all the opening and closing. I didn't have any transfer punches the size I needed, so I made some. This is just one more thing that adds time with the first door.

Of course I could have ordered some, but I do most of the work on the weekends, and I didn't want to waste a weekend. And there is the fact that when I bought the lathe and mill I told the Boss they were for exactly these occasions. She asked how many "special parts" will it take to pay for themselves. I said a lot, but that's not the point.

[rnrdthefox]

With the pocket mocked up and latch situated, I moved to the windows. I don't have a lot of pictures for the window work. I followed this thread for the most part. It's well documented for what has to be done for a '53 and removing the vent window for a one piece window.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...-truck.522236/

One thing I liked about their approach was ordering the window felt as 96" long and having once continuous channel.

A long drill bit is handy to get to the screw that holds the upper channel that
needs to be added. Here are some pics.

[rnrdthefox]

More pics.

The rod in the pictures at the bottom of the tracks is to set the proper width for the window. The bracket was made to be removed if needed.

Also, before I forget. It is a great help to have the bottom of the doors open. I needed to cut them open anyway to remove the rust, so I used it to my advantage. All of the work I'm doing can be done with the door bottoms on, but you better be a very patient person.

[rnrdthefox]

I would suggest that anyone doing this, should make templates along the way as it speeds things up on the second door, and provides a uniform look. I know you can only see one door at a time, but my OCD wants pairs to look the same.

Here are a few pictures of the templates I made and used on the second door. Also, I highly recommend you take the time to make a metal template for the Miata handles if you aren't trying to weld in a sheet metal patch for the handles from the door vehicle.

[rnrdthefox]

At this point, I had the latch mocked up and working with the window rail so I started on the handles. Once I made the metal template that fit the handles I used it to carefully mark the cut lines. I place the left radius where the factory hole was for the handle. this places everything perfectly. After asking my kids and wife several times if it looked level, I made the cut. I cut just inside of the scribe line and used a Dremel to get the final fitment. You really need this to be a snug fit so there isn't movement. It fits the contour of the door well.

[rnrdthefox]

At this point, a few modifications need to be made to the Miata handle.

The push rod that attaches to the latch, needs to be extended about 1". Cutting just above the threads (or the other end) at the last straight section and welding in another piece does the job. Also, some final "tweaking/bending" gets a good and solid stroke.

The locking cylinder needs to be rotated 180 degrees to put the lever arm to the outside of the window track. This is easily done, but removing the spring lock and rotating it and replacing.

The attachment point for the push rod needs to be removed from the top of the lever arm to the bottom. It is nearly touching the glass. I didn't want to take a chance of hitting a harsh bump and it cracking the glass. Take the lever arm off, sand the rivet press on the back and punch it out. Re-drill the hole to the diameter of the pin, press it in and drop a spot weld on the back to hold it. Now is also the time to fix any broke nylon washers like I had on the passenger side.

Finally, I had to drill out and re-tap the yellow plastic connector that screws the the bottom of the push rod and attaches to the latches.

[rnrdthefox]

I figured if I was going to go through all of this, I'd add a channel for the rubber wiper to extend across the area where the vent window was. I figured a little more time here will maybe stop one more rattle or scratch on the window.

It a tedious job because it's tight working, but you can cut the remaining metal inside the door, prep it for welding and tack weld a channel in. Since this isn't structural, I was able to get enough tack welds to hold it securely that should hold up over time.

I actually got the channel from Specialty Power Windows where I bought the electric window kit. I noticed the channel they use for the spring track was a perfect size to fit the wiper. I needed to place an order anyway for the door jam conduit, so I asked them to toss in a couple 1' pieces and they did. They seem to have a quality product and want to please their customers.

[rnrdthefox]

At this point, the Miata handles were mounted, the windows were in and working, so I needed to fab something for the inside connection. I wanted to keep the stock handles inside. I'm not sure if the Boss wants the full door to be upholstered or more like stock with they trim covering the top section. So I wanted to keep my options open. Also, I'm not sure where I will place the door switch and master lock/unlock. These might go on the door or in the console. TBD.

I used the stock cable and modified it to connect to the stock handle. I removed the latch bar, and put a pin in the same hole it attached to the lever for the cable. I turned a metal sleeve to welded to the lever bracket to hold and orientate the cable.

It has a good feel and positive engagement.

[rnrdthefox]

Here are a couple pics of the door jamb, striker and a couple misc views. Right now, the jambs are just tacked in until I get the door hinges rebuilt and set the gaps properly. I will allow for final adjustments for the striker, but want to be as close as I can now. Also, you can't see it in the pics, but I took the time to hand form a half inch lip that matches the cab skin contour for spot weld seam. I don't have a lot of sheet metal working tools and simply don't have the room either, so it takes a lot of time doing it by hand.

Also, I can't find my driver striker, so I think I need to go to the Pick and Pull next weekend.

After looking for over and hour, I decided it was time to clean up the garage this weekend and reacquaint myself to my parts and put all my tools back where they belong. Bad news, I didn't find the striker. Good news, everything else is in the garage is order.

[rnrdthefox]

One last note on the Miata handle. I didn't have a key, but needed to test the swing of the cylinder. I was able to take it apart and reduce the "keys" from 8 to 4 and make it fit my Bronco glove box key. I've already ordered the new cylinder for the driver side with keys and will re-key the passenger to match. I just needed it functional for mockup.

At this point I should mention that you have to custom bend an attachment rod from the lock cylinder to the latch. Holy crap. This is very tedious and time consuming. But, when done right it gives a very positive feel for both lock and unlock. The passenger latch didn't have an extra attachment point like the driver did because the Escalade only had key access on the driver side so you have to fab both doors the same. I tried doing the driver side with the stock attachment point, but after several hours, used the method I used on the passenger side. Good news, both doors will lock and unlock with the same key even with a dead battery!

Also, careful not to lose the little springs or very small ball bearing indent if you tear into your cylinder to clean it and lube it.

Some pics.

[rnrdthefox]

Ok, final post for tonight I think.

This weekend was supposed to be final fitment and mockup of both doors and move to the rust repair at the bottoms. Well, I had some issues with the fitment of the driver door. So, instead of fighting several issues, I decided to rebuild the hinges. It was on the list anyway, so why not right?

The first one, I drilled off center. How I got that far off and didn't notice, I don't have a clue. Probably rushing. Well, that sent me down a path that took a day and half of my weekend!

I ended up drilling/milling both out in the end because I could not press or drive them out even with getting them cherry red with the torch. You can see the steps I went through to maintain the bore geometry of both parts of the hinge to do the final drilling to size. At one point, I had broke 2 drill bits, a third one broke off in the original pin and broke a carbide end mill milling the pin out with a hardened drill bit in it!

Boy, did it suck to be me that day. I've found it's best to just shut it down for the day and start fresh the next day when things happen like this. I go inside, sulk and the Boss says things will be better tomorrow. And, they usually are. I was lucky to get both on the driver side done and salvage the hinges. I used brass rod to keep the boar.

[rnrdthefox]

Ok, one more post. I mentioned earlier, there were some "issues" with my approach and setup. Mechanically, everything is fine. I have a reason for wanting to use the Escalade latches. They have a few connections in addition to the motor for the locking and unlocking. They have a ground sensor for when the door is ajar and opened. I'm considering using those to my advantage for the alarm.

As luck would have it, the weather connector for the latch was about 1/4 inch too wide so I ended up cutting the body of it away and soldering the wires to it. This in it's self isn't that big of a deal, but I will need to put some epoxy at the base to seal it. Replacing a faulty latch later will be a pain, and potential vibrations in an automobile, could fatigue the connection points. They are also very close to the window channel. So, I'm going to role the dice since the miles on the truck will be low. I've taken them in and out enough now to know how to replace them with a new part if needed. I will put a connector behind the door cover to make replacement "easier". Just wanted to put this out there for those who might want to go down this path.

More to come...

[Father&son56project]

That's some awesome fab work you are doing there. I have to deal with latches soon and you've given me some nice ideas. Excellent pics and descriptions! Keep posting.......

[8man]

WOW! That is not only great work, very informative too. Thanks for sharing.

[youngrodder]

Nicely done....By the looks of it, your not afraid to tear right into things.

Marc

[Tempest67]

very impressive....... another 'Metal Magician' and this one is an Engineer as well.

Thanks for the posts, and I love the Miata door handles

[rnrdthefox]

Thanks everyone for the reply's. I'm certainly not a Metal Magician. I've seen a lot of metal artist on here and other forums that surpass my skills, but I appreciate the compliment.

The last couple of weeks have been cleaning up some little things, welding in the latch pockets and extra holes in the doors, correcting the strikers, rebuilding the passenger door hinges, and starting on the door bottoms.

I solved the mystery of the missing striker. I forgot that I pulled the striker from the Escalade's liftgate. I thought it was for the doors, but it wasn't.

So I ended up re-working the striker area of the door jambs and making a recessed pockets out of 16 gauge 1x2" tube. Then I repeated the process on the driver side.

The mounting holes are oversize to allow the striker to move up/down and in/out to final adjustment of the door.

[rnrdthefox]

I had to cut the arm off the strikers as they were about 1/4" too deep and would have cut into the rubber seal area inside the cab. I ended up welding the strikers on the backside of the plate. They were only a press fit and held primarily by the arm.

Some pics

[rnrdthefox]

Finished welding in the latch pocket on the doors and welding up the 4 holes left from the internal brace along with welding up the lone hole from the original door handle.

[rnrdthefox]

With the latch metal work done, I started on the door bottoms. I would weld a few spot welds across the door, cooling with air, and then grinding and cooling again. Eventually, I stitched a continuous weld. One door took me a full day.

I put the skin on first so I could access the back for hammer and dolly work. I worked the seam as I welded. Even with the attention to detail, I still ended up with some rippling that I can feel with my hand. I think it's good enough that the body work will take care of it without a lot of mud. I ended up with some rippling on the inside seam also.

This is my first time replacing door skins and I'm unsure how much metal work is "good enough" to move on. Any comments from others with more experience than I?

[rnrdthefox]

Inside of passenger door. I also took the time to get some POR-15 inside the door while it was open. I figured now was the time because the media blaster wont be able to get inside very good.