Joined the Short Wheelbase Club *69 Tahoe Project*

[ak's-r-us]

deleted

[LUV2XCLR8]

[Frizzle Fry]

Thanks guys. ak's-r-us you should do it. We know you have the skills!

My angle grinder got loose in the shop again and I am powerless against it's will...

The first few pics are grainy (no flash), but then I got it together

Glass removed


The "dummy" window frame is held in place by screws/nut-plates and seam sealer. As you can see it took some convincing to remove without damaging






What may look like rust is actually reddish/brown seam sealer


prep'ing for the cut-off wheel


First slice inflicted


Drilled out the first of what seems like hundreds of spot welds in order to remove the dummy door while keeping the sections I plan on using intact

[Frizzle Fry]

Rear wheels removed and quarter glass protected


Laying out the cut line for what will become the inside of the upper weather-strip pinch-weld (will be flattened vertical)


Cut made. You can see it needs to be straightened into a flat flange


More slicing. This cut was made at 33 1/4" from the back edge of the front door


More spot welds defeated. The inner skin here will remain fixed as part of the wheel-well


I have a spare PS B-Pillar thanks to Brad and CG, so here I marked the existing C-Pillar to be sliced in half. The removed section will be replaced by half of the donor B-Pillar (these bends cannot be made in a single piece on a conventional brake)


Cut


Removed


I left some material at the top because the donor B-Pillar is shorter than the C-Pillar. Shouldn't be too hard to fill in that small section in the upper corner.


Donor B-Pillar

[Frizzle Fry]

Bracing to keep everything in place (looks familiar...)


More slices and tape to protect the drip rail


Inner flange had been flattened




A good place to cut the inner skin. This will be under the inner panel when done. Aft of this point is "Dummy-Door" specific and will be replaced with the rear section from a truck door.


Cut locations for the top of the B-Pillar




Coming loose and supported by a strap

[Frizzle Fry]

It took quite a bit of work to get the B-Pillar detatched without destroying parts of it I may need.


Probably not a good time to change my mind...


I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to get in from this side instead of going around to the back or PS every time!


The real reason for the hole...


The front floor edge needs some repair but the majority of the floor is pristine. OG floor mats foam and sound deadener still in place


Just showing what the inner structure looks like


More donor parts


Prepping to cut the donor jamb to be shortened for where the tubs come through




Marked for an additional 3/4" to come off while leaving the arch section in place

[Frizzle Fry]

I did end up removing the inner wheel-well section because it needs to be relocated slightly. Also removed the dummy rocker which I plan to use as the bottom of the 4th rocker by adding just the top section of a front DS rocker.


The additional 3/4" removed to make room for the truck jamb


Truck jamb and B-Pillar sections roughing in




Because of the wheel-wells notching into the 3rd and 4th doors and the fact that I plan to run suicide rear doors, a conventional two-hinge set up won't work (no room). So I had no choice but to step up to these burly chunks:


They must weigh 40 Lbs each!


An idea of scale


Those big 'ol boxes are designed to allow the installer to cut/modify as needed (and they will be heavily modified)


They open 180 degrees via a double hinge design. There is a locking mechanism which only allows one fulcrum to pivot at a time. I'm not overly excited about the 180 aspect, but these were the right size and price for the job


I ended up removing the front of the 4th window frame I made in order to use the front of the dummy frame like this

[Frizzle Fry]

Looking down from the top of the B-Pillar:


The weather-stripping on the cab will run uninterrupted from the A to the C pillar. So the upper window frame needs to extend forward to the front of the pillar. Here's the template for that:


And a piece from the donor door in place. The rest will be boxed in once I test fit the door and figure out clearances:


5' of 3/16x1.25"x1.25" angle iron which will be plug-welded in place above the upper jambs running from A to C:


Test fitting. This will regain some of the structural integrity lost when removing the B-Pillar and provide a strong mounting point for the striker:


Kinda dim... Showing 3/16"x2x2 running inside the C-Pillar:


Upper mount for the 2x2 bolts in a factory hole location which runs through a few layers into a nut-plate above. The angle iron will also tie into this later:


Another shot of the 2x2


The hinge mounts cut down and additional welding complete. They tie into the 2x2 and will also be welded to a doubled section of the tubs below:

[Frizzle Fry]

Factory striker area contours to be removed:


Cut out to fit over the hinges. The hole size will be reduced and some contours added once everything is in its final position:


Leveling the truck for reference when welding the hinge mounts (a little out of order here...)




Another shot of the hinge mount in place:


Hinge bolted to hinge mount. There will be some adjustability here via shims/hole-size should I need to tweak it in the future:


I purposely pre-set the hinges slightly high to the front and to the outside to overcome any slight sag induced by the weight of the door You can also see to the right where I marked the hinge body for more trimming (did I mention it's a tight fit? ):


Here's how tight on space it is. The arched line in the background represents where the tub will be:


Jamb section in place. I the background you can see the extra trailer fender I bought for doubling the front of the tubs:

[Frizzle Fry]

Last one for now showing the hinge opened (secondary not fully rotated):

[Rokcrln]

WOW is about all I can say. You are so detailed in your pre planing it almost makes me sick! Very well thought out plan..

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Now in going back over your pics I really like how you reinforced the C pillar. Also your choice in re-using the B-post along with the fake door skin should give you great results. Again very impressive!

So for the right side are you going to graft on a truck jamb to the front of the 3dr door to get the same look as the left side? You know you really suck! I have bad enought A.D.D. with only my own thoughts and then you go and do this to me


Kevin
LFD Inc.

[XXL]

Those hinges looked purty until I saw your hand on one. That's when I realized they look purty.


Also, see that thing in the middle of this pic. This is the source of your grinder's mysterious energy. Disconnect it, hop in the car, and come my way, please. There is much work for that grinder here.

[abadsvt]

Hey Frizzle. I need to make a special trip up to oregon just to come check out that bad a$$ tahoe!!!! Love your work!!!! I agree with Rokcrln about how well you are planning stuff out!

Josh

[Palf70Step]

Great looking work!

[texanidiot25]

Oh no, he's getting lazy! Duct tape!

[ak's-r-us]

deleted

[Hart_Rod]

Outstanding as usual............

[Rokcrln]

Hey Mike does that single hinge have link so it is double actuated? You know so as you close it the door will swing right back around and close like a standard door. The one's I was talking with you about did not have that upper link and they were a pain and if not done just right it would get real expensive on the paint. These look good, what is the weight rating on them?

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Now in going back over your pics I really like how you reinforced the C pillar. Also your choice in re-using the B-post along with the fake door skin should give you great results. Again very impressive!

So for the right side are you going to graft on a truck jamb to the front of the 3dr door to get the same look as the left side? You know you really suck! I have bad enought A.D.D. with only my own thoughts and then you go and do this to me


Kevin
LFD Inc.

Ya I know I'm kinda cheating there with the B-Pillar: avoiding having to make one Yes you nailed it with the PS door jam matching the DS; it will. A.D.D. rocks

Originally Posted by XXL

Those hinges looked purty until I saw your hand on one. That's when I realized they look purty.

I made sure my nails didn't show in the pics strictly because you!

Originally Posted by abadsvt

Hey Frizzle. I need to make a special trip up to oregon just to come check out that bad a$$ tahoe!!!! Love your work!!!! I agree with Rokcrln about how well you are planning stuff out!

Josh

Thanks! Anytime

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Great looking work!

Thanks Palf!

Originally Posted by texanidiot25

Oh no, he's getting lazy! Duct tape!

Who needs a welder when you've got duct tape?

Originally Posted by ak's-r-us

ya know i was just looking at those "giant" single hinges the other day thinkin they would be perfect for one of these

so it looks like its goin "postless"??? if so whats the plan for latching it?

Latches top and bottom of the "B-Pillar" (which is now part of the rear door). Then the front door latches conventionally. I am going to try to keep it all mechanical.

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Oustanding as usual............

Thank you Sir!

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Hey Mike does that single hinge have link so it is double actuated? You know so as you close it the door will swing right back around and close like a standard door. The one's I was talking with you about did not have that upper link and they were a pain and if not done just right it would get real expensive on the paint. These look good, what is the weight rating on them?

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Yes they are double actuated so they can rotate 180 degrees. That linkage locks out the second hinge until the first reaches a certain point and it cams the linkage. Then the first hinge is locked and the second hinge is free. Opposite sitch in reverse. They are made by GT Factory.

There's video out there somewhere I can't seem to find at the moment, but they appear to work very smothly and close like conventional hinges (no added pushing on the hinged side required).
Here's what their site syas about them:

The New GT Factory 180° Door System, revolutionizing the industry with a design that is sure to fit most cars trucks and SUVs.
Its single hinge design is perfect for sedans which have a hump for the wheel well in the rear however strong enough to keep a heavy truck door in its place.

Industry leading technical support is what made customers rave about our Diablo Door System and we will provide the same outstanding customer service with our 180° door system.

50% weld-on/ 50% bolt-on universal application for all cars, trucks and SUV's
-Exclusive 180 degree patent pending dual stage left and right hinges with GTF logos
-10x the strength of traditional suicide hinges allowing use of one hinge per door (essential for sedans with the rear door located half way over the rear wheel)

-A huge swingarm designed to clear all unibody chassis vehicles (unlike the common hot rod style hinge kits only suitable for 2" thick doors)

-Stay put operation allows infinite opening angle up to 180 degrees

-pressed hinge pins on both stages with expanded one piece end caps

-Infinite angle adjustments for open and closed positions

-Locking mechanism to separate each hinge stage
- Nickel plated finish on all parts
-Heavy duty car side and door side housings for both hinges

-Alignment shims & grade 8.8 mounting hardware

-Four FMVSS approved two stage latches and four strikers

-Special high density packaging to support the heavy parts

-Step by step picture instructions on CD

-Lifetime warranty

-Industry leading technical support

[Hart_Rod]

Check this out:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=311242

[nuke1]

That is some MAD skills you got there, everytime i look at your pages, there always seems to be a big hole. lol

[LeDevil]

Progress is looking good, I really cant wait to see this finished

[LOW DOUGH]

Lookin great

[67ChevyRedneck]

I was always hoping to see a 4th door on this... awesome, just awesome!