Rat repair.

[rgunlock]

Looks like you are doing fine on that door Mike!

[swamp rat]

Got the last of the spotwelds done last night, still need to grind them down and give a last look for any areas I missed. A pic from the side, still really happy with the rate of shrinking, and no oil canning. While doing this I was thinking about ways to keep the heat minimized without blowing air or using a wet rag which we know is not a good idea, in machining if your cutting correctly 90-95% of the heat comes off the part within the chip, so I decided to try using a new sharp die grinder bit to knock the spotwelds down, slow and tedious but I do think it helped keep the heat off the part if nothing else by only working a smaller area at a time.

While on the subject I'd like to know which Rolex disks you guys like to use? I have been using the 3M green disks In different grits, but I really don't know if one type is better for steel and another for aluminum??

[swamp rat]

Got the skin welded, still have to do the final crimp on the edges and spot weld a bit. Really impressed by how this door is turning out, there is only one slightly caved area no more than 1/8" and about 5" in length. After I got the painstaking task of die grinding each and every spotwelds via skipping every 3" or so at a time I grabbed my Dotco with a new 30 grit disk to knock it all down evenly and was amazed how quickly the part was starting to get hot even with light pressure, I'm sure the panel would have shrunk up much worse with the dotco.

Naturally with the cell phone posted pictures are upside down...

[swamp rat]

Got the welds done on the inside flanges, started sanding the lower half of the door. I'm beginning to realize that pretty soon I might get to tear the paint booth down, can sure use the space!

[swamp rat]

Well, pulled a bone headed move, went to the paint store Friday after work to buy another Qt of DP50LF primer, and Saturday I grabbed it to spray some on the exterior of the door repair and I inadvertently grabbed DP40LF which is a shade of green not grey, but the can states grey green on it so I didn't realize I messed up, so that shot my plans for the weekend because by the time I realized it the store had closed at noon....

[swamp rat]

Slow but sure, No pictures of the door but I have the lower part of the door primed/sealed with 2K primer and like the other door I sprayed color on the inner lower section of the door after I seam sealed it.

Its getting cold around here and truthfully i'm a little disappointed in my progress, I wasn't thinking about the outer rocker at all when I started work on the door, so I had to resort to this to get the outer rocker primer/sealed with K2, 2 tarps, a space heater, a hair dryer and a length of cardboard to cover the area and warm the rocker enough to get it primed, try and imagine sliding under that little tent and spraying paint.... Now had I done this while working on the door it would have been nice and warm outside.

[DWilbur]

Your truck is looking good getting some work done. more that I have done on mine in the last 6 months. for me its 2 steps back and 1 step forward lately.

[Vic1947]

Having been to your place and seen your setup, what you're getting done in the tight spaces you have to work with is nothing short of amazing, Mike. I know it won't be long before rainy season, but getting your panels in primer will give you a head start when the weather gets better. Kudos!

[DD1]

You are dissapointed in your progress? Really? From where I sit, it look like you are doing great! Everything looks good and seems to be coming along well. Wish I could say the same.

[swamp rat]

I appreciate the comps believe me, probably should have worded that more in line with I'm disappointed with the speed at which I'm getting the work done not the work itself.

I just spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to accomplish tasks like how to get this door adjusted or maybe the setbacks that cost time working on the truck like the latest monsoon we just had.

[swamp rat]

Speaking of here's my latest issue:

Front upper part of door needs to go outward, but look at the window surround its pretty much maxed outward I think?? and the front lower door needs to go in about 1/8".... in these pic's the lower fender bolt is out so the fender will pull in about 1/8" on the bottom.

The rear upper part of door needs to go inward, but the pictures don't show that the lower rear of the door does not need to go in, the body line is already in too far..

Almost like the door is twisted? but I don't think I could have twisted the door with what I did with the skin..

This is where I wish I had an experienced extra hand.... Am I going to have to shim the lower fender out to make this happen?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Speaking of here's my latest issue:

Front upper part of door needs to go outward, but look at the window surround its pretty much maxed outward I think?? and the front lower door needs to go in about 1/8".... in these pic's the lower fender bolt is out so the fender will pull in about 1/8" on the bottom.

The rear upper part of door needs to go inward, but the pictures don't show that the lower rear of the door does not need to go in, the body line is already in too far..

Almost like the door is twisted? but I don't think I could have twisted the door with what I did with the skin..

This is where I wish I had an experienced extra hand.... Am I going to have to shim the lower fender out to make this happen?

In the old days, a factory body man would strategically locate a wood block between the door and the door frame then give the door a shove or two to help remove some of the twist. Obviously you want to push where you have some structural strength and not on an unsupported area that can cave in. Once you have the door lined up halfway decent, you can tinker with shims and hinge adjustments for the rest.

[swamp rat]

Well I'm really fighting this one, I have the top front of the door as far out as I possibly can via the adjustment on the door side of the hinge, the front fender bolts are tight and the door still has to go out, so I guess I need to add shims to the cab side of the hinge that I didn't need before... common? The top back of the door is still out further than the bottom so a shim on the hinge will make it worse.

I did try the door twist and got it a little better but not good enough.

I did try more adjustments last night but made the overall picture a little worse so have to go and try again today.

On the back of the door at the latch, when it hits the second click its too far in but there is no slots on the striker plate, is it ok to slot the holes a little as a last resort?

One more problem I'm fighting is I think where the truck is sitting its just not level so I think i'm going to have to get it as close as I can for now then get the seat back in it and fired up, then move it to the driveway to see if I can get it better.

And I fess up Vic, I didn't go test fit the door before welding up the skin and its too short in the front, I had measurements for length but I musta marked something down wrong, well, too late now, maybe I can add some material later.


EDIT: I bought my cab mounts from Classic Industry's, and in this short time of install to today they are all splitting out, must be cheap Chinese rubber or something, any preference for quality cab mounts? May have to do that again eventually....

[7dee2]

Sorry to hear your doors are being a pain. We inspected ours prior to disassembly and they fit good enough for a work/4x4 truck so I didn't worry much about it. On reassembly they still about fit the same but with several hours of fussing on each side the end result was a little better.

I like polyurethane style cab mounts myself for that reason.

Keep at it Mike your making good progress.

[swamp rat]

Haven't had much spare time for the last 2 weeks, I gotta get back at it soon.

Somewhere along the way I recall seeing a lifting device that attached to a floor jack, I think I need something like that that will fit under the door and support it where I want it in the door frame then tighten the cab side mounts. Any leads?

Is there pre made shims if I need to space the upper hinge off the cab a little?

[NONHOG]

member MP&C I think showed one on one of his threads. (door jack)

[swamp rat]

Ok have a question for those in the know, I don't have any of the rubber door bumper ((round rubber)) and while to adjust the door it went in too far and now I can't open the door, I had it happen a couple times before but I was able to lift up and out on the door handle and was able to pop the door open, not this time. Any ideas how to free the latch? Maybe from the inside?? I have the front fender off right now. Sorry bout the pic's posting from my cell phone again.

[DWilbur]

picture of door lock. the lever pointing down at bottom of picture might release the door. it can be accessed from inside the door you will have to remove the door panel.

[swamp rat]

Ok I'll try it when time permits, inner panel is off. thank you!

[swamp rat]

The deluge's on the weekends are lightening up a bit.

I got the door freed up, had to enter from the other side and lift up on the door by placing a tire iron under it and putting a little pressure on it, did more readjusting on it to get it to align to the body lines, and it opens fine now, but thinking back I'm sure that the twist in the door was there before I took it off the truck, I don't think any amount of tweaking with pressure and a well placed piece of timber is going to make it any better, I bounced on the thing pretty hard so I think when the time comes this door will need to be replaced so I'm not sure its worth the time to fine tune the strike plate to pull the rear of the door in at this point.

This weekend I replaced the battery box, placed some wiring loom on the light wiring going across the front of the radiator hung my wiring on the passenger fender and the washer reservoir bracket on the driver side. Then I decided it was time to install that inner fenderwell, I have not been looking forward to this at all knowing how much of a pita the driver side was, well I think the passenger side was even worse! nothing wanted to align up the way it should, I fought this one much more and to add to the frustration I had one oddball clip nut that I decided to go ahead and use that ended up snapping off while trying to tighten up the bolt and right now I don't really feel like removing the well to replace it, why did I put that nut towards the top of the well and not down low??

But I think i'm almost ready to fire the truck back up, the cowl, hood, grill and bumper are still off but I cant install them with the truck under the cover.

[rgunlock]

I feel your pain Mike, but sounds like you made pretty good progress in spite of setbacks. Just noticed the Fox shocks you have up front. I just spent the afternoon installing a pair of them on my truck for steering stabilizers.

[DD1]

You are making great progress, Mike! Keep it up!

[7dee2]

Dang doors! Glad you got it opened, keep plugging away.

[swamp rat]

Thanks guys, I have been plugging away.

Here's a tool I wish I had when my door was stuck, I just bought 2 of them for future use different brand but they should work the same. it would have been better than scratching my paint with a tire iron lifting the door, life goes on..

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1TYLQP...pg_640x640.jpg

I installed my push on door seals, very tight fit on both sides so hoping they will break in a bit when it warms up. there's got to be a way to make the fit better but I haven't found it yet, guess i'll let a body guy handle it in the future. I wish I was a better body guy instead of a guy who's body hurts at every movement LOL!

I laid down all the stereo cables and wires and tapped them in place on the floor then under layment which is a sound deadening layer, jute padding and carpet went back in to give it all a bit of time to lay flat before the seat go's back in. I still need to install the threshold plates to hold the carpet in place.

I spent a good portion of time trying to install the corner speaker mounts I bought here on the forum from bigblock73, they have a screw at the top and an angle bracket at the bottom that your supposed to drill and screw into the floor of the cab, well I really don't want to drill holes thru the floor so I tried to JB Weld them to the floor, I figured out where I needed the bracket then removed the paint from the floor with a 2" scotchbrite disk, roughed the bracket then cleaned with acetone, mixed the JB weld applied and let it sit overnight, as soon as I started attaching the screws the brackets popped off the floor and the JB weld was still soft, I guess it was too cold at about 40 something. Any ideas to bond the brackets to the floor would be appreciated. Here's the purchase thread showing pic's of the unit.

I should add, if I don't find a bonding agent soon i'll have to go ahead and drill and screw the bracket to the floor so I can get my seat installed.

EDIT: I know I can weld them in place, trying to avoid burning the paint on the bottom of the floor, another option is to go get some well nuts.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=476976

I reinstalled my battery, pulled the air fuel screws and gave each port a shot of carb cleaner and re installed, installed my remote start button and fired up the engine today! no need to tear the carb apart thanks to the non ethanol gas I have been running in it, last time I ran it was 10-10-16 when I turned the truck around to start the repair on this side, sure glad I can still buy this gas!

https://youtu.be/AqWj25ycLiQ

[swamp rat]

My biggest issue to date is the fan shroud seems to have shrunk thru the years, no matter what I keep smacking it with the blades, ether that or it's all in the cab and radiator support mounts. And that infamous belt squeal is back at high revs, many of you know I have been chasing they bugger forever.