"Project Orangepeel" 52 A.D

[reaper71]

In this pic if you look close you can see how it works..I put a nylok nut on the carriage bolt so it will not loosen. and you can see the arm for the latch so you push it in and "pop"

[reaper71]

This is a pic of my door popper I ended up having to use this do to the weight of the door (spring wasn't strong enough) so I had these lying around the shot your looking at is from inside the cab at the "B" pillar I used the stock hole that a door bumper goes through and drilled it out to fit the plunger. then I made a plate to weld into the pillar in the center of this I used a collar stop for the popper to slide through this is used to be able to adjust the tension.

[reaper71]

This shows a better look of how it will work..
the popper can slide forward and back to get or take away tension and the collar on the backside of pillar has a set screw so you can lock it in place..

[reaper71]

These two pics show the stock style striker pin..the 2nd pic is my design I came up with the reason for this is just so you don't have that harsh "metal sound" when you close the door. First i took a button head cap screw the length I needed and took nylon bushing the same Dia of the stock striker then I tapped the nylon this will help it from just spinning. The end result is a quiet closing door...

[reaper71]

This is just a final look at the door after welding and metal finish and the end of this task. On to the next...

Mark...

[Advanced Design]

Awesome work! Very creative. Thanks for sharing this, Mark.

[RockinKees]

That is really nice fabwork!!
Great How-To!!

One question please:
Does this work with most bearclaws or must I have a particular one/brand??
I'm thinking of do this on my '59 also?
(Sorry to hijack this into your build, but as everybody reads this ;-)... )

[reaper71]

yes it will work with any brand just make sure the latches are of good quality. The main reason I used the single style. Aka medium size

Originally Posted by RockinKees

That is really nice fabwork!!
Great How-To!!

One question please:
Does this work with most bearclaws or must I have a particular one/brand??
I'm thinking of do this on my '59 also?
(Sorry to hijack this into your build, but as everybody reads this ;-)... )

[reaper71]

sorry oat connection to internet
I used the medium latches over large because they are easier to adjust...

[reaper71]

this the medium size latch..about 45.00 for the set
You can get then from( Rocky hinge) they have alot of really nice products if you go to the accessories section their is several items you can get to make things easy to install handles etc.

[FarmerSid]

Thanks for the info and updates. What's your plan for the trim ring on the outside?

[RockinKees]

Thanks Mark!
I asked this because the few Apaches I saw, are all a hell to get the doors closed in a normal way.
I think it's a lot saver also to mount bearclaws instead of the sock locks.

You have a great How-to to this part of the build, especially for a newby like me!

[reaper71]

on the trim ring the bushing is the trim ring it has a shine from the mfg. So it will not need anything done to it..

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

Thanks for the info and updates. What's your plan for the trim ring on the outside?

[reaper71]

Kees you are very welcome... if you ever have any questions feel free to ask...always willing to help out a fellow builder...
Mark...

Originally Posted by reaper71

on the trim ring the bushing is the trim ring it has a shine from the mfg. So it will not need anything done to it..

[reaper71]

This will be the next phase of my build it will be very time consuming...first the dash, I didn't want to go with just stock..I find myself checking out trucks at shows only to find nothing done with the dash besides gauges. The outside will be very stock-ish looking so I wanted the interior to speak for itself so here go's..

pic 1 and 2 are the stocker before I cut

[reaper71]

This was the result of cutting out the stock unit if you notice I left a strip along the top this will be used as a mounting point for the new piece. I wanted this to be a removable item for welding,metal finish etc.

[reaper71]

So after this was removed I then decided to use the upper portion of the dash for support in the 2nd pic it shows how it looked at this stage.

[reaper71]

This pic shows a closer view of the mounting area if you look close the button head cap screws go through the stock strip and into the new mounting strip.

[reaper71]

In this pic it shows the mounting strip i used this was welded to the stock dash, the round bar was used as a spacer.

[RockinKees]

Great idea, a removable dash!

Ofcourse you know in your head how it will look when finished, but you're not gonna tell us??

[Advanced Design]

Like a good movie / story / book looking forward to the next part. So the section of original dash is placed on top of the narrow strip that was left spot welded in?

[reaper71]

haha soon enough!!

Originally Posted by RockinKees

Great idea, a removable dash!

Ofcourse you know in your head how it will look when finished, but you're not gonna tell us??

[reaper71]

to answer your question. The strip is from the original dash and the new section bolts in from the under side, so it will be flush.

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Like a good movie / story / ook looking forward to the next part. So the section of original dash is placed on top of the narrow strip that was left spot welded in?

[reaper71]

so in this update I hope these pics help clear up how it mounts.the plate bolts to the flange leftover from stock dash..

Mark..

[reaper71]

This just shows how the shape was started, I made a template from cardboard then transferred this to a scrap piece to "practice" on..then i finally transferred the entire shape to metal. I used 20gauge steel for this.