Repro SWB bedsides 68-72 and repro doors

[randy500]

I'm sharing information...

Late this summer I bought a complete SWB bed kit from GMCPauls.
I got it about a week after I ordered it. I got a steel floor, bedsides, wheel housings, front bed panel, tailgate with all installation parts, rear splash shields. Just about everything except the rods that support the front of the bedsides. I'm very happy with the parts quality. To make it really straight the sides will probably need to be skim coated and blocked but the parts are nice and are very close to original in the way they are stamped and welded together.
All the boxes were marked Woodall Industries if I remember correctly.

Last week I ordered Goodmark bedsides from Summit Racing.
Today they came in and the first thing I noticed is the stenciling on the box was the same font and placement as the Woodall bed. The bedsides themselves seem to be identical and the packaging was identical too.

BTW, summit matched the lowest price I could find and I got it shipped for free too. UPS truck freight, ordered last Friday and received today.

Our member Woodnears responded to my question about the newer repro doors. I asked if they have the "triangle" raised stamping in the front corner, he provided me pictures verifying that the new repros do have that feature. I think he said he got them from Southern Kentucky Classics. He provided me pictures of the doors and confirmed the front edge of the door still does not roll into the fender as the originals did. He did not have the part number or manufacturer information on his doors.

I bought a repro 72 door from Wes at Classic Heartbeat in August and it did not have the raised tringle feature in the front corner. Pictures of Woodnears door seem to be the same door that I got except for the "triange". His door and my door required re-fitting and shaping the window hoop and some elongation of the hinge holes to fit properly. Pretty easy to fit with general tools and skills. He had to remove the front spot welds and reposition the hoop, I just massaged mine with a hammer and a block of wood. I think my door was key parts amongst a lot of other markings. I will try to find the box and update this thread with that info.

Hope this helps someone.

[hugger6933]

I got some new doors for a customers truck and they have yet to fit well. To their side though I have not spent much time on them. I do have them in high build so the real fit is the next step on the list for that truck when i get back on it.

[randy500]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

I got some new doors for a customers truck and they have yet to fit well. To their side though I have not spent much time on them. I do have them in high build so the real fit is the next step on the list for that truck when i get back on it.

Sounds like you know what your doing but here are my tips.
1. Ignore the window hoop until last, it is easy to bend for fit or detach and re-weld at the spot welds.
2. Elongate the hinge holes to get the fit at the back, bottom and front. There is no way the door will fit without opening up the hinge holes. I just went out and looked, I had to elongate the holes on the cab part of the hinge to move the door back and down.
3. Work the window hoop.

[hugger6933]

Thanks for the tips. This one isn't my first, I have already found that without hole elongation the bolts won't even start. i also found out the window opening needs to lay back a good bit to get any reasonable results.

[randy500]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

Thanks for the tips. This one isn't my first, I have already found that without hole elongation the bolts won't even start. i also found out the window opening needs to lay back a good bit to get any reasonable results.

Thanks for informing me that you have done it before...now I have a question....how does the door look when painted since the front doesn't curve inward like the originals?
Have you ever tried to massage the front to look like the original doors? I'm considering trying that out.

[hugger6933]

Randy, my aftermarket doors are stuck in the high build stage and they are just leaning up against the paint booth wall. It is a customers job but it is kinda on a break right now as his wallet takes a break. I normally build late model wrecks [chevy/GMC trucks]but I do old trucks and muscle cars too.
As far as the curve I can't answer to that cause the front fender wasn't tried when the door was hung and now that cab it on the cab tilter flipper dolly for now but when I do get to work on it I'm gonna paint the frame and trim out the cab and bed so I can use the cab tilter dolly and the bed dolly for myself on my 70 that is just recently in epoxy prime after doing the rocker stuff. Jim