33 5 window bear claws and hidden hinges

kb426 · October 04, 2016, 12:41:05 PM

Way better!

idrivejunk · October 04, 2016, 01:36:15 PM

Thanks guys! It's lunch now and the right door is already on so practice definitely helps!

idrivejunk · October 04, 2016, 08:50:12 PM

Rinse, repeat:

That pic shows something learned at practice. When you trim the pockets, the nut plate retainer falls off. So I tacked it farther back.

Yeah that door isn't shut because my pillar patch for the new striker is tacked but not yet trimmed. This door doesn't have the same gap problem as bad but has one or two different areas of conflict. I won't bore you with abundant details on this side but will show any gap fixes. As you see, I left the old hinges hanging and just sawzall'ed the pillar wood and metal all at once so I could say I had this door on by lunch.

If theres a juicy cut of meat in this thread, its the next three paragraphs-

My tube assembly only needed one cut and re-tack and its all good so far. The hinge pockets are 15 3/4" apart on the brace and if you're doing this at home, cut right through the outer screw hole on the old lower hinge mount, and put the upper tube's outer top corner pointing at that screw by the marked silver box in the pic. Stay just inside the skin's edge.

Rotate hinge assembly until lower hinge pin nut is 1/8" from the quarter skin and almost against the inner pillar, and top hinge allows full closing. Leave just enough room for lower pin removal. You'll have one bolt hole left on the wood bracket inside the quarter and the upper hinge pin goes behind that. The upper tube will be recessed slightly from the face of the pillar and the tube brace and tubes will be tilted outward at the top. Tack tubes then hold door up and mark hinge location for pocket cutouts.

Mount the pockets only about as deep as the hinge is thick. It doesn't have to be flush with the door shell and the limiting factor is the window travel. Keep the nut plate backside even with the window track and it should clear although its possible channel trimming may be necessary. Bolts should be trimmed to a length as to be flush with the nut plate backside when installed. Simple, really!

UGLY OLDS · October 05, 2016, 12:05:03 AM

Looks NEAT..

Like they said....You make it look SOOOOO easy .....

Bob..

idrivejunk · October 05, 2016, 10:44:09 PM

Pssst... its the posterboard...

Used the same template for both pillars.

Zapped up the new striker area and moved on to the door today-

idrivejunk · October 06, 2016, 09:45:57 PM

Another day's work. PB put them in a mixed up order and I don't feel like sorting it out today.

kb426 · October 06, 2016, 09:57:53 PM

Another example of the more time you spend, the better it gets!

idrivejunk · October 07, 2016, 03:47:26 PM

idrivejunk · October 10, 2016, 09:56:06 PM

Got the latch in it. I had to create some clearance around the top of the door to get good fit the rest of the way around, so my silver line will be trimmed away and the edge will be doctored up there.

Heres the latch-n-patch area so far-

Rrumbler · October 11, 2016, 01:02:24 PM

I don't want that you should need to buy a new, bigger sized hat, but - - - *, you do good work. This has been another of your very educational, entertaining job shows, and I look forward to the conclusion. Thank you.

kb426 · October 11, 2016, 08:02:47 PM

I never seize to be amazed at how much time we are willing to spend to make things right.

idrivejunk · October 11, 2016, 10:04:32 PM

Quote from: "Rrumbler"I don't want that you should need to buy a new, bigger sized hat, but - - - *, you do good work. This has been another of your very educational, entertaining job shows, and I look forward to the conclusion. Thank you.

Aww :oops:

:0-0 Thanks a bunch. I just hope the ratings stay where the network will let the show go on!

Quote from: "kb426"I never seize to be amazed at how much time we are willing to spend to make things right.

Do I speed up or slow down?

:?:

:!:

Today's thrilling espisode will blow you away...

I was able to leverage my influence and get the go-ahead to make the doors open farther! That makes me happy and our idea is that the customer will be pleased. The labor difference is small for what is gained, at least I think so. Getting in and out, for folks who love 30s cars most, should be greatly improved.

Blah blah, pictures...

See the difference? I'll be going back to the driver's side and making it match. Yes a small amount of back tracking is needed for that but not a big wallet hit if you want your doors to open nice and wide. Here, this helps to illustrate-

Still in progress, but you can see how the lip of the quarter skin is sacrificed in a small area, and in a manner resembling the original hinge cutouts at the edge. On the other side, scroll back and see how I left the quarter's edge looking more whole and undisturbed. This difference will hardly be noticeable but the function will be.

idrivejunk · October 12, 2016, 08:45:42 PM

Today I went to the driver's side first, to modify the B pillar so the door could open farther. Made it look like the other side as close as I could then tried the door on to see how close I matched the fully open angle to the other door.

Just below the body line, I measured between the door skin and cowl with the driver's door fully open. It was 36". The passenger side, measured the same way, was at 41".

So I let the driver's side out as much more as I could then matched the passenger side to that. Ended up with 37 1/2" which should meet just about anyone's needs. Much wider than it was before.

Getting the two sides to match was a pain. Mostly because the hinges MUST hit the stops as a pair, EXACTLY at the same time. If not, the door shell flexes drastically. So I made that happen.

And I patched another check strap hole, that leaves just one.

As it sits, the doors open the same amount within 1/4". Measuring from the floor to the open doors' nearest point on the bottom edge, the height is within 1/4" with the driver's being lower. I think thats probably close enough. Blah blah pictures-

The passenger side is incomplete. Mostly the quarter skin patching is left. The hinges should be able to remain removeable and I think that goes for all 4.

Heres the driver's side, modified and done except for a couple more beauty patches on other areas of the door-

Crosley.In.AZ · October 13, 2016, 07:53:24 AM

Seems more better , with wider opening doors

idrivejunk · October 13, 2016, 08:09:41 AM

I think it made the door open "plenty" as opposed to "enough". Hopefully the owner will see it that way. Today I'll show the revised version with doors both open.