buds truck Posted January 17, 2009 Report Posted January 17, 2009 As promised, here are a few pics of the suicide doors on my 53 pilothouse. Top is chopped, the 49 Plymouth dash is in, the cowl vent is filled and now the passenger door is workable, still needs some finishing touches. fun project!! first pic shows the bracing to make sure all stays in shape, pic 2 and 3 shows the door hinge kit with an angle iron brace at the back to keep the pins in uniform alignment. pic 4 shows an angle brace vicegripped to the hinges themselves to keep them spuare and so I could check to make sure there were no binds when opening and closing them simultanelously. pic 5 shows some measurements and cut marks at the bottom rear post. I made sure the hinges were close to the outside and front edge of the rear post and that the hinges were almost plumb up and down with a slight degree lean out on top to keep the doors from swinging shut when open. more pics coming, this forum will only let me post 5 at a time. Bud Quote
buds truck Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Posted January 17, 2009 pic one is where I installed the upper hinge, pic 2 is after I cut out the lower hinge hole, pic 3 is after cutting the upper hinge hole. pic 4 is after welding the lower hinge to the rear post and pic 5 is after welding the upper hinge to the rear post. Quote
buds truck Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Posted January 17, 2009 the first pic is the hinge plate for the doors, see that I centered the nut plate in the holes, 2nd pic shows that I taped them in that position prior to fitting so I would have some "wiggle room" for fitment after welding. I then bolted the plates to the hinges. I left the door on its original front hinges and just shut the door and marked where the hinge plates contacted the inner door skin (pic 3 and 4). pic 5 shows one of the marks after opening the door. Quote
buds truck Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Posted January 17, 2009 pic 1 and 2 show the inner door after the cuts. you need to sneak up on the cuts slowly and not over cut too much or you get lots more work in the end! when the cuts were as good as I could get them, I shut the door and tacked welded it shut in the correct position. In pic 3 I tack weldedthe lower hinge, pic 4 is the upper hinge tack welded. Pic 5 shows what happens if you cut too much! leaves me with more stuff to do. Quote
buds truck Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Posted January 17, 2009 first pic is the upper hinge welded into place. pic 2 shows that I needed to change the angle of the upper hinge as the door is not "plumb" from the top to the bottom and this was the best way to fix it. After the hinge plates were welded fairly solid, I re mounted the door to make sure fitment was ok (pic 3 and 4). Pic 5 is after the door is back on and shut. prior to removing the door after tack welding on the hinge brackets, I had to cut tack weld holding the door shut, remove the suicide door bolts to get the door to swing open the old way. I then removed the hinge pins for the last time and took the hinge plates off the front door post. Quote
buds truck Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Posted January 17, 2009 first pic shows the gaps are good, 2nd pic shows the door fits the body well, third pic shows the door open in the new position!! I still have much bracing to make to insure the door is stable, they are heavy!! the wife is having surgery next week, so the drivers door will wait a few weeks while I help her recover. hope the post is interesting and informative. Bud By the way, I found a similar tech article on the H.A.M.B, for suiciding doors on an old Ford. It was my inspiration and I will readilly admit that I followed much of his ideas to make this one work. Quote
cwcars88 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Posted January 17, 2009 Looking good Bud, I am sure there is a lot of us that enjoy watching a craftsman at work. Hope your wife's surgery comes out OK. I will stop by and check out your progress the next time I am up your way. Wayne Quote
carl b51 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Posted January 17, 2009 Bud its lookin real good . HOPE all turns out well with the wife!! Carl Quote
woodscavenger Posted January 19, 2009 Report Posted January 19, 2009 Stop! Stop! Stop! you're killing me by cutting this old sheet metal.......... Actually you are killing me because my to do list gets a lot longer everytime I see your posts! I wanna chop my truck.........now I want suicide doors........Your killing me, my wife is wondering why I am whining right now. Quote
Dave72dt Posted January 24, 2009 Report Posted January 24, 2009 I've been following your build as it progresses because it's relatively similar to mine. Couple questions. I see there is some standout of the hinge plates on the door. How willl this be addressed when upholstery is applied? How much clearance between the hinge plates and the window mechanism. Could the hinge pockets have been set closer to the outside of the truck to get the hinge plates flush on the door panel? How are you planning on strenghening the rear corners? I've been considering doing this type of body change to mine as well. Solenoids to unlatch the doors or some way to use original handles? I'm assuming new bear claw latches. Large or small? Quote
buds truck Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Posted January 24, 2009 I've been following your build as it progresses because it's relatively similar to mine. Couple questions. I see there is some standout of the hinge plates on the door. How willl this be addressed when upholstery is applied? How much clearance between the hinge plates and the window mechanism. Could the hinge pockets have been set closer to the outside of the truck to get the hinge plates flush on the door panel? How are you planning on strenghening the rear corners? I've been considering doing this type of body change to mine as well. Solenoids to unlatch the doors or some way to use original handles? I'm assuming new bear claw latches. Large or small? there will be some standout on the upper hinge plate, but not enough that it can't be covered when the upholstery is done as the plates can be trimmed to the hinge depth. I have about half inch clearance between the hinge plate and the window mechanism, but may go to power windows anyways. The hinge pockets could not have been set closer to the outside of the truck as it would have made the vertical line beteweed the hinge pins tipped inward and the doors would not have stayed open. the rear corners on the cab will be tied in to the floor and the cab bracing below the windows with the angle iron that was welded to the hinges, I will have pics later when I get that far. The doors will also be braced to keep from flexing. I have had to put the project on hold while caring for my wife after her surgery. I will have solenoids to open the doors, but I am planning on using chev s-10 door latches instead of bearclaws. I have bearclaws on my 49 Plymouth and am really not that impressed. Hope this helps. Bud Quote
pflaming Posted January 25, 2009 Report Posted January 25, 2009 What is the attraction for suicide doors? This is NOT a criticism question, just an honest question. Like others, your craftsmanship is evident and look forward to seeing the final product. Quote
Dave72dt Posted January 25, 2009 Report Posted January 25, 2009 Info answered a lot of questions regarding a possible door conversion, particularly the bear claws. Regardless, I need to do a latch change. I'm not real comforable with the factory style as far as safety goes. Looking forward to future updates. Thanks. Quote
PatS.... Posted January 25, 2009 Report Posted January 25, 2009 I will have solenoids to open the doors, but I am planning on using chev s-10 door latches instead of bearclaws. I have bearclaws on my 49 Plymouth and am really not that impressed. Hope this helps. Bud Bud, I'm enjoying the project updates. I don't have a pilothouse and I'm not going to chop or suicide door my Chrysler, but watching you tackle these jobs as well as the dash instal is fun. I'm wondering why you weren't impressed with the bearclaws. I'm considering an update on the door latches on my Chrysler, so any experiences are relevant. Thanks alot and keep the updates coming as soon as your wife is feeling better. Give her my best from Canada! Pat Quote
buds truck Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Posted January 25, 2009 What is the attraction for suicide doors? This is NOT a criticism question, just an honest question. Like others, your craftsmanship is evident and look forward to seeing the final product. I don't know what the universal answer would be for that, but what attracted me to it was the fact that the wife said " you ARE suiciding the doors for me, aren't you"? Since I'm building it for her, the doors will open backwards... I actually like the look too, they just look mean when they are parked and the doors are open. I will be the first to admit there are safety issues, but I will put the safety locks on them so they can't open while driving. Bud Quote
48Dodger Posted February 4, 2009 Report Posted February 4, 2009 Bud....your truck is kicking ass. 48D Quote
48Dodger Posted February 4, 2009 Report Posted February 4, 2009 What is the attraction for suicide doors? This is NOT a criticism question, just an honest question. Like others, your craftsmanship is evident and look forward to seeing the final product. http://automotivemileposts.com/autobrevity/suicidedoors.html Style baby, Style! Also when you run out of gas running from the cops, you can jump out and run pretty good. 48D Quote
carl b51 Posted February 4, 2009 Report Posted February 4, 2009 Bud, I hope your wife enjoys it as much as we have enjoyed watching you build it. HOPe all is well . Carl Quote
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