Re: ROADSTER DOOR SKINS.ETC.

Posted by Paul on May 23, 1998 at 21:25:00

In Reply to: ROADSTER DOOR SKINS.ETC.
posted by MIKE TAYLOR on May 21, 1998 at 09:06:38

: I am starting a salvage operation on the doors on my '30 roadster.I have purchased door skins, latches,hinges, etc., from Synder's and Brattons.
: Replacing the skins looks like a straignt forward job, but as with many things, experience is valuable.
: Can anyone who has done this job give me some advice, and maybe point out some problem areas that their experience has exposed. Thanks in advance!
Mike, You are correct in that the job of removing the old skin and puting on the new one is straight forward.The things to watch for is the fit with the old skin still on, ie: does the door fit properly now?If it doesn't, now is the time to fix it.Roadster doors tend to have a wide gap at the bottom.This appears to be a bad fit of the door.However, the cause is usually at the top of the door opening at the belt rail.The bodies tend to spring out at the top, where the top irons bolt on.Make sure this area is right and the door fits properly.The proceed with the skin job.My experience with the new skins is they tend to align poorly where the top of the door meets up with the dash rail.This should be a nice continuation of the lines.Mine ended up with a big gap at this junction.A small piece of 2x4 and a big hammer will correct it however.It takes a lot of courage to knock the "chit" out af a new skin but it may be necessary. In the end the lined up very nice.
Take care in drilling the hole for the door handle.They tend to point slightly downward as apposed to being parallel to with the ground.
Take your time and study what you are about to do and you can do a nice job of it.
Have fun!
Paul

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