With the door inside-up on a couple of saw horses, I hooked the lip of the new outer skin over the bottom edge of the interior panel and tacked it in place at the outermost edges. It’s worth noting here that I made the interior door structure flat and solid as you see it by design. The original was not so to begin with, but since the floor is now 3-1/4″ higher up the door from the bottom due to the channeling job, I’m thinking an upholstered panel won’t go as far down the door with it closed. Because the lower 5″-6″ of metal will be plainly visible whenever the door is open, I kept it relatively flat and intend for it to be painted only.

A closer look from a reverse angle shows the channel for the weatherstripping that will seal the bottom of the door to the body’s sill plate.  If you click on the image to enlarge it, you will also see the lip of the outer skin is wrapped over the edge of this channel. The overlap will be pinched closed along its entire length just like the original was before I dismantled it.

I then flipped the door over, outside-up and tacked the skin in place, spacing the welds far enough apart so as not to create any hot spots that would warp the sheetmetal as they cooled. There’s still plenty of work to be done here even after I finish welding everything already shown, including closing-off the original hinge pocket holes in the front of the door. But as long as I keep after it, it will get done eventually. Besides, I’ve got another Little League Baseball game to go watch… and I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Stay tooned!

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It’s also worthwhile to understand that while I may be in the garage enjoying just “being in the moment”, benefiting from the practical application of my work for it’s own sake and not losing out on the experience by focusing only on an end goal at any given time; that you might not find my writing about my doing the exact same thing on one car door as on the previous the most exhilarating reading.

With that said (whatever it was), I’ve taken it one further and am now working on the lower outer skin. Anyone reading this who owns a slip roller could’ve had this done in the time it’s taken me to form the buck, but I don’t have a slip-roller and could make this little wooden buck in less time than I could’ve built the slip roller. The idea was to have something the same shape as the bottom of the door to form a new piece around.

This is where I left off tonight after the High Plains Little League Yankees beat the Braves. I still have more forming to do before attaching it to the door but it was starting to get a little late for all the tin knocking so I stopped. Although not entirely visible in this pic, the bottom edge is folded over itself and will slip over the inner structure piece I just added. The wooden piece has held-up to the repeated banging well enough that I should be able to get another duplicate skin from it, ensuring symmetrical door bottoms… and we all know how important that is in the grand scheme of life.  

Ciao.

It’s plain to see a little realignment was necessary between the upper and lower curves after removing the center few inches of the window. All that was required was to cut some slits so I could re-curve both sides gradually. Measuring from the chop line, I went back and forth from side to side, making alternate slits in the passenger’s and then the driver’s side and then back again to make the adjustments equal and without any kinks.

Once I liked what I saw, I made a cardstock pattern of one side and checked it against the other before welding any of it together. This shot was taken with my phone after realizing I hadn’t taken any of the completed rear window. The placement of the car in the garage makes it difficult to get back far enough to take a straight on shot right now. I’m sure throughout the course of this project I’ll take some close-ups. When I do I’ll add them to the ’36 gallery.

In the ultimate attempt at procrastination, I started leading-in one of the seams created from stretching the door. I rationalized that it would be far easier to lay the lead while the door skin was horizontal instead of dealing with it once it was remounted vertically to the car. It would also be much more fun than going after the door hinges for the 3rd, 4th, or 5th time… I honestly forget. However, since the door bottom needs to be skinned, I could only go so far knowing that I’d just undo my own leadwork while welding if I’d brought it too close. So I stopped.

Ultimately, I remounted the door and found the cause of the last bit of resistance to closing was not in the hinge alignment but due to interference between the inner door structure and the previous “B” pillar mounting location alongside the floor. I moved this a while ago when I lengthened the door opening. The fact that the channel caused the floor to be higher up on the door hid the impediment from plain view. It was little more than an hour’s work and the final problem was solved. ‘ gotta love an epiphany rush!

But before I could re-skin the outside, I had to have something to re-skin to, and the inner structure wasn’t in much better shape at the bottom. All those year of having the drain holes plugged in the bottom didn’t help this one much so I fabb’ed a panel to give myself a starting point.

The next order of business was to remove the offending area far enough back to get to good metal so I’d have something to weld to. This was no small task. If you’re not aware of how automotive doors are generally constructed you should know that an outer skin is laid-over the outside of the main structure and the edges are crimped all the way around to make it hold the shape. That’s it. Quick and easy.

Not so “quick and easy” to undo after 70+ years of exposure to the elements – not accounting for unknown time some PO may have garaged it after paying extra for the Master Deluxe version (La-dee’-dah). The outer skin and inner structure had physically become a single, corroded piece and required a good deal of time and patience to separate. It took some hours, a hammer & chisel, pliers, and periodic heat from the torch; but the pieces eventually separated. There are a few more pictures of the process here.

I tacked the newly formed piece in place and stopped to go watch one of my sons Little League practice. There will be more time for this later.

Thanks for visiting.