lower doorskins replace - in the driveway

[jzjames]

Well this was one of my projects for this summer, repairing the rusted out corners on the doors. Heres how it went.

I was going to fit the doorskin repair panels myself and take it to a welder for the welding? Well nothing is easy nowadays/ "project too small", "I'll do the whole job for around $700", etc..
So I decided to <do it myself> once again and figure out how to improvise.
I decided I could do it using autobody adhesive just across the top overlap of the doorskin panel, and crimp over the other 3 sides using...roofing tar.
Heres the project:

initially I was just going to weld in patches in the corners, thats why the rusted corners are cut out. I decided to do the whole bottom doorskins. Took my 4 inch grinder with metal cutting wheel to do all the cutting. Decided I would butt the metal on the two top corners so it would be flush, and overlap the top of the doorskin using the panel adhesive. Heres the cutting and fitting setup:


I got the doorskin bottoms from BOP for around $25/apiece. They were ok, Chinese made around 18 guage metal, but were rough and I wanted the exact width of the original door,so it was trimmed carefully. Then my plan was to dump in some asphalt-based roofing tar (from DAP) into the bottom fold, and the two vertical folded sides, and crimp those folded metal parts onto the door's inner frame. The panel adhesive would be used on the top overlap.

Here it is attached, the bottom and sides crimped over, just using vicegrips, (set just right!), and the top overlapped using the adhesive with pop rivets for clamping pressure.

The pop rivets were later grinded off after the adhesive was dry, and pushed through to leave the holes which were filled with the skim coat of bondo. (Indent the holes somewhat for bondo to cling, and on the inside of the door, smear tar over the bondo sqeeze-through). Here is the repair skimmed with bondo, sanded out and primed (Rustoleum Auto primer).


And of course since my truck is a rattlecan spray job, I am able to spray it to match very easily


Driveway doorskin bottoms. I did both sides.

[flyboy2610]

Nice job!

[kaptnkaos]

Very nice Job JZ... they look mint KaptnKA S

[towtruckerfour]

Those turned out really good. Nice job

[jzjames]

Thanks, Im happy with the result. I dont think they will need to be done for a while.
One of the deals was to butt the top corners of the replacement panel. This allowed the doorskins to look flush overall. I actually used JB Weld to cover those side joints as that stuff is waterproof, and used regular bondo to skim over the overlap portion. On the inside of the door I covered critical areas with asphalt based tar to keep out moisture completely. There may be a hairline crack show up, but whocares. It will be something manageable instead of bubbling rust. I would be surprised if this repair doesnt last a long time.

[marvin2]

Good job...not only do you save the money by doing it yourself, but you gain a lot of pride in knowing that you did it on your own. Looks great man.

[FoMoCo]

Am I watching TRUCKS on the Power block? One frame there's a hole, the next frame it looks new? Nice job. You made it look super easy.

Nick

[68FORDJBM]

I got the doorskin bottoms from BOP for around $25/apiece. Driveway doorskin bottoms. I did both sides.[/quote]


Can you eleborate on where you got the doorskins? I'd like to do this exact job on my truck this spring. Until I can replace the doors

Thanks,

[HIO Silver]

I got the doorskin bottoms from BOP for around $25/apiece. Driveway doorskin bottoms. I did both sides.

Can you eleborate on where you got the doorskins? I'd like to do this exact job on my truck this spring. Until I can replace the doors

Thanks,[/quote]

Unless I am mistaken, BOP is supposed to be "BOTP".. Blue Oval Truck Parts.

[68FORDJBM]

Thanks for the clarification

[ximy]

excellent work!

[jthulan]

Looks great, and you can say you completely did it yourself! WTG

[abyars111]

great job! thanks for sharing

[68FORDJBM]

Okay, I got my skins, the door removed, and the rusty pannel cut out. It all went much easier than I thought - like 1 hr. Now, is it easier to attach the skin along the cut or crimp the edges around the bottom? I have a welder but thout I'd start with pop rivets to keep it in place

Thanks

[68FORDJBM]

Some pics of my lower skin driveway job: easier
On the second door I welded some tab/shelves for spot welding the skins on
[URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/m ... .jpg[/img][/url]n

Multiple spot welds to attach:
[URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/m ... .jpg[/img][/url]

If I were to do this again I'd spend the extra money on full skins. Would have saved time and filler
[URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/m ... .jpg[/img][/url]