At 10:15 AM 2/11/2004 -0600, Dennis Kronberg wrote:
>Does anybody have a .pdf on the step-by-step proceedure for removal of the
>door skins, thier allignment and reassembly?
Dennis,
No. That doesn't exist.
You will have to decide if you plan on trying to reuse the current skin, or
do you want to use a new fiberglass (or NOS acrylic skin).
To remove the door skins, you need to be very careful, and you'll need
the following tools:
1. A source of heat - hair dryer or a heat gun (be very carefull with this)
2. A putty knife
3. A hammer
A. Start by looking for some place here the skin has started to seperate from
the frame. Try and get the putty knife in between the frame and the skin.
B. Using a little heat, heat the metal flange on the door where the outer
edge of the skin is glued. Becareful NOT to let it get too hot or you
will burn the acrylic. You're trying to use the heat to help break the
bond (glue) between the door frame and the skin.
C. As you heat an area, carefully tape the side of the putty knife to slide
it along the door frame and cut/break the glue bond. Again be very care-
ful as the putty knife can cut upwards and into the skin. You don't want
this to happen. Carefully work your way all the way around the frame.
If you plan on getting a new skin, then it doesn't matter if you mess up the
old skin. If you plan on reusing the old skin just take your time. If you
mess it up, you can fix it, but then you'll have to paint it.
Do you plan on painting the car?
Once the skin is off the door frame, you'll want to disassemble the door.
As you talk the parts off the door, put them in heavy baggies and lable
them right and left.
Once everything is off the frame, you'll want to sandblast it and then check
for rust. The bottom panel is very prone to rust. If it isn't too bad, it
can be fixed with dynaglass (NOT Tigerhair) and bondo. If it's really bad
you can either try and cut some patches and weld them in, or see if you
can get a used door frame or find a bottom panel and weld it in.
After the shell is blasted, most of us are painting the frame with POR-15.
But don't paint the parts of the door with POR-15 that should have the Brown
(Ginger) paint on it as POR-15 isn't a good primer. Once that's done, you
can prime the door.
Depending on how much body work you did to it, you may want to use a "High
build primer" like Evercoat's "Feather Fill" or TransStar's "Quick Fill".
Once you've got that nicely smoothed (by sanding with 400grit paper) you
may want to use a 2K primer (a catalized prime). Sand smooth again with
400grit.
Now for the mods to the door. On a 74, there aren't as many as on a 75.
1. Before you remove the doors from the car, you'll need to see if your doors
have had the "boomerang" reinforcement panel welded to the inside of the
rear of the door where it transitions from vertical to horizontal.
(There's a piece in the Jan 2004 issue of The Brickline and another one
will be in the April 2004 issue under What They're Up To. As I'm redoing
my doors now.) If the patch isn't installed, you'll want to make one and
install it. You'll want to make sure the door has the proper bend to it
and then clamp the "boomerang" in place. Then start tack welding it in
place. Be carefull here that you don't burn the acrylic.
2. To pull the doors off the car, you can remove the 4 bolts from the hinge on
the door side, and remove the door. When you pull the 4 bolts from the
roof to remove the hinges, besure to get the shims that are under the
hinges. When you do, keep all of the shims for each hinge together and
lable them front or rear and driver or pass side.
Once the doors have been removed from the car, you can remove the hinges
and check that the hinges are streight. Lay a ruler across the flat areas
where the mounting holes are. If they're bowed, you'll need to beat them
flat with a big f#$#%# hammer.
3. The regulators are a weak point, and need to be modified. For that you
can probably send them to either Terry Tanner or to Bob Hoffman.
4. With the skins off is the time to decide if you want to change the
electrical solenoids to the newer air operated ones Terry sells or
use something else like Rick from High Tech Coatings does.
5. When reassembling the doors, you'll want to put in the "Shower curtain"
mod. Just a piece of plastic glued and taped to the inside of the shell
to keep water out of the car. You'll also want new inner and outer door
seals, and new insulator for the window channel. Once the "shower curtain
is installed, you'll replace the various part in the door.
6. Now comes the black magic. Trying to refit the doors, and skins. This
is truely an art. It's something that can't really be written down.
There are a couple if things to watch for and measure. I'll have to
dig that info up later (so remind me). One measurement is that the top
flange of the door frame must be 3/8" down from the roof so the skins
will fit. There's another measurement at the bluge on the B pillar, but
I don't remember it off hand.
You'll want to put the seals on the door, and before you glue the seal to
the door, install "kick out strips" on the door frame. (This is in the
Jan 2004 Brickline.)
7. Once the door frames are mounted on the car, you'll start trying to fit
the skins. Once the fit nicely, you can glue them. There was an aritcle
by Terry in one of the old Bricklines about that.
How's that for a start?
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair1948@cox.net
Va. Beach, Va (eBay id: zebra48-1)
Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V (B1109)
75 Bricklin SV1 (#0887) 77 Spitfire 71 Saab Sonett III
65 Rambler Classic
Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan
Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
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