Thread: Work junk, and junk... at work. By 'junk.

I thought you might. Heres today's forum fodder-

I was able to leverage my influence and get the go-ahead to make the doors open farther! That makes me happy and our idea is that the customer will be pleased. The labor difference is small for what is gained, at least I think so. Getting in and out, for folks who love 30s cars most, should be greatly improved.

Blah blah, pictures...




See the difference? I'll be going back to the driver's side and making it match. Yes a small amount of back tracking is needed for that but not a big wallet hit if you want your doors to open nice and wide. Here, this helps to illustrate-




Still in progress, but you can see how the lip of the quarter skin is sacrificed in a small area, and in a manner resembling the original hinge cutouts at the edge. On the other side, scroll back and see how I left the quarter's edge looking more whole and undisturbed. This difference will hardly be noticeable but the function will be.

That Riv is g-g-g-gorgeous!

It makes me sad that I was close to buying one... So close...

i used to ride on that huge back dash under the back window as a kid. that was one of the cars i remember well as a kid. iirc i was like 6 when they got it.

and i remember my dad had a blue ford truck, he sold it and the guy blew the engine up weeks later, i think he knew its time was up. that was the only ford too.....

Chevys had great looks but the B-O-P stuff was always more interesting to stare at.

Originally Posted by idrivejunk

Blah blah, pictures...

Keeps me coming back!

We had a new guy start today. I hear there may be a couple more on the way. Neato. Could have been you.

Today I went to the driver's side first, to modify the B pillar so the door could open farther. Made it look like the other side as close as I could then tried the door on to see how close I matched the fully open angle to the other door.

Just below the body line, I measured between the door skin and cowl with the driver's door fully open. It was 36". The passenger side, measured the same way, was at 41".

So I let the driver's side out as much more as I could then matched the passenger side to that. Ended up with 37 1/2" which should meet just about anyone's needs. Much wider than it was before.

Getting the two sides to match was a pain. Mostly because the hinges MUST hit the stops as a pair, EXACTLY at the same time. If not, the door shell flexes drastically. So I made that happen.

And I patched another check strap hole, that leaves just one.

As it sits, the doors open the same amount within 1/4". Measuring from the floor to the open doors' nearest point on the bottom edge, the height is within 1/4" with the driver's being lower. I think thats probably close enough. Blah blah pictures-









The passenger side is incomplete. Mostly the quarter skin patching is left. The hinges should be able to remain removeable and I think that goes for all 4.

Heres the driver's side, modified and done except for a couple more beauty patches on other areas of the door-

There will be more door adventures (suicide locks, weatherstrip-friendly mods, dome switches, handles, and power actuators for all plus I bet power windows) but this bear claw and hidden hinge project is about wrapped up.

I'm satisfied and all thats left is to re-install the already trimmed wood below the qtr window. Oh and two small driver's door patches next time its off.

Ex-top hinge area-



(the black is spray paint left in pits)



I know an ex civil engineer who would tan my hide for those down-handed welds. But this is no bridge and I'm still right handed.

On down to the upper hidden hinge area (yes the hinges are removable now)-




The tube's outer side acts as the stop. All four of these now have one carefully shaped "flat" where the hinges rest when open. Pads can be stuck there after paint.

Now the lower one-




Do they look the same as the other side? Don't really matter but they should look real similar side-to-side.

No danger of flying open and hitting THIS car, plenty of room here-




These are the bestest centered pics I could manage. The fan kinda messes up the front shot but if you look close... its pretty close, eh?

Today I put the right side wood back in, made a temporary bolt handle for that side just like the other, then I cleaned up the sustantial mess.

Happy to report that once I removed the bent plates at the roof jamb that were holding rubber strips and adjusted everything...

Any adult can gently push the doors shut from the safety latch position. Meaning the doors open and shut really easy and theres room for a custom weatherstrip of a proper type. As it turns out, the latches click super-easy once lubed and once the door is properly positioned. When you tap the bolt handle, the door swings out to the detent. Won't require a big heavy actuator, just a small plastic one probably.

I did have to adjust the position of both latch and striker on the right side to get there, and both doors had interference issues at the top half that prevented good gaps. It has those now, at least it to where I can make the needed fixes in the places it isn't even.

Can't show how slick they work in pictures but it made me so happy when I was able to gently push them shut. Left work carrying a grin.

I am an artist and have a unique job that I enjoy. But I like to maintain the opinion that theres ten guys capable of what I do within a ten mile radius at any given time or place. Whats different about me is I have managed to endure the sadistic pay rate long enough to make it look easy. I did that upper old hinge area patch the other day without giving it ANY thought. After I had it smooth and my mind went back to the next project task, I looked at what I had just done, then at my hands, and asked them out loud "How did you DO that?". Not suprisingly, they did not answer. So I'm still in the dark. Folks seem to enjoy the walkthroughs though, so I keep on dishing.

https://youtu.be/sC73UoAUzvI

another one in the books. off to its happy owner.

Hell yeah! Wish I had specs to list but I don't.

Originally Posted by idrivejunk

https://youtu.be/sC73UoAUzvI

Burnout vid please?

Originally Posted by idrivejunk

I thought you might. Heres today's forum fodder-

I was able to leverage my influence and get the go-ahead to make the doors open farther! That makes me happy and our idea is that the customer will be pleased. The labor difference is small for what is gained, at least I think so. Getting in and out, for folks who love 30s cars most, should be greatly improved.

Blah blah, pictures...




See the difference? I'll be going back to the driver's side and making it match. Yes a small amount of back tracking is needed for that but not a big wallet hit if you want your doors to open nice and wide. Here, this helps to illustrate-




Still in progress, but you can see how the lip of the quarter skin is sacrificed in a small area, and in a manner resembling the original hinge cutouts at the edge. On the other side, scroll back and see how I left the quarter's edge looking more whole and undisturbed. This difference will hardly be noticeable but the function will be.

Originally Posted by Slick2500

I count six separate occasions of "fap", followed by a repeat session.

Originally Posted by idrivejunk

Hell yeah! Wish I had specs to list but I don't.

Originally Posted by Slick2500

If that means I'm a wanker for mentioning influence, OK... to me its wierd to have my ideas supported. Gives me a bone.

If that means you want hinges like that now, good. They could go on just about anything.