christcrusader13
Zip-Tie Mechanic
It's always funny to me how such a little change can make such a HUGE difference 
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1934 Plymouth five window
- Thread starter MercuryMac
- Start date
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MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Yep, CC, Hot rod building makes you appreciate how well things fit together.
I have had very little time in the shop this week so there's only a wee bit of progress.
To widen the gap at the front of the door I made an 18 gauge tin shim for the outside half of my lower hinge, and mounted it in there. [pic one] is the shim just starting in there.
[pic two] is the pie shaped piece welded up for the first time. Every time I get more of it welded up, before it starts to pull the upper frame back to far. AAArrhhhg. It's 85% welded up now and starting to pull back again.
The guide was worn right out on the sedan door, but luckily one coupe door had a good one on it. Getting the eight little bolts out was a chore.
I have mocked up part of the upper door frame now and found out that the sedan door is slightly different in thickness than the coupe door so the upper hinge will have to be moved out three sixteenths of an inch and ahead one eighth ".
I have had very little time in the shop this week so there's only a wee bit of progress.
To widen the gap at the front of the door I made an 18 gauge tin shim for the outside half of my lower hinge, and mounted it in there. [pic one] is the shim just starting in there.
[pic two] is the pie shaped piece welded up for the first time. Every time I get more of it welded up, before it starts to pull the upper frame back to far. AAArrhhhg.
It's 85% welded up now and starting to pull back again.The guide was worn right out on the sedan door, but luckily one coupe door had a good one on it. Getting the eight little bolts out was a chore.
I have mocked up part of the upper door frame now and found out that the sedan door is slightly different in thickness than the coupe door so the upper hinge will have to be moved out three sixteenths of an inch and ahead one eighth ".
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christcrusader13
Zip-Tie Mechanic
If I wasn't mistaken I would say t sounds like you are working on my 50 Chevy LOL.... keep at it!
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Yes CC, the principles are much the same.
First, you dream up a solution to the problem at hand, then you analyze 'said' solution to see if it might work, and then you try to do your partly crazy scheme. Then I guess, you straighten out your mess and carry on.
Sometimes it works out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Keep on tinkering.
First, you dream up a solution to the problem at hand, then you analyze 'said' solution to see if it might work, and then you try to do your partly crazy scheme. Then I guess, you straighten out your mess and carry on.
Sometimes it works out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Keep on tinkering.
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
Your door work is steadily taking good shape!
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Thanks Smallfoot, I am plugging away at it.
As I stated earlier, I had to lean the front of the door post back a bit on the sedan door, so the upper front corner had to be made more obtuse. [That sounds like some of the language that happened at the same time as the angle was widened.] I had to shorten the top and the front of this frame corner piece. It now is welded up and mostly welded in place.
As I stated earlier, I had to lean the front of the door post back a bit on the sedan door, so the upper front corner had to be made more obtuse. [That sounds like some of the language that happened at the same time as the angle was widened.] I had to shorten the top and the front of this frame corner piece. It now is welded up and mostly welded in place.
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Bamamav
Well-known member
Would it have been easier to just use the coupe door tops? I know, should have asked this earlier.
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Yes Bama, it would have been easier. There you go thinking like a normal person again.
#1 factor is that I wanted to sell the coupe doors to a fellow who has two Plymouth coupes; one rough and one really really rough, and no doors.
#2 factor is I wanted to learn a bit about chopping doors so the next car will go a little easier.
You are not the first person to ask me why I didn't use the coupe door tops and at first I was embarrassed to say "I don't have a good answer."
The price of the hours of shop time far outweighs the few hundred dollars that I might receive for the old coupe doors.
The lessons I learned are priceless.
#1 factor is that I wanted to sell the coupe doors to a fellow who has two Plymouth coupes; one rough and one really really rough, and no doors.
#2 factor is I wanted to learn a bit about chopping doors so the next car will go a little easier.
You are not the first person to ask me why I didn't use the coupe door tops and at first I was embarrassed to say "I don't have a good answer."
The price of the hours of shop time far outweighs the few hundred dollars that I might receive for the old coupe doors.
The lessons I learned are priceless.
Old Iron
Well-known member
I think the doors are turning great.
It never interred my mind as to why you weren't using the coupe tops.
It never interred my mind as to why you weren't using the coupe tops.
Bamamav
Well-known member
Yea MM, sometimes I do that, but it's usually after I've done something the hard way!
I'll get to thinking, why didn't I do so and so.........
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Bam, I was readin' your mind, because I thought you and Old Iron were readin' mine. Upon reflection, I have thought up another reason that I didn't use the coupe door tops. I don't like destroying anything, I want to create things. It's no use destroying coupe doors just for my selfish gain. [I'd be two weeks further ahead in the shop if I had used them.]
Here's a picture of the passenger door completely welded up and somewhat smoothed out. I'll do a little more heating and tapping and then onto body filler.
Here's a picture of the passenger door completely welded up and somewhat smoothed out. I'll do a little more heating and tapping and then onto body filler.
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bob w
Still crazy after all these years!
Ya done good, MM. I love the styling of the '34 Plymouth coupe.
05snopro440
Well-known member
Maybe I missed something, why would you have to destroy the coupe doors?
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Snopro, I took some pretty good sedan doors and am making them into coupe doors, [1" lower tops and the front frame leaned back a bit more.] It would have been a way easier to just cut the window frames off of all of the doors and weld the right height coupe window frames on the really good sedan bottoms. I chose to leave the rough coupe doors intact, to sell, and cut up the sedan doors. [Some of the people thought that I couldn't find all of my marbles.]
AZRodDave
Well-known member
Makes perfect sense to me. If you got $$$ out of the coupe doors and used some "scrap" doors to make what you needed, then you come out ahead!
Torchie
Well-known member
The why and the how of what you did to the doors not withstanding. They are looking great Mac.[cl (The above was posted in Legal speak)
In RRR speak....[cl [cl [cl [ [P
Torchie.
In RRR speak....[cl [cl [cl
[ [PTorchie.
Old Iron
Well-known member
Well thanks for killing our fun Torchie. We almost had MM second guessing the door dealThe why and the how of what you did to the doors not withstanding. They are looking great Mac.[cl (The above was posted in Legal speak)
In RRR speak....[cl [cl [cl
Torchie.
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Ya Torchie, we almost had him gnarled-up........no wait, I'm the intended victim here, aren't I.
No, you guys didn't bother me much, because I like thinking outside the box sometimes.
On an unrelated story, I went to work on Friday in peculiar circumstances. It was about 10C below or 15F above in the great white north, and raining. The air above was warm enough to make rain instead of snow but down here at ground level it was sorta' cold, well sir, that rain stuck to everything it touched. There was a quarter of an inch of glass on everything including the road. I wore triple rail chains on my front driver tires most of the day and a chain on a steering tire some of the time. All of the way home the windshield was icing up even though I ran the wipers constantly. At one point I was looking out through the steering wheel, through the windshield just above the defrost vent, before I figured out to turn up the heater fan. Anyway, enough weirdness.
No, you guys didn't bother me much, because I like thinking outside the box sometimes.
On an unrelated story, I went to work on Friday in peculiar circumstances. It was about 10C below or 15F above in the great white north, and raining. The air above was warm enough to make rain instead of snow but down here at ground level it was sorta' cold, well sir, that rain stuck to everything it touched. There was a quarter of an inch of glass on everything including the road. I wore triple rail chains on my front driver tires most of the day and a chain on a steering tire some of the time. All of the way home the windshield was icing up even though I ran the wipers constantly. At one point I was looking out through the steering wheel, through the windshield just above the defrost vent, before I figured out to turn up the heater fan. Anyway, enough weirdness.
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Back to the '34 again, I welded some more on the passenger door, including along the top at the rear where I had cut a little too much off. The sedan doors are straight horizontal and the coupe doors curve down a quarter of on inch at the back so I had to do some customizing in that area. Oh, I fiddled with my mig welder a bit and readjusted it so it is working better now.
