This followed me home

[rattyrod]

Sometimes I come up with what could be a weird solution , the original doors are not so good , lower frame and skins non existent, no door locks , winders , mechanisms, hinges , everything else rusted , no door pillars , only wood and some scrap metal . So my question to you guys , has anyone used or seen used the frame of the new Holden door , reskinned at a later date and the new pillar welded in and different hinge setup ,I know they are a different shape but I could trim them to suit the chev shape , they will probably be a bit deeper but this can be overcome. The advantage is all modern locks ,electric windows, steel etc. and I have the caprice here to use and I’m a tight ass . I realise glass is curved etc which will need the runners aligned and new glass anyway

[Chrisso]

Really Ratty I can' see a problem a bloke with your skills and vision could get them to fit I am certain.

[Gojeep]

As for using late model door frames, I have seen it done. Someone I know through the metal shaping forums has a channel where he is using a late model Mustang inner structure and making a custom 40 Ford body over it. He modified the shape of the inner door frames to suit the new body shape.

[rattyrod]

Thanks Marcus , watched some of them tonight and has given me some insight on how he did it , might give it a go myself .

[FRANK BASILE]

Would be worth having a shot with the doors ratty. Burst proof door locks are on the required list today. I had to fit them to our modded import 49F1 Pick up. And box the chassis .

[FX Panelvan]

Hi Ratty

Making good progress with the Chev. I have an FX panel van as may be obvious, but also am on the FXFJ forum.
There is one of our membners there who has done a lot of modification to an FJ ute.
He used a commodore floor pan as the base and has blended a lot of modern components into the old body.
A bit like you have planned for your ute. Any way I will add a link. I am sure he will not mind as he has shared the whole process.
One section he did was a blend of Toyota tailgate parts and sections into the original Holden one. Simialr to what you are thinking with the doors.
Worth a look.
Keep up the good works and thanks for sharing

https://www.fxfjholden.com/forums/viewt ... &start=180

[rattyrod]

Can’t believe it’s almost bolt straight in , just needs the patina and no one will ever know

[rattyrod]

So after deskinning both doors and cutting up the caprice frame into about 5 different pieces it all went in the scrap bin and I decided to make some totally new door frames. I went out and bought a shrinker / stretcher and have been practicing on bits and pieces . I want hidden hinges and was going to use the caprice hinges but they would have had to be extensively modified so I pirated the back door hinges out of a spare 41 body I have , should work ok , tested on a mocked up bit of steel first . Electric windows caused a big headache, first I had to straighten the runners and get the distance to the frame set and running up parallel, the Holden ones are curved . A bit of cut and bend and welding the runners to a piece of box tube and all is good . Getting the windows to work up and down was another drama , the terminals that take the + and - didn’t make it work and there are 5 wires in total with 2 having 5 volts changing to 12 volts when the switch is operated . Thanks to my mate Adam he pulled the motor control box out , leaving only 2 terminals and allowing us to operate the window up and down for testing , all the controls from the caprice will be used eventually . Once the frame is made I will see if I need to have a frame around the top of the window , hopefully it will not need one and the glass will seal on a rubber seal around the door opening


The two terminals that I needed to test the operation

The offending piece of wizardry that caused so much grief

Mocked up hinge to make sure the leading edge of the door wasn’t going to hit the cowl

[Gojeep]

Not many mention this but the trick to using a shrinker stretcher is to use it as close to the edge as possible. That is where you will get the biggest change happening. If you need it tighter then go in halfway and do about half the amount of shrinks. All the way in, half again.

[Chrisso]

Great skills Ratty, hows the brain? You are making great progress, a really interesting and inspiring build mate thank you.

[FRANK BASILE]

Great work ratty. The issue you had with the operation of the power windows is an all too common one today, modern vehicles take the simplest of functions and run them via body control modules or built in added modules. They do this with cooling fans ,aircon as well. Basic items that work well stand alone become more complex and intertwined with something else. If one function fails and everything else is ok you have to replace an expensive module.

[Sly Fox]

Some great work going on there Ratty, keep plugging away and thanks for sharing

[rattyrod]

The door is taking up a big amount of time at the moment. I have decided to go with the u channel around the top for some added strength in holding the window in position when up . I could not find the right size so had to cut one side off some box tube and shape it to fit . The old door had over an inch gap between channel and body in some spots but now is a snug fit with about 3/4 mm gap . Getting the electric windows to line up with the channel and body was interesting to say the least , with many angles and positions to overcome .

[rattyrod]

Windows going up and down and locating in the channel as it should , it is only in tack and screw stage at the moment till everything else is installed . Lucky I have some young people here to help post videos
[youtube]29h9RYbQ908[/youtube]
[youtube]xYSbBYUDqjY[/youtube]

[Chrisso]

Sweet as you clever little fella bloody genius mate.