My last update I had test fitted the door and it lined up pretty well. So I built on that and got some final trimming of the flitch panel done, then prepped the door post and step for welding. I also painted the backside of the A-post closing panel as this won’t see the light of day again…. well hopefully not for many years to come.
Once the post was trimmed up I test fitted the door again, it still lined up so then it was time to weld the panels in place. I did this slowly. I tacked it in places, test fitted the door, and then welded some more, test fitted etc. I wanted to be sure the door didn’t move on me. Once I finished welding it up I ground back the welds the best I could, I might need to invest in a file sander so I can get into the tight spots. The welds on the door posts are barely visible though.
Testing fitting the door after was slightly concerning/disappointing, the door still seemed to drop when opened. I figured this was because the flitch panel was still not replaced. So I proceeded to get that panel in…. What a pain it was. I wasn’t satisfied with my initial floor pan repair, so I cut it out and made several patches to get the angles right.
With the new patch made for the floor pan corner the inner wing/flitch repair panel started fitting a lot better. after lots of trimming banging, door test fitting. I was final able to start welding the panel in. unfortunately I cut the existing panel too much so I had to fill several large gaps with weld.
Once the flitch repair was in all that was left was to bolt up the door and make sure it still lined up properly. So the door no longer drops when opened but for some reason I needed to remove the shim on the top hinge so it wouldn’t interfere with the B-post when closing. I also needed to grind down the lip on the flitch panel as it was catching on the door. For now the door opens and closes great, and the lines appear to be good as well. I figure for a base line its not too bad. Worst case I have to slot the hinge holes a little. I figure this will rear its ugly head when I am fitting the front end. My A-panels are bonded to the fiberglass front so they go all as one. I kind of wish I had a pair of A panels laying around to test fit to get the alignment just right.
As a final piece I wanted to see how the outer sill lined up with the door step/flitch and the healboard. Seeing I have now touched all of these panels. It fits really well and looks like it will need only minimal tweaking.
The Rust chronicles 