hello i am new to this site, looks like a ton of great info in here. I am about a year into a 54 f100, and have got my chassis and drivetrain complete.I thought i had good doors, but not so with the drivers side.I was wondering how the fit is on the overseas doors? Im in central ky, and not had much luck finding a useable replacement. my 54 has a fuel injected 4.6 and a 4r70w out of a 96 crown vic. an 04 cv front subframe, and 96 8.8 rear end from the cv. i probably put 150 miles on this setup before i tore it down for paint and bodywork.any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

Hello and welcome to FTE

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "overseas" doors? Maybe aftermarket or.......?

But you really shouldn't have any trouble finding doors for a 54 with a little patience - check e-bay!

 

Yes Julie, I think he is talking about the repop doors, they are making new ones for the 53-55 f100's and were supposed to start reproducing the 56's as well but haven't seen any of them yet. I would imagine that with any repop's there will be some small modifications, I also find that alot of the repop's seem to be of a lighter gauge than the originals. The Chevy guys are more fortunate as they are building complete cabs out of metal for the early and mid fifties.

 

Heres a link that references a post I made about my re-pop doors. Hope this helps. Regards.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...-53-effie.html

 

Thanks leverhead,that link really helps. I have been told by a few people that have restored these trucks that i would be better off to fix a rusty door than to get an aftermarket one, but that was a good while back.My drivers side is not all that rusty, but has been sprung in the hinge pockets sometime in its life. I verified that by purchasing a 50 dollar very rusty one and hanging it. It fit fine. Ill check with classic auto and see what i can get one shipped to kentucky for.

 

No doubt the sheet metal back then was better than what you get now. The hinge side jamb of my old doors were really narley and there arent any re-pop jamb panels that I know of...would have been major surgery to fix. Sooooo....re-pop doors were the ticket for me. Keep in mind you probably will have to 'spring' the door to fit your cab...as far as I know this was done at the factory when the trucks were built. And depending on how detailed you wish to get, maybe add or delete some metal to get the gaps even all the way around.

Since I posted that thread I have fit new latches, lock cylinders and repop vent windows and I am in the process of putting in electric regulators. All the inards and vent window assembly fit in the door suprisingly well....just a little tweaking was all that was necessary.....so far.

Something I learned the hard way....if you go with a new anti-rattle kit (felts), most likely you will end up with the ones that have the galvanized bead in the corner. Beware....once you pop it in the window frame IT DOESNT COME OUT! I destroyed a brand new pair trying to remove them as I was mocking up the electric window assembly.

FYI... Shipping to NM was $89 (for 2 doors....fedex freight). Regards.

 

Given the cost of the repop doors, I would try to fix my sprung door before I bought a repop. I really isn't that hard to do. I re-skinned both of mine: 1956 Ford F100 4x2 - Door Skins

If you still think you need a replacement, look on the classifieds here and Craig's List for used ones. The fit will be seriously better.

Good luck.

 

That is true randy jack. Im sure its the same with everbodys nearly 60 year old truck. But my door fitment with factory doors is not that great.At least with repops i wouldnt be fighting fitment issues and rust. Do you guys notice the door gap at the back of the door edge(the latch side) to be more than the jamb side even after you have used up all of youre adjustment? If I do have to take some metal off of the door lip, and go through the skin, do i just spot it back together and dress it down? And im assuming to add to a wide gap i put a series of spots and do the same? Thanks guys for all the help. This kind of info is priceless. And to LEVERHEAD do you have any pictures of youre door fitment?

 

you might try mid fifty. last time i was there, they had a few panels in the yard. might be a set of doors, or full truck? 1-800-252-1956 good luck

 

To close up too wide a gap, weld 1/8" round rod or a strip of 1/8" sheet stock if you need to close up more than 1/8" to the door edge. Use 1/2" tacks every 6", allow to cool completely then keep adding tacks no more than 3/4" long in between at least 6" apart then allow to cool (don't water or air quench to cool!) to room temp. continue this method: tacks 6" apart, allow to cool, until the filler is completely welded in. Grind the welds carefully to prevent overheating and warpage. Don't try to build up a weld bead along the edge, you will get warpage and it will be near impossible to grind it straight. See my gallery for pix of me fixing my rear door gap.

 

Hello Fat Fendered and welcome. I live down below Nashville. IF you want a used door let me know. I know of two guys out your way that likely have a good used one. I have a set of the repop and I just havent put them on yet. I dont know how quick of a rush you are in but with the various swap meets and show there in Louisville I know of two vendors who would bring the doors and save you on Shipping. For what I have seen everyone is in the 400-475ish range for a door. Let me know if I can help.

 

I do have pics but dont know how to upload them to this site. I used different diameter welding rod to close some gaps, ground some other areas to open some gaps (with a little welding to re-seal the seam edge) and some short strand filler to even up the plane of the door with the cab in some areas. Either way you go (new doors or surgery on the old ones) there is work to do....doors were never a strong point on these old trucks.

If I can figure out how to upload some pics (its not very intuitive and I am not a paying member) I will do so. I had some on mid-fifty's site (leverhead also) as it was easier to do. Regards.

 

Here's a guy with mid-fifties doors for sale... no affiliation, don't know him personally, but...

Ford Flathead V8 .. 1932 thru 1953 • View topic - REACHING OUT FOR A EXPERT FOR GOOD DEALS

 

easiest way to include pix within a post:
1. get a free picture storage account. I recommend Photobucket.
2. upload your pix to you account (if you have a high megapixel camera, be sure to resize your pix to a reasonable size first using photoediting software. 800 x 600 pixels @ 75 Dpi resolution works well for forum posting)
3. find your just uploaded pic, there should be a "share this photo" box to the right. click on the bold label "IMG code" (NOT in the box next to it) The code in the box next to it should change to "copied"
4. make a post here. Click wherever you want the picture to appear in your message and press down the control and V (keyboard paste command) at the same time. The code from photobucket should appear in your post it will start with img and end with /img both in square brackets. THAT'S IT, 4 easy steps! Test it if you'd like by pressing the preview button.
Here's one I just did using these same instructions:

 

Well classic auto in oklahoma is about 150.00 cheaper per door, but they are out of drivers sides( go figure ). I thought this week,i would take my one bent door and one rusty door and make one out of them. After taking the skin off of the bent one i realize what kind of undertaking this is.Not one i really want to tackle.So TACSON if you would be abliged to hook me up with a used one it would be greatly appreciated. Im about an hour north of bowling green, in campbellsville. Once agian thanks to everyone who has posted in this forum it has been a big help!